Get Started with Online Checkout in Square POS and Terminal
Use Square Online Checkout links in your Square Point of Sale to let customers pay you instantly – whether you’re selling in-store, online or via social media. You can download and print a custom QR code to direct your customers to your payment links, offering a simple, contactless payment solution that will allow your customers to self-serve.
There is no monthly fee for using Square Online Checkout links. You’ll only pay Square standard eCommerce processing fee of 2.2% per transaction.
For more instructions on setting up and managing Online Checkout links on your online Square Dashboard, check out getting started with Square Online Checkout links.
Create a Checkout Link
You can start accepting payments with Online Checkout through your Square Point of Sale or Square Terminal. You can create checkout links for the following options:
Collect payments – to accept money for goods or services.
Buyer entered payments – to accept an amount of the customer’s choice.
Items – to accept money for items in your Item library.
Donations – to allow a donor to enter an amount of their choice.
You can create a checkout link from your Square Point of Sale app or Terminal or the Online Checkout add-on.
To create a checkout link from your Square Point of Sale app or Terminal:
- Tap ≡ More and select Online Checkout.
Note: If Online Checkout does not appear in More, add it to your Point of Sale app by tapping ≡ More > Add-ons > Online Checkout > Add to Point of Sale. - Tap Create Link in the Online Checkout section.
- Select the “Link purpose” by choosing Collect a payment, Sell an item, or Accept a donation.
- Enter a name for your link that will be displayed to the customer.
- If prompted, enter the amount you want to charge.
- Tap Save.
- Have your customer scan the QR code with their phone, or share the link through text, email, or social media. On Square Terminal and Register, you can choose Send Link via Text or Show QR Code.
To create a checkout link from the Online Checkout add-on, you need to add the Online Checkout add-on to your Point of Sale app.
- From your Point of Sale, go to Add-ons.
- Under “Add-ons for Point of Sale,” select Online Checkout > Install add-on.
Now, you can create a checkout link from the add-on.
- From your Point of Sale home screen, tap Online Checkout.
- Select the type of link you want to create: Collect a payment, Sell an item, or Accept a donation.
- Add the details to your link that your customers will see, including the name of your link and the amount. You can also add an optional description.
- Turn on tipping, create a custom field, or allow the buyer to set the price by checking the corresponding boxes.
- Review your checkout link details, then tap Save.
Your customer can now scan the QR code with their phone, or you can share the link through text, email, or social media
You can also create links through the edit item page.
Note: Link creation via the Item Catalogue is not available for Square Terminal.
Square Online Checkout links are only available for domestic sales. If you’d like to sell online internationally or create a fully customisable eCommerce website, learn more about getting started with Square Online.
Print a QR Code
Once you’ve created an Online Checkout link, you can print a QR code to let your customers make a touch-free and self-serve payment. To print a QR Code from your Square Point of Sale app:
In your menu, go to Settings and select Online Checkout.
Create a link, or select a link that you’ve already created.
From your link share page, select Actions > Print QR Code.
Select your QR code size and print details.
Tap Print, and choose your printer. You can also save your QR code as a PDF for printing later.
Buyer Entered Payments
To allow customers to enter custom amounts for Online Checkout links in the Square Point of Sale app:
In your menu, go to Settings and select Online Checkout.
Tap Create link > Collect payments.
Name your link.
Toggle on Allow buyer to enter amount.
Tap Save.