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Get Started with Square for Retail

Ready to set up your retail point of sale with Square? Get started >

Square for Retail streamlines your business – so your sales, inventory, purchase orders, customer directory and reports are integrated. The Square for Retail app works with your online Square Dashboard, along with iPad and iPhone, Square Terminal and Square Register, so connecting the dots (while optimising your business’s profitability) has never been easier. With Square for Retail, you have two subscription options:

  • Square for Retail Free at no monthly cost

  • Square for Retail Plus at €49 per month, per location.

Some features may be unavailable to sellers using Square for Retail Free. Learn more about the differences between Square for Retail Free and Square for Retail Plus or sign up for a free 30-day trial to see which features are best suited to your business.

Sign up for Square for Retail

If you’re brand new to Square, explore the Square Basics to get comfortable with our ecosystem and tick a few essentials off your to-do list:

If you don’t have an existing Square account, you can also sign up directly for Square for Retail.

Square for Retail Features

Begin by logging in to your online Square Dashboard and setting up your item library with details such as unit types (kilograms, grams, etc.), unit precision up to the hundredths (.00) or thousandths place (.000) and unit costs. You can also generate device codes and create barcode labels. Note: While PLU barcodes are supported for items with decimal quantities, variable price-embedded barcodes are not yet supported.

  • Export/Import Item Library: Take bulk actions on your item library and stock.

  • Import Unit Costs: Import missing unit costs. If you’re importing your stock for the first time with Square for Retail, the stock intake action will reflect as Received. If you’ve imported your item library before, your stock intake will be considered a Recount.

  • Item Options: Quickly create and organise item variations by combining item options.

  • Auto-SKU Generation: Automatically generate SKUs for your item variations through your item library and during the barcode label creation process.

  • Create and Print Barcode Labels: You can generate barcode labels directly from your online Square Dashboard.

  • Reach Customers: Let customers know about upcoming sales and promotions with Square Email Marketing.

Square for Retail POS App

The Retail POS app is your full front-of-house POS solution.

Learn more about the differences between Square for Retail Free and Square for Retail Plus.

Hardware

Square Register

Square Register - Square for Retail POS - Checkout

Once you’ve purchased Square Register to setup a full POS countertop station, follow the steps below:

If you’re using Square for Retail POS on Square Register for the first time, sign in using your email and password and create or select an existing profile. If you choose to create a device code, you can sign in by tapping Device Code in the top corner of the Square Register screen. Then you can start accepting payments.

If this is your first time using the Square Register and you’ve already completed setup, make sure to check for an update by tapping Configure Device > General > About Register > Software Update. You must be on version 3.26 or higher to log into Square for Retail.

Note: Square Register checks for an update every 15 minutes. If you don’t see an update right away and your current version is lower than 3.26, make sure your device is connected to the Internet and wait several more minutes for an update to appear.

If you have already been accepting payments on Square Register using Square Point of Sale, simply sign out of Square Register. Next, sign in using your email and password and select Square for Retail. You can also create a Retail device code from your online Square Dashboard to sign in and start taking payments.

Learn how to get started with Square for Retail on Square Register.

Square Terminal

You can now use Square for Retail POS on Square Terminal. Visit the following support articles to get started:

Square Reader

If you’re using a standalone iOS device such as an iPad or iPhone, you can download the Square for Retail App for iOS, create a device code to sign in, pair a Square Reader then start taking payments.

Note: The free Square for Retail POS App is supported by iPads and iPhones running iOS 14 or higher.

Access the Setup Guide

Once you sign up for a Square for Retail account and sign in to the app, you can access the Setup Guide. If you haven’t completed the primary setup steps, you can do so through the Setup Guide, as well as explore guided walkthroughs, tutorials, and advanced setup steps. You’ll also see a tracker at the top of the Setup Guide and/or Checkout screen that shows your setup progress.

To dismiss the Setup Guide, tap ••• in the top-right corner of the guide, and select Dismiss Setup Guide. This will remove the Setup Guide tracker from your Checkout screen, but you can easily access it any time after you dismiss it.

  • If you’re using Square for Retail on your iPhone, tap ≡ Menu at the bottom right side of the app screen, and tap Support > Tutorials > Setup Guide.
  • If you’re using Square for Retail on your iPad, tap ≡ Menu at the bottom left side of the app screen, and tap Support > Tours and Tutorials > Setup Guide.

Note: Setup Guide is not currently available for Square Terminal or Square Register, but you can access the same checklist directly from your online Square Dashboard.

Team Management

Your Square for Retail subscription includes unlimited team member profiles with Team Management, which you can set up via the Team section of your online Square Dashboard.

  • Team Members: Create individual team member profiles and track time using Timecards.

  • Set Roles and Assign Permissions: With Square’s Team Permissions you are able to customise each of your team member's permissions and access to your Square account.

Backend Inventory and Ordering

Square for Retail is geared towards businesses with more inventory and ordering needs. You’ll have access to these important tools:

  • Vendor Management: Create vendors with associated items, assign a vendor cost (unit cost for specific vendors) and view each vendor specific item library.

  • Purchase Orders: Purchase orders allow you to request and receive stock from vendors and track partial receives.

  • Bulk Receive Stock: Bulk receiving stock allows you to quickly scan or enter your inventory via Square for Retail on iOS.

View Square for Retail Reports

Commission Rates with Retail Plus

Square allows you to assign unique commission rates to each of your team members, giving more experienced team members a higher rate and less experienced team members a lower rate for services. Learn more about setting up commission tracking.