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Set up Square for Restaurants

Who is this article for?
This article is for account owners with an active Square for Restaurants subscription they are setting up for the first time.

Before you begin

Make sure you have an active Square for Restaurants subscription. If you don’t have an active Square for Restaurants subscription, sign up for Square for Restaurants.

The steps in this guide are the basic setup instructions for Square for Restaurants. If you already completed one of the steps, you can skip to the next one. If you already completed setup, you can skip to the Next steps section to learn more about how to optimize your Square for Restaurants setup. You can also complete all of these steps in your Square Dashboard with the Square for Restaurants setup guide.

Step 1: Create a menu

With Square for Restaurants, a menu is a specific set of display groups and items that will appear on your POS for a certain period of the day or a certain shift. Your menus should correspond with the physical menus in your restaurant. If you have multiple menus you use throughout the day, you should have multiple menus in your Square for Restaurants account. 

You have three options for item creation with Square for Restaurants:

  • From your menu editor in Square Dashboard

  • From the Square Restaurants POS app on an iPad

  • From Square Restaurants POS on Square Register or Square Terminal

Learn how to create a menu.

Step 2: Select your point of sale hardware

If you already selected and received Square hardware, you can skip to the next step.

If you haven’t selected any Square hardware yet, you can purchase individual hardware and accessories or select a complete POS kit from Square Shop.

Step 3: Link your bank account

Select a transfer schedule and link your bank account to begin receiving funds from your sales. You need your bank account and routing numbers for this step. Learn how to link your bank account.

Step 4: Set up your point of sale

Once you receive your Square hardware, you can set up your point of sale with Square for Restaurants. You need access to your Square Dashboard to select your point of sale and create your device code. Learn how to set up your point of sale with Square for Restaurants.

Next steps

Once you complete the initial setup for Square for Restaurants, you can explore other Square for Restaurants features to help run and optimize your business from one of these Support Center articles: