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Sell Alcohol with Square Online

If you’re selling physical items or food and beverage items, you may sell alcohol with Square Online if permitted by law in your area. Learn more about how you can sell alcohol online with Square Online below.

Note: Please see the Square Terms of Service for more details on what you can sell through Square. Local and national regulations on the sale and distribution of alcohol change often and may vary at different levels. Be sure to stay updated on changes in your area and industry.

Before You Start Selling Alcohol Online

Before you start selling alcohol online, do some research to find out what is and is not permitted in your area. There may be additional licensing requirements or other restrictions related to selling alcohol online. If you have more questions, your local chamber of commerce may be able to help out.

Once you have all laws and regulations about the online sale of alcohol taken into account, you may start setting up your online alcohol sales with Square Online.

Alcohol Sales with On-Demand Delivery

On-Demand Delivery of alcohol is available in the following provinces:

Provinces

  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Manitoba
  • Ontario
  • Quebec

Note: For orders that contain alcohol, the stock levels for all items in the order are decremented at the time of successful age verification (and not at the time of successful payment).

Take a look at the steps for setting up On-Demand Delivery with alcohol deliveries.

Set up alcohol with On-Demand Delivery

If you have On-Demand Delivery enabled for Square Online, you may deliver items that contain alcohol. To set up alcohol with On-Demand Delivery:

  1. From your Account & Settings page, go to Fulfilment > Pickup & Delivery.
  2. Select Edit by the location you want to set up alcohol for.
  3. Go to the Delivery tab and be sure you’ve selected On-Demand Delivery.
  4. Indicate that you plan to deliver alcohol. Your customers will have to present ID to accept orders that include alcohol.
  5. Complete all other settings and select Save when finished.

Once alcohol is enabled for On-Demand Delivery, be sure to indicate which of your site items include alcohol to complete the setup.

Note: For orders that contain alcohol, the stock levels for all items in the order are decremented at the time of successful age verification (and not at the time of successful payment).

Add items that contain alcohol in Square Online

After setting up On-Demand Delivery for alcohol deliveries, you’ll need to indicate the site items in your catalog that contain alcohol. To add an item that contains alcohol in Square Online:

  1. From your Square Online Overview page, go to Items > Site Items.
  2. Select Create new item.
  3. Choose Physical or Prepared food and beverage from the Item Type menu.
  4. In the Fulfilment section, check that the item contains alcohol.
  5. Complete all other details and select Save when finished.

You may also update this for multiple items at once using the bulk editing method. Learn more about adding items and categories to Square Online.

Manage failed alcohol deliveries

If an adult of legal age or older isn’t home, or ID verification can’t be completed, On-Demand Delivery couriers will return orders that contain alcohol to the pickup location. A $4.25 + tax return delivery fee will be charged to you (which you can choose to pass on to customers). You can then issue a refund or contact the customer to arrange a pickup.

Charge an alcohol restock fee for returned items

You can charge customers a restocking fee for failed alcohol deliveries through On-Demand Delivery. To charge a restocking fee:

  1. From your Account & Settings page, go to Fulfilment > Pickup & Delivery.
  2. Select Advanced settings.
  3. Toggle on Restocking fee to charge customers the $4.25 + tax restocking fee for failed alcohol deliveries.
  4. Select Save when finished.

View On-Demand Delivery alcohol orders on Square POS

You can view On-Demand Delivery orders containing alcohol on Square POS, but in order to do so, you must update to the latest version of the Square POS app. Learn more about updating your app for Square POS.

Cancel orders that contain alcohol

You can cancel an order that contains alcohol from the Order Manager in both your Square POS and online Square Dashboard.

Note: At this time, you can only cancel an entire order (not individual items) that contains alcohol and has been pre-authorized. Pre-authorized means that the order is pending payment.

To cancel a pre-authorized Square Online order that contains alcohol from Square POS:

  1. From your Square POS, go to ≡ More > Orders.
  2. Select the order you’d like to cancel.
  3. Select Cancel Order.

To cancel a pre-authorized Square Online order that contains alcohol from Square Dashboard:

  1. From your Square Order Manager, select the order you’d like to cancel.
  2. Select Actions > Cancel Order.

Alcohol Sales with In-House Delivery

While Square Online does offer an In-House Delivery option for local delivery, the legal requirements for delivery of alcoholic beverages vary from one area to another. Unlike using On-Demand Delivery, with In-House Delivery, it is solely your responsibility to be aware of and comply with any local and national rules and regulations related to the delivery of alcohol. Learn more about In-House Delivery with Square Online.

Alcohol Sales with In-store and Curbside Pickup

You may offer in-store and curbside pickup for online sales of alcoholic beverages in accordance with your local laws and regulations. Learn more about in-store and curbside pickup with Square Online.

Alcohol Sales with Self-Serve Ordering

Note: Enable self-serve ordering by upgrading your Square Online site.

Take a look at the steps for setting up QR code ordering with alcohol.

Set up alcohol with self-serve ordering

If you have self-serve ordering enabled for Square Online, you may serve items that contain alcohol after a customer orders from their table or chair. To set up alcohol with self-serve ordering:

  1. Toggle on whether you intend to serve alcohol, and set an optional maximum quantity of alcoholic items that can be placed per order.
  2. Select Save when finished.

Once alcohol is enabled for self-serve ordering, be sure to indicate which of your site items include alcohol to complete the setup.

Add items that contain alcohol in Square Online

After setting up self-serve ordering for alcohol, you’ll need to indicate the site items in your catalogue that contain alcohol. To add an item that contains alcohol in Square Online:

  1. From your Square Online Overview page, go to Items > Site Items.
  2. Select Create new item.
  3. Choose Physical or Prepared food and beverage from the Item Type menu.
  4. In the Fulfilment section, check that the item contains alcohol.
  5. Complete all other details and select Save when finished.

Age Verification for Online Sales

Although you can add age verification pop-ups to your website, Square Online does not have a legally compliant age verification feature.

It is your responsibility to verify the legal age of your buyers when selling any goods or services that are subject to age restrictions when selling alcohol for in-store and curbside pickup, In-House Delivery or self-serve ordering.

When selling alcohol using On-Demand Delivery, the On-Demand Delivery courier will handle the age verification upon delivery.


Disclaimer: Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Consult a solicitor if you have questions about the sale and distribution of alcohol.

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