Connect Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal or Square POS
About connecting Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal or the Square POS apps
Virtual Terminal allows you to quick charge or build itemized carts — all from a web browser on your laptop or desktop computer. Virtual Terminal is ideal for remote billing or taking card payments over the phone.
Square Terminal is a hand-held POS device with a built-in receipt printer and a powerful battery designed to last all day with no wires.
You can connect Square Terminal to the Virtual Terminal in Square Dashboard to accept in person payments from your laptop or computer. You can also connect Square Terminal to the Square POS apps to use as a buyer-facing display and payment point.
Before you begin
To connect your Square Terminal to the Virtual Terminal, you need a Square Terminal and access to your Square Dashboard. Learn how to Set up Square Terminal. You can connect one or multiple Square Terminal devices at a time. As long as your Square Terminal and computer are both connected to the internet (on the same or different networks), you can use them together to create sales—no matter how far apart they are. Once you’re done using your Square Terminal with the Virtual Terminal, you can disconnect it to take payments as a standalone point of sale.
To connect your Square Terminal to the Square POS apps on a mobile device, you need a Square Terminal and access to your Square POS app. The Square POS apps can only connect to one Square Terminal at a time.
You have two options for connecting Square Terminal as a customer display to take payments:
Connect Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal in Square Dashboard.
Connect Square Terminal to a mobile device in the Square POS apps.
Once your Square Terminal is connected, you can configure the settings.
You have two options for configuring your connected Square Terminal settings:
Configure settings from Square Dashboard
Configure settings from Square Terminal
Step 1: Connect your Square Terminal
You can connect your Square Terminal to the Virtual Terminal in Square Dashboard or to the Square POS apps on a mobile device.
- Sign out on your Square Terminal. Tap ≡ More > Sign out > This device only.
- Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Payments > Virtual Terminal.
- Click Settings > Devices > Add a device.
- Enter a nickname for your Square Terminal and select a location.
- Click Create.
- Make note of the device code on Virtual Terminal.
- On your Square Terminal, tap Sign in > Use a device code.
- Enter the device code and tap Sign in.
- Once the pairing is complete, your Square Terminal will display Powered by Square and the Virtual Terminal will display Square Terminal Paired.
- Click the X or Done to go back to the Devices page.
- Sign out on your Square Terminal. Tap ≡ More > Sign out > This device only.
- Open the Square POS app on your mobile device.
- Tap ≡ More > Settings > Hardware.
- Tap Square Terminal > Connect Square Terminal.
- Enter a nickname for your Square Terminal and select a location.
- Tap Continue.
- Make note of the device code.
- On your Square Terminal, tap Sign in > Use a device code.
- Enter the device code and tap Sign in.
- Once the pairing is complete, your Square Terminal will display Powered by Square and your mobile device will display Connected.
- Tap Done to go back to your Square POS app and start accepting payments.
Step 2: Access and configure the connected Square Terminal settings
You can access your settings on the connected Square Terminal whether it is paired to Virtual Terminal or the Square POS app on your mobile device.
From the Powered by Square screen on your Square Terminal, swipe from the left-hand side of the screen.
You should see Checkout, Settings, and Support.
-
Under Settings, you can configure your:
Wireless network
Display and sound options
Accessibility for talkback or magnification
Printer
Other general settings, including date and time, device names, and language.
Configure checkout settings from Square Dashboard if your Square Terminal is connected to Virtual Terminal.
Sign in to your Square Dashboard and click Payments > Virtual Terminal.
Click Settings > Devices.
Toggle ON/OFF the options under Terminal Checkout.
Step 3: Disconnect your connected Square Terminal
You can disconnect your Square Terminal by manually signing out from the connected Square Terminal or from the Square POS app on your mobile device:
- From the Powered by Square screen on your Square Terminal, swipe from the left-hand side of the screen.
- Tap Account > Sign out.
- You can always reconnect Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal on your computer at any time by re-entering the same device code or generating a new one.
- Open the Square POS app on your mobile device.
- Tap ≡ More > Settings > Hardware > Square Terminal.
- Tap Disconnect from this device.
- Tap Disconnect to confirm. Square Terminal will disconnect from POS automatically.
- If the disconnection fails, Square Terminal will continue to display the Powered by Square screen, and you’ll need to manually sign out by swiping from the top left side of the Square Terminal screen to reveal the menu, then tap Settings > Account > Sign out.