Independently, a POS system and a website or online store are both powerful tools for businesses. Integrating your POS system with your website or online store makes them even more powerful. Here is a simple guide to POS integration with Square Online.
What is a POS system?
The term POS system is short for point-of-sale system. It’s all the hardware and software required for a business to take a payment from a customer. For the smallest business, this can be as simple as a basic portable card reader and phone/tablet. For larger businesses, it can be multiple hardware devices managed through a single interface.
Modern POS systems can be cabled if businesses prefer it. Generally, they use technology such as WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC so they can be used without cables. (Cables are therefore just needed for charging.)
What are the benefits of integrating a POS system with an online store?
Modern POS systems don’t just take payments. They capture data related to the purchase, the most obvious example of this being exact details of what was sold. This clearly makes it much easier for you to keep an up-to-date and accurate track of what you have in stock.
When you integrate your POS system with your website or online store, you effectively link them together so that they operate as one. This means, for example, that purchases made in the real world will update the inventory in your online store, and vice versa.
Furthermore, you see exactly when a product or service was purchased. This not only informs your buying decisions but can also guide your pricing decisions. The best example of this is increasing your price when demand is particularly high. A more subtle example is creating special offers to influence purchasing decisions.
Integrating your POS system with your online store also gives you much better insight into customer behaviour. In particular, you can follow customers across both real-world and online purchases. You can make this even easier by running a loyalty programme.
How to integrate your Square POS and Square for Retail with Square Online Store
When you register for a Square Online store, any products in your Square Item Library are synchronised with it. They then show on your Square Online Overview page. After this, any details you enter are automatically synchronised across the different channels. The only details that are not synchronised are Categories, Coupons, Sale prices and Tax and shipping settings.
If you wish, you can customise some of the synchronisation settings to suit your business. At present, these are Item descriptions, Automatically add new items to your site, and Item visibility settings.
How to integrate Square Appointments with your online store
Here are the steps to integrate Square Appointments with your Square Online store.
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Sign in to your dashboard on Square Appointments.
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Go to Online Booking > Channels.
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Select ‘Square Online website’ and then ‘Preview & edit’
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Add an online booking page to your Square Online website
FAQs
Does Square POS support mobile payment terminals?
Yes, you can use Square POS with mobile payment terminals. This can be useful if you want to run a pop-up shop or mobile outlet as well as offering payment at the table. Even if you’re not, many business owners now prefer mobile devices as they create a more streamlined look.
What other equipment do I need to open a retail store?
This does depend on what kind of retail store you want to open. However, this article gives you a good idea of what sort of equipment most retail stores need.
Can I try Square for Retail Plus before I commit?
Yes, when you sign up for Square for Retail, you automatically get a 30-day free trial of Square for Retail Plus. It’s totally up to you whether or not you continue with it.
Can Square Online support online ordering for restaurants?
Yes, with Square Online, restaurants can take back control of their online orders. It’s easy to set up an online ordering page on Square Online. Then you can guide customers to that instead of expensive apps. Square Online creates mobile-friendly websites so your customers can still order from their couch if they want.
Does Square Appointments integrate with Instagram?
Yes, you can advertise appointments on your Instagram page and have customers book them seamlessly through Square appointments.