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Square for Retail Reporting FAQ

Review answers to frequently asked questions for Square for Retail reporting.

Will I have the same Reporting access if I use Square for Retail Free vs Square for Retail Plus?

No. With Square for Retail Free, you will have access to the Item Sales report, Category Sales report, and Sales by Payment Type report. To view the COGS and Margin report, Projected Profit report, Inventory Category report, and Sales by Vendor report, you will need to have a subscription to Square for Retail Plus.

Can I update unit costs for items once they’ve sold?

Yes! You can update unit costs for items from the History log on your online Square Dashboard. The item cost can be updated for any stock intake such as stock received, re-counted to adjust up, and restock.

Read more about updating your unit costs.

What is FIFO and how does it work?

FIFO stand stands for _first-in, first-out. The FIFO method means the first items you receive (in) at a certain cost will be the first the first items recorded as sold (out).

For example:

  • Let’s say you purchase three shirts at a cost of $2.

  • Later purchase two more of the same shirt, but at a cost of $3.

  • If a customer buys four shirts, your reports will reflect the sale of three shirts at $2, and one shirt at $3. The total cost for all four shirts sold will equal $9.

What’s the difference between updating unit costs in the History log vs. the item variation on my item library?

  • The item variation unit cost will help ensure your inventory reports will reflect your profit and profit margin for future sales. The item variation unit cost will pre-populate on purchase orders and when you manually receive stock.

  • Updating your unit cost via History log will correct errors or discrepancies in your reports. If you previously received stock without a unit cost, profit and profit margins for will not be represented in your reporting. When you update the original stock intake in your History log, your profit and profit margins will be accurately represented in your COGS report.

Will my reports reflect variably priced items?

Yes! Your Retail reporting will reflect variably priced items; however, since your Projected Profit and Inventory by Category reports estimate your profit for future sales, variably priced items will not have a predicted profit or profit margin.

How will my reporting be impacted if I update a unit type?

If you update a unit type, historical sales will reflect the previous and new versions as separate line items.

Why do numbers in my Retail reports seem lower than expected?

If you’re looking at the Projected Profit or Inventory by Category report, keep in mind these reports generate your daily sales one hour after your scheduled close of day. If you just closed your business, you’ll need to wait one hour before they will update.

Your Retail reports may also be lower because a historical stock adjustment did not include a unit cost.

To identify and update missing unit costs:

  1. Log into your Square Dashboard.

  2. Navigate to Items > Inventory Management > History.

  3. On the All Costs drop-down menu, select Missing Cost.

The Missing Cost filter will display a list of items that are not associated with a unit cost.

To add a unit cost:

  1. Tap Add Cost next to one of your items.

  2. Enter the unit cost and select Save.

Read more about Retail reporting.

Note: If you have variably priced items, we won’t be able to provide an anticipated profit or profit margin until you sell the items at a fixed price.

What happens when I import new stock the first time? Future times?

The first time you import your stock to your item library, the intake will be marked as a receive. For every subsequent stock import, your stock intake will be marked as a re-count.

Note: Depending on whether your stock intake is considered a receive or re-count, your Cost of Goods Sold report will be affected differently. Receiving stock will not have an effect on your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). However, re-counts that adjust your stock up will credit your COGS (decrease), and re-counts that adjust your stock down, will debit your COGS (increase). If you’re only interested in seeing profit and profit margin for sold items (i.e. excluding re-counts), apply the Sales filter.

Can I import decimal amounts in bulk?

Yes, but you will not be able to create or edit unit types when importing.

What happens when I set a unit cost via import?

Updating your unit costs using the bulk import in your item library affects your reporting the same as manually updating from the item variation — moving forward your reports will reflect the updated costs.

If you set your item cost and stock with a single import, the new cost will apply to the new stock count. However, for stock already received in your library, head to your History log to update the associated unit cost.

How did I intake stock without adding a unit cost?

Here are some actions for potentially intaking stock without a unit cost:

  1. Re-count up without a set unit cost.

  2. Received stock without a set unit cost and without manually setting a unit cost. If you manually set a unit cost on a receive, we’ll add it to the item variation.

  3. Manual restock not associated with an itemized return.

Can I generate a report by vendor?

Yes. By visiting the Vendor Sales Report in your online Square Dashboard, you can view which items are sold in a given time frame, sorted by vendor. To do so:

  1. Navigate to Reports > Inventory Reports > Vendor Sales in your online Square Dashboard.

  2. Use the date selector at the top-left corner to choose the date range you’d like to view, or enter custom dates.

  3. If you have more than one location, select which ones you’d like to see.

Read more about Square for Retail reporting.