Frequently Asked Questions
General
PPL.com.pt (People with Portugal) is a collaborative way to raise funds for ideas and projects.
PPL provides an online platform for any entrepreneur to find support from a large community, in a simple and transparent way. This is the power of "Crowdfunding".
Any person can create and publish a project, explaining its goals, how and why the funds are needed and what incentives it offers to the backers who support the project. The project must include two important sections:
• Description - where the project and the team are presented. This includes the amount required, the length of the campaign, a video presentation, additional images and any associated documents.
• Rewards - the incentives proposed by the project promotor to those who chose to invest.
After the project is published, the owner needs to promote it to potential supporters, so they can invest in it during the pre-defined time period (up to 90 days).
If the amount raised is greater than, or equal to, the initial goal, the project gets funded. Otherwise, all contributions will be sent back to the supporters.
We believe that the "all or nothing" mechanism is more transparent and brings additional security to backers.
The "all or nothing" rule encourages the project owner to request, on the one hand, the lowest possible sum of money in order to increase the chance of reaching the target, and, on the other hand, enough funds to execute the project. This good practice helps encourage self-regulation in project budgeting.
For example, if a project requires at least 5000 euros to be implemented but raises only 100 euros during the campaign, its implementation can be questioned, as well as the ability to provide the backer's rewards. In this case, the best option is to return the money raised to the backers.
There are many reasons to invest in projects. For example, to get an exclusive reward, to help a community or business you believe in, to help a friend or simply to contribute to entrepreneurship in Portugal!
A project is an activity with a well defined date and scope. It could be a book publication, an album debut, an exhibition or an investment required for a new product line or service. It cannot be used to cover operational expenditures for a running business for an arbitrary time period.
On our site each project gets a page where the owner describes their idea to the public. The presentation should be clear and appealing (we would add passionate!) in order to get as much support as possible. It is very important to include a video to help convince your potential investors.
The rewards you offer are equally important. You should offer your investors unique and interesting rewards if they help you - make them become vested in your success, so they themselves will spread the word about your project!
Rewards or perks are a way to show your gratitude and to incentivise supporters.
According to the amount donated, the backer will receive something in return, generally a product or service related to the project.
The more creative and appealing you can make the rewards, the easier it will be to raise funds.
My Account is the central place to see you personal information.
You can update your profile (photo, name, place, short bio) and check your balance, which you should top-up to invest in projects or refund when you no longer wish to support more projects. You can also check the list of projects to which you have contributed.
Under "My Projects" you can submit and edit your project and check who has invested in your idea.
Under "Finances" you can check your balance, your complete transaction history, deposit and withdraw funds.
Reward and donation based crowdfunding platforms are required by law to perform a complete KYC to all backers and campaign owners. For more information, check the regulation here.
We're sorry to see you go. Send us an e-mail to ping@ppl.com.pt and we'll close the account for you. Please note that, according to the Portuguese Crowdfunding Regulation nº686/2019, the personal information of project owners and backers must be kept for a period of 5 years. User accounts can therefore be canceled and their contents unpublished, but will be stored for the aforementioned period before it can effectively be deleted.
Firstly, please check your SPAM folder. Some internet servers and email clients may have decided it was SPAM.
You can also try to ask for a new password, which will be re-sent by email.
Note that some emails may take some time to arrive, depending on the servers.
Lastly, if you keep experiencing difficulties, please contact us so we can manually activate your account.
In any case, it is important to check that you can receive our platform emails because payment notifications, deadlines and reward delivery will use that email address.
Project owners
Take a look at our guide on how to create a great project.
Yes. You can choose between 20 and 60 days to get your project financed.
This period varies from project to project and the PPL team can help you determine the best option.
And no, longer deadlines do not necessarily mean higher funding probabilities!
Only up until it is published. From that moment on, you cannot change deadlines, targets or rewards. But you can, and should, add new information and updates using the comments section and interact with your fans.
No, you can only have an active project at a time.
We want project owners to be fully focused on the current project (promoting, publishing updates, etc.). Besides, we don't want supporters to choose one project over the other.
Having said that, we do welcome more projects from active entrepreneurs, either sequels or completely different ideas, one at a time!
As long as it is legal you are free to present your idea to PPL. However, our team will analyze each project and reserves the right to filter out any project that is not appropriate, not legal, does not follow our company values, is not well-documented or cannot be proven to be presented in good-faith.
All the process runs on the site. The project owner creates and submits their project through the online form.
Each project then goes through the following stages:
- Draft - You can edit and complete the basic information at your pace. When ready, you can submit the information.
- Submitted - The PPL team and its specific partners analyse the application and contact the author should there be any questions. The application can be accepted, rejected or sent back to draft. This process can take from a couple of days to a few weeks, depending on the team's availability, project maturity, etc.
- Accepted - The application was reviewed and accepted. You should complete the project information, including a short presentation video and additional photos and documents. When ready, you can request the project publication.
- Pending review - The application is validated by our team and a publishing date is set. If more updates are needed, the application returns to the previous step.
- Active - Yeah! The project is live and ready to receive contributions. Now the most hard-work task begins, promoting the idea and following up with backers!
PPL decided to follow the "all or nothing" model, which means that, in that case, all contributions will be refunded to the original backers. There are no costs for any party, besides the time and effort devoted to the project.
Should the project owner receive a partial amount, he will most likely fail to implement the project and deliver the rewards to the investors. No one would win!
Thus, it is important to set a reasonable target for your project. It should be the minimum amount that allows you to go forward with the project. If you are very successful in your fund raising, it’s possible you can receive much more than the initial value.
After logging in to the website, open your account and click on My project.
You can also check the progress bar on each project page.
If, by the time the project finishes raising funds, you have at least the required amount, we will transfer it to your bank or PayPal account.
PPL will charge 5% of the raised amount (+VAT) to support our operations and continue promoting crowdfunding in Portugal and abroad.
PPL charges 5% (+VAT) of the total amount raised, only if the funding target is reached or if the donations are unconditional. An additional 2% fee (+VAT) is charged to cover payment costs.
If the goal is not reached and there are no unconditional donationns, there are no costs and the money is sent back to the supporters.
For example: For a project that raises 1000 EUR, PPL would charge 50 EUR + VAT, or 61,50 EUR including VAT at 23%. Add 24,6 EUR to cover payment fees for a total of 86,1 EUR.
Fund raising continues until the defined due date and you can raise more than 100% of the required amount.
In PPL, we have decided that the minimum amount is 500 euros.
The potential revenues for lower amounts is not viable for the support and tracking we want to perform to both project owners and backers: mentoring during campaign prep and support during and after financing.
Yes, you have access to their supporters' e-mail addresses. You can also use the "comments" section to make announcements, that will be sent to all your backers. Was your campaign mentioned in the media? Are there updates to the project? Do you need help from your backers to promote the campaign? This is the right tool to use.
We recommend that you use it to say thank you whenever you get a new contribution, keep your fans updated on news about the project and to arrange for the reward delivery. But do use it wisely: no one likes to receive spam!
You can view the comments tab on the corresponding project page. It may have important feedback about the project, by supporters, friends and potential investors.
Use this feature to improve your idea!
You can and should! Part of the success of your project depends on the promotion you make using these features.
On each project page, there is a link to easily share a link to it it by email or on facebook, linkedin and twitter.
When the crowdfunding campaign reaches its end date, and if the required amount is successfully raised, our team will ask for the project owner’s bank details.
As soon as we have the bank details, we will transfer the funds. It may take a few days for it to be available, depending on the banks.
It depends on the specific country's fiscal system and the project itself. We suggest you talk to a tax specialst. Here's how it works in Portugal:
An individual who gets financed does not have any VAT obligation, as long as the amount doesn't exceed the thresholds set on article 53 of the VAT law. As for tax deductions, you should declare this income as a "single activity" item, according to paragraphs i) and h), section 2, article 3 of IRS code.
A company should declare the income where it will be subject to corporate tax and, eventually, to VAT payment.
The usual mechanisms of intellectual property protection, such as brand registration and patents, can also be applied in projects that are looking for funding via the crowd.
Nevertheless, everyone has ideas and, most probably, someone already came up with “this one" before. What is relevant is how the idea gets implemented.
That's where the team, know-how, networking, etc., are important.
What we suggest is that the project author discloses just enough to attract backers (by showing credibility and implementation capabilities) and not so much that other competitors can copy it.
Most projects looking for funding do not include detailed technical plans in the description, but just enough for the supporters to judge and decide to contribute.
The idea will have to be made public at some point. With the right team and financing secured, all that is left is to implement faster than the others.
To sum up, we think there are more advantages in publishing a project to test the market than to keep it secret in order to avoid being copied.
Yes, all the published projects require a short presentation video (pitch) and the Portuguese translations of the body and rewards.
Since it's elements that require more effort from the project owner, we only ask for then at a later stage, after our initial analysis.
A good communication plan is crucial for the result of any crowdfunding campaign. You need to identify your target audience and the best means to reach it.
The main campaign manager is the project owner themselves. They are the ones who know the specific domain (architecture, board games, fashion, etc.) and has direct access to their inner circle of friends, family and partners.
PPL complements that communication in generic social networks, periodic newsletters, events and partner contacts. It is worth mentioning that these PPL actions do not replace project owner's, especially the inner circle, crucial for kickstarting the campaign.
When a campaign raises 50% of the funds needed, PPL will boost a post on its Facebook page in order to multiply the reach of the campaign. This is PPL's "win win" commitment!
Backers
It's simple! The first step is to specify the desired amount in the project page and click "Contribute".
You can also add a custom public message.
Then, sign in with PPL, using your facebook account or by registering your email.
Finally, select your payment method. You can use PayPal (recommended), credit card, wire transfer or ATM (in Portugal only).
For more information about payment options, please visit our payment page.
For detailed information, please check our backers' guide.
Besides the satisfaction to help someone achieve its goal, there are original perks/rewards that each project owner defines.
The rewards depend on the amount you contribute and are usually products or services related to the project.
Project owners are the sole responsible for delivering the promised rewards. Their reputation will be published and visible for the community. This transparency and voting mechanism helps maintaining a healthy system.
In addition, PPL makes its due-diligence and follows the entire process, since project publishing, during the fund raising period and until the project delivery.
Sure, that is the procedure behind the "all-or-nothing" mechanism that PPL adopted.
If a project does not raise all the funds it asked for within the specified due date, all the funds are refunded to the backers.
Since we don't have any bank account information about the users, the refund is made to the user's PPL account balance. The balance can be used to:
- Support another active project
- Wait and support future projects
- Request withdrawal (see the following question)
Yes, all credit not allocated to a project can be refunded. Just submit your withdraw request and we will transfer the money back to your PayPal or bank account.
Information about bank accounts is only used to execute the refund and is deleted from the system afterwards.
All the available payment options are listed in the payment information page.
Yes, sure! For example, you can request information or suggest other kind of participation in the project.
In the campaign page, just click on the project owner username (field "Created by") to known more about him/her. In the "Contact" tab, you can send an electronic message.
You can only increase your contribution to an active project.
Just repeat the support process and the new amount will accumulate with previous donations.
After the campaign closes, you can set with the project owner if you wish to get perks for each contribution or a single one for the total amount of the contribution.
Um apoio incondicional será entregue ao promotor da campanha, independentemente do resultado desta.
Mais concretamente, no caso de a campanha não atingir os 100%, o apoio não será devolvido ao apoiante mas sim entregue ao promotor.
Esta opção de apoios incondicionais não está disponível para todas as campanhas. De momento, as campanhas do PPL Causas disponibilizam esta opção.
You can anonymously contribute to a campaign by choosing this option during the contribution process. Your user will be created in PPL for management purposes (to receive campaign updates or your contribution back in case the campaign fails to raise the needed amount) but your personal information (name, e-mail address, picture, etc.) will not be shared with the promoter of the campaign nor the general public. The contribution will be listed as "Anonymous" in the "Investors" tab.
Please note that by doing so you will not be entitled to receive any reward.
PPL Causes
About PPL
Yap, click in the blog link on the top right corner or check it here.
Feedback and suggestions are always welcome. You can contact us by email using info@ppl.com.pt or use the contact form.
