Virtual Terminal FAQ
Find answers to frequently asked questions about Virtual Terminal.
You can use both Square’s online invoices and Virtual Terminal to bill your customers via the online Square Dashboard.
- Invoices: Ideal for sellers who don’t need to instantly collect payment, want to bill their customers via email, or set up recurring payments. Customers will receive an emailed invoice and enter their payment card details on their end. Learn more about sending Square Invoices.
- Virtual Terminal: Suited for sellers who want to immediately charge their customers using a computer, either in person or remotely, for orders received over the phone or email.
Square’s standard processing fee for processing invoices is 2.2% per transaction for manually entered card payments for Invoices and for Virtual Terminal payments. Learn more about Square’s processing fees.
Yes! If you’re eligible to accept Afterpay, you can send your customer a payment link. Payment links are a secure payment method customers can use to pay right from their mobile device using their debit or credit card—including mobile wallets such as Apple Pay or Google Pay—or via Afterpay where available.
Payment links are for taking Afterpay payments in real-time, like while you’re on the phone with the customer. The link will expire if you close the window or if the customer doesn’t pay as soon as the link has been opened.
2.2% per transaction via Virtual Terminal. Learn more about Square’s processing fees.
For Afterpay payments, the processing fee is 6% + 30¢ (excl. GST) per transaction. Note: There are no monthly fees or startup costs to start processing Afterpay with Square. You only pay processing fees when you make a sale. Afterpay rates are fixed and do not vary by subscription type, hardware, or custom pricing.
Yes, you can wirelessly connect Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal for in-person card payments.
Pay lower rates for in-person payments. Tap, insert, or swipe a card for just 1.6% per transaction. Pay 2.2% when you key in a credit or debit card number manually.
You can take a payment with Virtual Terminal by manually entering the card details.
You’ll need the following information to accept a manually entered payment with Virtual Terminal:
- Card number
- Expiration date
- CVV/CVV
We also provide you a field to include a note for your records, with a length of up to 60 characters. If your customer has requested a digital payment confirmation, you can provide their email or mobile number. This will be used to automatically send your customer a customised digital payment confirmation of the transaction.
Note: The note field is for your records and you should not record personal, card or other sensitive information in that field.
Yes. You’re able to add existing items from your Item Library to a sale, including modifiers, taxes, and discounts. You’re also able to apply discounts and taxes to a single-use custom amount or item using the Itemised Sale option.
Yes, when taking an itemised sale or a Quick Charge payment in Virtual Terminal, you can click Add Tip, then select an amount of 10%, 15%, 20%, or add a custom tip amount. To enable Tipping, from the Virtual Terminal Overview page, click on Settings > Checkout. Toggle on Collect Tips and then make any desired changes to settings and click Save. “Add Tip” will display in the payment page and be clickable once you add in an amount to the cart.
Yes, you can split a payment so your customer can pay by multiple payment methods. You can also record cash or other tender payments for record purposes.
Yes, there is a per transaction fee for split payments on card. You will not be charged if you are recording the split payments as cash or other tender payment methods.
No, the Add Tip feature is not available when splitting tender payments. Simply add the tip to the original payment amount before splitting.
Yes, you can securely store and charge a customer’s card on file using Virtual Terminal by manually entering or swiping your customer’s card.
Square’s processing fee for Card on File payments is 2.2% per transaction.
Yes, you can schedule recurring quick-charge or itemised sales using a customer’s Card on File. Learn how to schedule and manage recurring payments with Virtual Terminal.
Payments processed using Virtual Terminal will be included in your sales reports. Visit the Sales section of your online Square Dashboard and click Transactions. You can also view full transaction details, including the payment source, by exporting your Transactions CSV.
Yes, you can customise the Statement Identification field, also known as Billing Descriptor, for any transactions taken on Virtual Terminal. This Statement ID field has a limit of 20 characters, including spaces, to help you and your customer identify the transaction on their billing statements. If you are interested in this feature, please contact Square Support so we can activate it on your account.
You should only provide a customer email or mobile number if your customer has requested a digital payment confirmation. This email or mobile number will be used to automatically send your customer a digital payment confirmation of the transaction.
You can process refunds directly from the Transactions section of your online Square Dashboard or Square app in the same way as any other payment. Learn how to process a refund.
Team members need to have access to the online Square Dashboard to use Virtual Terminal. Should you prefer limiting their access to taking payments, follow these steps:
- Go to Team > Team Members from your online Square Dashboard.
- Click the name of the team member whose permissions you’d like to update.
- Click Edit Role.
- If it has not been checked already, toggle on Access Dashboard.
- Tick Take Payments with Virtual Terminal. If applicable, check Manage Customer’s Cards on File and Use Customer Directory and Feedback to allow this team member to save and charge cards on file using Virtual Terminal.
- Click Save.