Square for Retail POS App Actions and Defaults
Get the most out of the Square for Retail POS app – learn the best ways to find items, apply discounts, create customers and build your basket.
Note: Some features may be unavailable to sellers using Square for Retail Free or either version of Square for Retail on Mobile (iPhone). Learn more about the differences between Square for Retail Free and Square for Retail Plus.
Sign In
To start using the Retail app, sign in with your email and password or create a device code to customize your point of sale and sign in.
Checkout
From the Navigation menu, the Checkout tab is where you can build your basket and accept your customer’s payment.
Search
Search through your item library, customers and discounts.
Quick Tiles

Items: Search by item category, then drill down to specific items.
Customers: Create a customer from the Retail app. Customers will be added to your customer directory online. You can also add a customer to a basket to associate the sale with their profile. Learn how to create customer groups and identify customers at your counter with QR codes.
Discounts: Apply percentage or whole euro discounts.
Saved Baskets: Add items and save a basket to check out later.
Favourites List
The Favourites List gives you access to your most popular items in one tap, so there’s no need to manually search for every sale.
Tap Add Favourite.
Search or scroll to locate your most popular items. Select each item you would like to add to your Favourites List.
Tap Save.
Actions Menu
The Actions menu is your back-of-house – it’s where you’ll find your application actions and settings. From the Actions menu, you have access to a number of Square for Retail features.
Clear Basket: Clears all contents from the basket view.
Add Custom Amount: Add a custom dollar amount to the sale without adding an item.
Sell or Check Gift Card: Set up, load and sell gift cards with just a few taps.
Redeem Reward: If you send a marketing campaign with a discount or free item incentive, you can enter your customer’s reward code here.
Open Cash Drawer (No Sale): Open a cash drawer without completing a cash sale.
Note: When using Square for Retail on Mobile, tap ••• to access the Actions menu.
Service Charges
You can create a service charge from your online Square Dashboard and then instantly add a service charge to any purchase during checkout from the Square for Retail app on iOS devices. Learn more about applying a service charge with Square.
Transactions
Manually search through your transaction history, search by receipt number or enter your customer’s card number to locate a payment. You can also issue a new receipt or process a return or exchange.
Note: Exchanges are only available with Square for Retail Plus, but can be done on iPad, iPhone, Square Terminal and Square Register.
Inventory
The Inventory section of your Retail Plus app provides you with the ability to take certain actions on your stock, across all compatible devices (iPhone, iPad, Square Terminal and Square Register). From checking stock levels to receiving stock, inventory management functions that were previously only available through your online Square Dashboard are now available directly through your point of sale.
Receive Stock: Receive or adjust item stock in-app by searching or scanning.
Filter/Sort: Filter items by category and/or location and sort them by different criteria.
Purchase Orders: Receive, adjust, create or review purchase orders.
Orders
Once you set up your Square Online site, you can accept and manage orders directly from the Square for Retail app.
Items
Although you can add items to your basket from the Checkout tab, you’ll need to head to the Main Menu to create items, categories, modifiers or discounts from the Retail app.
Invoices
View, draft, send or manage Square Invoices.
Reports
Cash Drawer Management
With Square for Retail, you can use Cash Management to help you keep track of cash sales and consolidate your reporting. Note: Cash Management is not available with Square for Retail Mobile (on iPhone).
Current Drawer: Start your cash drawer for the day, pay in/out cash exchanges outside of a transaction and end your drawer to generate a cash sales report.
Drawer History: View the date, time, the employee who ended the drawer, total cash sales and refunds.
Sales
Overview of your sales – filter by team member, date or device to gain insights into inventory performance at a glance.
Transfers
Review your transfers from Square. The Balance tab will reflect active sales, pending transfers and sent transfers.
Loyalty
See a breakdown of your Square Loyalty programme. Dive deep into customer analytics, such as the number of customers enrolled in Loyalty, average visits and the average amount spent per visit.
Settings
Manage Favourites List: You can add, rearrange or remove items to and from your Favourites List.
Setup Hardware: Connect or manage your supported third-party hardware.
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Sign Out: Log out of the Retail app.
Team members will see Logout with their initials on the Navigation menu. When team members tap their initials, the passcode and clock in/out page will appear.
Support
Specs: Learn about your hardware and software versions.
Help: Review our Support Centre documentation.
Legal: Review the Square Seller Agreement or Privacy Policy.
Once you’re familiar with the Square for Retail app, you can learn more about processing your customer’s payment.