Use Square Online as a Food and Beverage Business FAQ
Review answers to frequently asked questions about Square Online if you own a food and beverage business of any size.
Getting Started
Is Square Online a good tool for my food and beverage business?
Yes. Square Online is a great tool for showcasing your food and beverage business online. Customers can interact with your menu, place an order and set it up for pickup or local delivery.
You can also use Square Online if you have a Square for Restaurants subscription. Learn more about Square for Restaurants.
How can I learn more about Square Online?
To learn more about Square Online, take a look at getting started with Square Online.
How can I effectively build a website for my food and beverage business?
Learn more details with this video, or see how to navigate the Square Online site editor.
In the site editor, you can create pages and navigation, add a logo to your site, and adjust colours and fonts for branding.
Can I use Square Online if I have an existing website?
Yes. Learn more about how to use Square Online with an existing website.
Does Square Online integrate or work with social media?
Yes. You can set up your food and beverage items with Facebook Shops to sell on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about how to connect Square Online to Facebook and Instagram.
How can I spread the word about my website?
Here are some suggestions to help you grow your website traffic:
- Spread the word: Tell your customers, family and friends about your site.
- Optimise for search engines: Make sure people can find your website or items when they search online by following our Ultimate SEO Guide.
- Update regularly: Keep your website content fresh with blog-style Stories to give visitors a reason to come back.
- Use your social networks: Post your site to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn or other social networks whenever you update your content. You can even connect Square Online to Facebook and Instagram to make your online store items shoppable on those networks.
- Promote your site: Add a link to your email signature, and include a link to your site when you post to forums or comment on articles.
- Start an email newsletter: Use newsletter sign-up pop-ups on your site as a tool to bring visitors back to your website, and continue email promotions with email marketing.
- Get reciprocal links: Swap links with other websites that have a similar audience to drive free, qualified traffic. Join our Seller Community to get connected with other sellers that also use Square Online.
Setting Up Your Food and Beverage Business Online
How do I set up my menu items?
Learn more details with this video, or see how to add items and categories in Square Online. You can also learn more about selling food online.
To highlight certain items on your menu, try using a featured items section for your menu items.
Can I set up multiple locations with Square Online?
Yes. If you have multiple locations, when your customers place an order online, they can specify the location.
Can I manually set up categories in Square Online?
Yes. From your Square Online Overview page, go to Items > Site Categories, and select Add Category. Give your new category a name, and add any items you want to include by selecting Choose items.
Learn more about adding items and categories in Square Online.
Will Square Gift Cards work on Square Online?
Yes. If a customer has a Square Gift Card associated with your business, they’ll be able to apply their balance during the checkout flow.
Will customers who place an order through my Square Online site be added to my customer directory?
Yes. Customers who place orders on your site will be added to a list in your Customer Directory. Learn more about Customer Directory.
Orders, Fulfilment and Payments
How do I set up my checkout page?
You can set up the checkout page for your Square Online site in your Square Online Overview page in Settings > Checkout or Shared Settings > Checkout. Learn more about checkout settings and options in Square Online.
Can I view orders from the Square app?
Yes. When a customer places an order, you’ll receive an in-app notification, and you can accept and update an order’s progress as you prepare and finish the order.
To manage your Square Online orders, go to your Order Manager in your Square POS or online Square Dashboard by navigating to Orders.
How do I set up pickup and local delivery?
Learn more details with this video, or see how to set up in-store and curbside pickup, or In-House Delivery in Square Online.
Additionally, learn best practices for local delivery through Square Online.
Why are my customers only seeing the option to have an item shipped?
By default, each item fulfilment is set to shipping in Square Online. To change the fulfilment type, change it for each item individually, or use the bulk editing method.
How do I print an order?
To print kitchen order tickets that come from Square Online with a compatible printer, first ensure you’ve completed the setup for pickup and local delivery. Once complete, automatically print new orders from Square Online by following these steps:
In your Square POS menu, navigate to Settings > Orders > Alerts.
Toggle on Allow Alerts.
Under Frequency, set it to Immediately.
In the Square POS menu, navigate to Settings > Orders > Print orders.
Toggle on Automatically Print New Orders.
Order Tickets will display order details specific to the order (e.g. pickup or delivery). Learn more about printing kitchen order tickets, and setting up printed tickets for Orders in Square POS.
Why didn’t I receive a notification when my customer placed an order?
Depending on your email provider, notifications will sometimes be filtered to your spam folder. Double-check your spam folder, and add the following email addresses to your contacts:
Why can’t my customers place an order if I’ve marked an item as available?
If your items display as Unavailable, or don’t appear at all on your Square Online site, there are a few things to consider that could be the cause. Learn more about troubleshooting non-visible items in Square Online.
Will customers receive my customised digital receipts for online purchases?
When a customer places an order through Square Online, they’ll receive a receipt from the Square Online site only. These can be customised in the store emails section of your Square Online Overview page. Learn more about customising store emails in Square Online.
You can also send a customer a digital receipt with Square at any time from your Square app or online Square Dashboard.