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Get Started with Square for Retail on Square Terminal

You can now power your business with the Square for Retail POS on Square Terminal, a compact payments device with a built-in printer. Square for Retail has two plans – Free and Plus – and when you sign up you’ll have access to a suite of tools and reports designed specifically for retail businesses.

Features

  • Speed: Quickly check out customers, process exchanges and returns (including cross-location returns) and create orders with a POS designed for retailers.

  • Customisable item grid: Personalize your POS for faster checkout with customisable tiles, catalogues and page layouts. The item grid syncs to all devices assigned to a location, however team members can’t set up an individual item grid. 

  • Portability: With a handheld POS solution, you can efficiently process sales from anywhere. You can also add new checkout stations and keep queues moving with a space-saving payments device.

  • Discounted processing rates: Enjoy lower processing rates for in-person sales if you subscribe to Square for Retail Plus.

Set up Square Terminal

If you don’t see Square for Retail POS upon sign-in, your Square Terminal may need an update. Learn how to set up your Square Terminal to take payments with Square for Retail.

Checkout Features

Search bar

From the Checkout screen, quickly locate items by tapping the search bar to type in items, customers, discounts or saved baskets.

Add customer

Tap the search bar and search or tap Customers to filter and view existing customer.

You can also create or add a customer by tapping Add customer from the Basket screen.

Basket actions

From the Checkout screen, tap View basket, then tap ••• to access basket actions such as hide customer info, edit fulfilment method, view saved baskets, add custom amount, sell or check gift card or redeem customer reward. You can also tap Clear basket if the customer changes their mind. Note Hide customer info and view saved cart options will only appear if you’ve added a customer to the sale.

Set fulfilment

When adding an item to the basket, select ‘In-Store’, ‘Shipment’ or ‘Pickup’ as the fulfilment method. All items are defaulted to fulfil in-store, but you can easily create an order by setting it up for delivery or pickup.

All items in the basket must follow the same fulfilment method.

Custom amounts and Variable prices

If your items have variable prices or if you haven’t set up your item library, you can enter custom amounts by tapping View basket > ••• > Add custom amount > type in the amount, then tap Done.

For variable priced items, use the search bar or select the item from the item grid to locate the item. Tap the variable, set the price, then tap Done.

Fractional quantities

Fractional quantities allow you to sell products by different weight or other measurement as set by your item. Common use cases include selling fabric by the metre, tomatoes by the gram, wine by the litre or cashews by the kilo.

To manually add the quantity on an item:

  1. Tap View basket then select the item.
  2. Tap the variation to set the quantity, then tap Done.
  3. Continue the checkout flow or tap Checkout to complete the payment.

Redeem reward

If your customer is eligible for a reward from your Square Loyalty programme:

  1. Tap View cart > ••• > Redeem reward.
  2. Tap Use code then enter the six-digit code.
  3. Tap the customer, then choose the applicable reward to Redeem. To remove this reward, tap Undo.
  4. Once applied, tap Add to basket.

Apply discounts

To apply a discount to the entire basket, tap the Search bar and tap Discounts on the Checkout screen.

When the customer is ready to pay and you need to add discounts to particular items in their basket, simply swipe left on the item and then tap Apply discount before tapping Charge.

Returns and exchanges

To process a return or exchange:

  1. Tap Transactions from your navigation menu.
  2. Locate the payment or search the receipt or card number used on the original transaction.
  3. Select the payment to exchange, then tap Return or exchange.
  4. Follow the prompts on screen, including restock options.
  5. Tap Add returns to basket > Refund. To exchange item(s), tap Add items to make an exchange.

Item-Level Features

Updating item level notes, sales taxes and other functions is made easy by tapping on the item and scrolling to the bottom of the item page.

Tax configurations

To configure sales tax per item:

  1. Tap an item from the Checkout or Basket screen.
  2. Scroll to the ‘Taxes and Discounts’ section, then tap the sales tax.
  3. Select/deselect the relevant taxes, then tap Done.
  4. Tap Add to basket, then continue the checkout flow.

Add note

Notes are visible to the customer and can be used to communicate item specific callouts such as gift wrap offerings or item care instructions.

Adjust price

To adjust the price of items at checkout:

  1. Tap an item from the Checkout or Basket screen.
  2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Adjust price.
  3. Enter the adjusted price, then tap Done.
  4. Tap Update in basket to confirm, then continue the checkout flow.

Add to favourites

You can also Add to favourites so the item appears in a favourites list and makes it easier for you and your staff to locate at checkout.

Stock lookup

To view item availability at any retail location:

  1. Tap an item from the Checkout or Basket screen.
  2. Scroll to view ‘Stock at this location’ and (if applicable) ‘Other locations’.
  3. Check other locations by distance, in-stock availability or by name.

Stock adjustments

To receive or adjust stock:

  1. Tap an item from the Checkout or Basket screen.
  2. From here, you can view ‘Stock at this location’.
  3. If there is no stock recorded, tap Receive stock to add a stock count.
  4. If there is >0 stock, tap the number to select a reason for adjustment and enter the updated count.

Menu Features

From the ≡ More section of the Square for Retail app on Square Terminal, you still have the same access to view your entire transaction history, dive into your reports or have a quick glance at your balance – just like you would on any device. 

Square Terminal and Retail FAQs

Are there additional costs to use Square for Retail on Square Terminal?

No. Square for Retail has two plans, Free and Plus, both of which can be used on Square Terminal. Square for Retail Free is free to use while Square for Retail Plus has a monthly fee. Compare both plans to see which solution is best for your business. To experience Square for Retail, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial of Retail Plus. After your trial ends, you can upgrade your plan or continue with Retail Free.

Can I use the regular Square Point of Sale and Square for Retail Free or Plus on my Square Terminal at the same time?

Compare Square Point of Sale and Square for Retail to see which solution is best for your business. You can use both Square Point of Sale and Square for Retail Free or Plus on your Square Terminal, but you can’t use them at the same time. To switch between the two, you’ll need to log out of Square Point of Sale and sign in to Square for Retail, and vice versa.

How can I adjust my settings for Square for Retail on Square Terminal?

Many settings for Square for Retail, including those for cash management and passcodes, are not available to be directly adjusted on your Square Terminal, but can be accessed through Device Settings on your online Square Dashboard.

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