To our Square community:
We’re all facing unique challenges right now, and for business owners, the stakes are particularly high. We want to offer support and help in the ways we can.
Be sure to bookmark this page for the latest information and tools to support you. You can also visit our Support Centre to learn more about Square’s products and offerings to help you run, start and grow your business.
More tips to help you succeed:
Sell and accept orders online
One way to still provide goods to your customers is to sell online. You can ship items or take online orders for contactless pickup, in-house delivery or QR code ordering. Scroll down to learn how to set up and take online orders.
Promote digital gift cards
Electronic gift cards can help increase cash flow while your business is closed or affected by density limits. We’ve seen a lot of sellers ask their regular customers to purchase gift cards as a show of support. Scroll down to learn how to set up free eGift Cards.
Use touch-free and remote payments
As customers look to avoid touching surfaces, you might consider skipping the receipt screen during checkout. You can also encourage your customers to use a contactless card, mobile device, or watch to complete payments so they touch fewer surfaces, or use self-serve ordering QR codes. If you aren’t seeing customers in person, consider remote payment options like Invoices or Checkout Links; scroll down to learn more.
Communicate with your customers
If you’ve stored customer details in Customer Directory, use email and social media to keep them up to date. Let them know things like how they can support your business, what your new hours are, or if you’re closing for a period of time. Remember to be direct and succinct no matter what you’re communicating.
Support your team
This time is as unpredictable for your staff as it is for you. To ensure your staff stay healthy, make sure they stay home if they are sick, frequently wash their hands, and keep contact with one another and customers to a minimum. Make sure your paid time off and sick leave policies are compliant with workplace laws as they may have changed in response to the virus.
Contactless solutions for your industry
Get started
Online Store
No matter what kind of business you run, you can create an online ordering page with Square Online that allows you to provide self-serve QR code ordering, shipping, contactless pickup or in-house delivery. The online ordering page is free, and it automatically integrates with all Square POS apps, Order Manager, and your Item library.
If you only have one product or service or don’t need a whole website, you can use Square Online Checkout to create shareable links. Give whatever you’re selling a name and price, create the link, and then add it to your website, blog, email, texts, or social posts.
We are continuing to work on more features and resources to help sellers during this time and will update you as they are released.
Learn how to:
Set up an online ordering page [VIDEO] >
Turn on curbside pickup [VIDEO] >
Set up local delivery [VIDEO] >
Get paid with Square Online Checkout >
Remote payments
Even without a Square Online site, you can take payments remotely. You can use Estimates and Invoices to request and collect online payments for goods and services — no matter where you are. Customers can pay invoices from their mobile phone or computer with their debit or credit cards.
Virtual Terminal is another option for collecting payments and making sales online — turn your computer into a point-of-sale and charge credit and debit cards from your web browser. You can use a Virtual Terminal to schedule recurring quick-charge or itemised sales for repeat customers. You can also connect a Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal to make wireless sales with a low rate of 1.6% per in-person payment.
Learn how to:
Send invoices online [VIDEO] >
Take payments with Virtual Terminal [VIDEO] >
Connect Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal for In-Person Payments >
eGift Cards
You can set up a free online ordering page to sell digital eGift Cards. Your customers can purchase eGift Cards online and send them to a recipient of their choice (or themselves) via email. eGift Cards never expire and can be redeemed in-person and on your Square Online site.
Your business will be featured in our online directory — Give and Get Local — which will allow customers to search for your business and purchase eGift Cards directly from your online ordering page. All eGift Cards sellers have the option to be featured in the directory. Visit the eGift Cards tab in your Square Dashboard to toggle this setting on or off.
Helpful Tips
Delay your minimum repayment debits with Square Loans
We understand that mandatory lockdowns may have affected our Square Loans customers, and we want to do what we can to help. That’s why we are providing a one-time minimum payment debit delay of 30 days on Square Loans for existing customers. This means that if you haven’t met your minimum, your upcoming minimum payment debit will be delayed by 30 days. You don’t have to do anything to take advantage of a minimum payment debit delay, as it will automatically apply to your account.
Find out more >
Managing subscriptions
To help make managing your subscriptions easier, we’ve introduced the ability to pause a subscription for up to three months — you will not be billed during this time. You can unpause at any time and your account will be ready for you.
Learn more about:
Square’s software and subscription pricing >
Managing your subscriptions and payment methods >
Best Practices for accepting card payments
While they don’t happen often, payment disputes are a risk you take when accepting payment cards. Where there are purchases, there are payment disputes. As with any transaction, there’s always a risk that your customer will dispute the validity of their purchase. Cardholders can initiate a payment dispute or chargeback by asking their bank to reverse the charge.
Follow a few best practices below to reduce the likelihood of disputes:
Best practices for accepting card payments >
Preventing disputes >
Protect yourself from scams and fraud >
Contact Square Support
Square has a dedicated Australian Customer Success team who can provide account specific assistance on transactions and transfers, while offering expert knowledge on Square’s products and services. You can contact our Square Support team through live chat, phone, or email. We’re available from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. AET. You can also use our Support Assistant bot to answer any questions you have outside of standard business hours.
Resources
Find other businesses to talk to about how you’re handling the current situation, trade tips, and share best practices for keeping your employees and customers safe.
Learn more about what other business owners have learned during the pandemic.
We’ve compiled information about accepting contactless payments, communicating with and marketing to your customers, selling online, and other topics to help you navigate the current situation. We’ll be adding new content regularly on Town Square to support your efforts.
We’ve partnered with Skillshare, an online learning community, to provide you with a free three-month membership. Together, we’ve developed three learning tracks — Sales & Marketing, Leadership & Management, and Business Operations — each of which contains classes taught by industry icons and experts.