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Get Started with Square Payment Links

Create free payment links in seconds with Square Payment Links

Fast and easy checkout, flexible formats, and advanced payment features for all kinds of businesses.

Use Square Payment Links to allow your customers to purchase anything you want to sell online without creating an ecommerce website.

Note: Square Online Checkout and Checkout Links are now known as Square Payment Links. The functionality for Square Payment Links has not changed and all features included with the product will continue to be supported as is. 

Create and Manage Square Payment Links

Send your customers a payment link through an email or Square Marketing campaign, or let your customers purchase at their convenience by posting the link on social media or your blog. There is no monthly fee for using Square Payment Links. You’ll only pay a processing fee of 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction.

Note: Square Payment Links are only available for domestic sales. If you’d like to sell online internationally or create a fully customizable eCommerce website, take a look at Square Online.

You can start accepting payments with payment links through your online Square Dashboard or Square App. You can create payment links for the following options:

  • Collect a payment to accept money for any reason.

  • Sell an item to accept money for items in your Square Item Library.

  • Accept a donation to allow a donor to enter an amount of their choice.

  • Sell classes or tickets to host an online or in-person class or event.

Create payment links

To create a payment link from your online Square Dashboard:

  1. From your online Square Dashboard, go to Payment Links.
  2. Choose to create a link, button, or QR code using the buttons.
  3. Under Link purpose, choose to either collect a payment, sell an item, or accept a donation.
  4. Enter a name for your link to be displayed to your customer.
  5. If prompted, enter the amount you want to charge.
  6. Choose a Frequency if prompted.
  7. Add an optional description. The description for each payment link has a 400 character limit. Note: When creating a new link for a new product in your item library, you can add a brand new description. This description will sync back to your item library for future use. For an existing item in your library, you can use your pre-existing description or create a new description to overwrite the previous one. Managing descriptions is currently only available in the online Square Dashboard.
  8. Add an image by selecting Add Image. Select either an image from your files or from your existing item library. Note: If you’re adding a new image for an item in your library that already has one, the new image will automatically replace the previous image. You can also edit your image by adjusting the zoom.
  9. Enable tipping, allow your customers to set the price, redirect to a website after checkout, or add your own fields by toggling these options on in the Advanced Settings menu.
  10. Select Create link.
  11. Select Copy link to share the link anywhere.

Note: Square Payment Links can only be enabled for one location at a time. You can change the location you want to use to track sales and inventory for payment links in your Square Dashboard by going to your Payment Links Settings and selecting an Payment Link Location.

See additional resources about creating Square Payment Links on Square Point of Sale and Terminal in app.

Manage payment links

Once you’ve created a payment link, you’re ready to start accepting payments online. You can manage all of your links from the Payment Links section of your online Square Dashboard where you can view a list of all of your links and the sales generated from each active and inactive link.

You can also access and enable payment links for items in your Item Library. To do so:

  1. In your online Square Dashboard, go to Items to access your Item Library.
  2. Select the item you want to sell with a payment link.
  3. Toggle on the Payment Links option.

When you enable Payment Links from your Item Library, you’ll have access to more Payment Link options including:

  • Enabling a shipping fee through Payment Links Settings.
  • Collecting shipping information such as an address on the checkout page.
  • Enabling online sales tax through Payment Links Settings.
  • Displaying a product image on the checkout page.
  • Displaying product variants on the checkout page.

Note: The blue chainlink symbol means your payment link is active. A gray one indicates your payment link is inactive.

By default, Square Payment Links are only available for account owners but can be opened up to all employees via Permissions. Once the account owner enables the Payment Links feature, employees with online Square Dashboard access can view, create, update, and manage settings for Square Payment Links.

Share payment links

Once you’ve copied payment links, you’re ready to share your links anywhere. Add a payment link to an email, your social media page, or your blog. Additionally, you can send out a customizable Square Marketing campaign to a targeted customer group. Note: Purchases made with payment links will not issue a standard customized receipt. Instead, they’ll generate a basic digital receipt.

When a customer clicks the payment link for an item, they’ll be directed to a single checkout page where they can pay with a card of their choice, with Apple Pay or Google Pay, or using Cash App Pay.

Buy now, pay later with Afterpay is also available for eligible accounts. Learn how to accept payments with Afterpay in our Support Center.

Create payment link QR codes

You can download and print a custom QR code to direct your customers to Square Payment links, offering a simple contactless payment solution that will allow your customers to self-serve.

To create a QR code for an Item from your online Square Dashboard:

  1. In your online Square Dashboard, go to Payment Links to start creating your payment link to sell an item.
  2. Select the Item you want to generate a QR code for.
  3. After you create your payment link, share your link via QR code by selecting Create under the QR code option.
  4. Download QR Code to your device to print it for use in your business.

You can also learn how to set up and manage a QR Code for Payment in the Square POS app.

Customize Settings for Square Payment Links

Set up payments for payment links

With digital wallets, customers can check out from their mobile device or computer using Apple Pay or Google Pay. Customers can also use Cash App Pay to pay on Square Payment Links.

To manage payment methods for Square Payment Links:

  1. Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Payment Links. If you don’t see the Payment Links add-on, click Payments > Payment Links.
  2. Click Settings > General.
  3. Under Payments, toggle on the payment options you want your customers to see at checkout.

Note: If eligible, you can also accept Afterpay with Square Payment Links.

Manage email notifications for payment links

Manage email notifications for Square Payment Links.

  1. Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Payment Links > Settings > General.
  2. Under Email notifications, toggle on payment links to receive notifications for links created in your online Square Dashboard or Online Checkout add-on. Toggle on Send Payment Link to receive notifications for links created in your Point of Sale app or Virtual Terminal.

Set up taxes for payment links

Calculate and apply tax rates automatically for Square Payment Links in your online Square Dashboard

To enable sales taxes:

  1. From your online Square Dashboard, select Payment Links.
  2. Go to Settings > General.
  3. Under Automatic settings, toggle on Apply sales tax to calculate taxes based on seller and buyer location for “Sell an item,” “Accept a payment,” and “Sell classes and tickets” links. Taxes will not be applied to “Accept a donation” links.

Taxes set up in Square settings through Account & Settings > Business information > Sales tax will not impact payment links created in Dashboard.

Enable tipping for payment

When you’re creating a payment link, you can easily allow for tips from your customers. To get started with accepting tips from your customers:

  1. Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Payment Links.
  2. As you’re creating your payment link, go to Advanced Settings and check the box to Enable tipping.
  3. Enter a name for your link and the amount you want to charge.
  4. Click Create link and select Copy link to share the link anywhere.

To set up the tip options and amounts for a specific location:

  1. Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Payment Links.
  2. Click Settings > General.
  3. In the Location Settings, select the location associated with your Square Payment Links.
  4. Under Tipping, select Tip options.
  5. Select if you want Smart tips (percentage and whole amount) or Percentage tips to display percentage options only at checkout.
  6. Set up to three Percentage amounts to display to your customers.
  7. Set the default percentage your customers will see on the checkout screen.

Enable service charges for payment links

You can add extra charges to your checkout page to cover overhead costs. To create service charges and instantly add them to your payment links:

  1. From your online Square Dashboard, create a service charge by going to Account & Settings > Business information > Service charges > Create a service charge.
  2. Enter the name and amount or percentage of your service charge. select “Taxable (assigned)”, and select the locations where the service charge will be available.
  3. Then, access the service charges created within Square Payment Linls through Payment Links > General > Service charges > Add service charge.
  4. Select the service charges you would like to automatically apply to Square Payment Link purchases.

Accept notes from your customers

Enable your customers to add a comment or note while they checkout using Square Payment Links. This will better help your business to:

  • Collect needed order information from your customers.
  • Track donation details.
  • Customize your customers’ orders.

To start accepting notes from your customers:

  1. In your online Square Dashboard, go to Online Checkout.
  2. Go to Settings > General.
  3. Toggle the “Note from Customer” option on.

When your customers pay through a checkout link, they will see a box for an optional note. Any information entered by your customer in the note section at checkout will appear on the order details for each transaction. Simply select Transactions from your Online Checkout dashboard and click on any payment to see your customer note. You will also see this information in your Order Manager.

If you have Square Online set up, you’ll have this option listed under your Online settings rather than your Online Checkout settings. To turn on customer notes through Square Online, from your Square Online Overview page, go to Settings > Checkout or Shared Settings > Checkout and select Advanced Settings. Check the box next to Allow customer to leave a note to seller and select Save when finished.

Learn more about payment tracking with Square checkout links.

Set up fulfillment for online checkout links

To apply your fulfillment preferences:

  1. Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Online Checkout > Settings > General.
  2. Under Pickup & Shipping, toggle on Enable shipping and/or Enable Pickup for item links. You can print shipping labels from the Orders tab in your online Square Dashboard.

Enable buyer entered payments

You have the option to allow your customers to set the price at checkout for Square Online Checkout. This setting is accessible from both the online Square Dashboard and Square POS app.

From your online Square Dashboard:

  1. In your online Square Dashboard, go to Online Checkout.
  2. Select Create checkout link.
  3. Select Collect a payment.
  4. Enter a name for the link that will be displayed to the customer.
  5. In Advanced Settings, check the Allow buyer to set the price option.
  6. Complete your checkout link setup and select Create link.
  7. Select Copy link to share the link anywhere.

See additional resources about creating and managing Checkout Links in app.

Redirect to a website after checkout

To direct your customers to a page on your website after they complete the checkout process:

  1. Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Online Checkout.
  2. Choose to create a link, button, or QR code using the buttons.
  3. Under Link purpose, choose to collect a payment, sell an item, or accept a donation.
  4. Enter a name for your link to display to your customer and the amount you want to charge. Choose a Frequency if prompted.
  5. Add a description and an image (optional) for your checkout link.
  6. In the Advanced Settings menu, toggle on Redirect to a website after checkout, then enter the website URL.
  7. Click Create link.
  8. Click Copy link to share the link anywhere.

Enable custom fields

Toggle on Enable custom fields and enter a title for the custom field to add. You can create up to two custom fields and add them to your Square Online Checkout link to collect additional information from your customers.

  1. Log in to your online Square Dashboard and click Online Checkout.
  2. Choose to create a link, button, or QR code using the buttons.
  3. Under Link purpose, choose to collect a payment, sell an item, or accept a donation.
  4. Enter a name for your link to display to your customer and the amount you want to charge. Choose a Frequency if prompted.
  5. Add a description and an image (optional) for your checkout link.
  6. In the Advanced Settings menu, toggle on Enable custom fields. Add custom field titles to be displayed at checkout.
  7. Click Create link.
  8. Click Copy link to share the link anywhere.

Branding

Customize the appearance of your Square Payment Links.

Logo and Header

You can choose to have your logo placed in the header of your payment links. To add a logo, to your Square Payment Links:

  1. From your Square Dashboard, go to Payment Links.
  2. Under the Settings menu, select Branding > Logo.
  3. Click +Add a full-width logo to upload your logo. To make sure your image is high resolution, the recommended logo size is 1280x680 px or a 2:1 ratio.
  4. Select and upload an image.

Note: If you have already added a full-width logo in Account Settings > Locations > Location Details, that logo will automatically appear on your checkout page header and apply to the look of your receipts, invoices, appointment bookings, and marketing.

Payment Link Buy Buttons

Create a buy button and add it to your website as a convenient way to take customers directly to a checkout page. Create your buy button by generating a small piece of HTML code that you can embed on your website, blog, landing page, or the body of an email.

Learn more about adding buy buttons to your website with Square Payment Links.

Additional Features for Square Payment Links

Subscriptions with payment links

Subscription payment links can be used to accept weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual payments from multiple customers with a single payment link. For more info on getting started, visit Subscriptions in Square Payment Links.

Loyalty with payment links

With Square Loyalty, you can create a digital rewards program that lets customers earn incentives with each purchase.

With Square Payment Links, you can set up a payment link with Square Loyalty enabled. Your customers can sign up for Square Loyalty and earn or redeem rewards using their phone number at checkout. If you’re enrolled in the Square Loyalty program, there is no extra monthly fee for using Square Loyalty with Square Payment Links.

If you are setting up a Loyalty program for the first time:

  1. From your online Square Dashboard, go to Customers > Loyalty.
  2. Follow the steps to create your loyalty program.
  3. Once your Square Loyalty account is activated and you create rewards, customers will automatically see the option to sign up, earn, or redeem rewards on their payment links.

If you are already enrolled in a Square Loyalty program, customers will automatically see the option to enroll, earn, or redeem rewards on their payment links created from Square Payment Links. Note: Below are some limitations to consider when using Square Loyalty with Square Payment Links:

  • Square Loyalty is currently available with Square Payment Links only on “Send payment links” through the Square Point of Sale > Payment app.
  • Square Loyalty SMS notifications are only available for in-store purchases.

Learn more about getting started with Square Loyalty and creating a loyalty program. You can also review the Square Loyalty FAQ.

Create a Marketing Campaign with payment links

You can promote your items by reaching your customers with a Square Marketing campaign. To include a Square Payment Link in your campaign:

  1. In your online Square Dashboard, go to Payment Links to start creating your payment link.
  2. After you create your payment link, copy any link by clicking the blue chainlink icon.
  3. In your online Square Dashboard, go to Marketing. Depending on the campaign type, you can paste the payment link directly in the body text.
  4. Send your campaign.

Once you send your marketing campaign, customers can click on the payment link to purchase items on the spot. Note: At this time, you’re unable to track click-through rate for payment links.

Coupons with payment links

Customers can apply the coupons you create with Square Marketing to the Square Payment Links you share with them. Your customers will need to enter the coupon code in the designated field in your payment link’s checkout screen for the discount to apply. One coupon can be applied per payment link.

Square Payment Links Reporting

You can easily track the amount of sales generated from each Square Payment Link. This allows you to track how links are performing. To view the amount of sales per payment link, in your online Square Dashboard, review the sales per link in the Total Sales column.

You can also view all of your sales in your online Square Dashboard in Reports when you filter by Source > Payment Links.

Deactivate or Delete Square Payment Links

You can deactivate and delete a payment link at any time. To disable a payment link:

  1. In your online Square Dashboard, go to Payment Links.

  2. Select the payment link you want to deactivate or delete.

  3. Click Deactivate or Delete at the bottom of the item details page.

Note: If you’ve previously shared a link with your customers, once you deactivate or delete it, they'll be unable to complete a transaction via the link.