Get Started with Virtual Terminal
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Square’s Virtual Terminal gives you the option to record card, cash and other tender transactions – all on your computer. There are a few ways to accept card payments with Virtual Terminal:
Manually-entered payments for 2.5% + VAT per transaction.
Card on File payments for 2.5% + VAT per transaction.
In-person payments when you connect Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal for 1.75% + VAT per transaction.
Learn more about how processing fees and rates work.
Take Payments with Virtual Terminal
To start taking payments with Virtual Terminal, log in to your online Square Dashboard and select Payments > Virtual Terminal. This will take you to the Virtual Terminal Overview page.
Learn how to navigate the Virtual Terminal Overview page in Dashboard.
Manually enter payments from a computer
To manually enter a payment using a computer, please follow the directions below:
From the Virtual Terminal Overview page, select Take a Payment.
Select Quick Charge to charge your customer a single euro amount or Itemised Sale to add an item, modifier, discount and tax to the sale. You’re also able to apply taxes, discounts and tips using Itemised Sale.
Add an optional note to the sale.
Under Payment Method, select Manually Enter Card.
Enter the card details provided by your customer.
Click Charge.
Accept Cash and Other Tender with Virtual Terminal
To keep your payment records in one place, you can use Virtual Terminal to track cash and other types of payments such as cheques.
There’s no fee to accept other tender types. When you accept other tender types, Square doesn’t process any funds and functions only as an organisational tool. Money for these transactions is exchanged directly between you and your customer and will not be transferred by Square.
To accept cash and other tender payments, please follow the directions below:
From the Virtual Terminal Overview page, select Take a Payment.
Select Quick Charge to charge your customer a single dollar amount or Itemised Sale to add an item, modifier and discount to the sale.
Add an optional note to the sale.
Under Payment Method, select Record Cash Payment or Record Other Payment.
Click Charge.
After you see Payment Successful, you’re all set and can print or send a digital receipt to your customer via email or text message.
Note: You can manage taxes under the Items > Sales Tax section of the online Square Dashboard.
Accept Square eGift Cards with Virtual Terminal
To accept eGift cards with Virtual Terminal, enter the eGift card information manually when your customer is ready to pay.
If there are insufficient funds on the eGift card, you can use Split Tender to complete the sale.
Note: After a sale, any remaining eGift card balance will display on the receipt screen and on your customer’s receipt.
Accept Split Tender Payments with Virtual Terminal
You are able to split a transaction into multiple payments of any tender in Virtual Terminal. When checking out a customer using Virtual Terminal:
Enter a payment amount and add any discounts if required.
Add an optional note to the sale and select the reporting location.
Under Payment, click Split Payment.
Enter the first payment amount. You can select from Manually Entered Card, Manually Entered Gift Card, Record Cash Payment or Record Other Payment.
Enter the card details and press Charge. If the payment failed, you can review the payment details to try again.
Click Pay Remaining to continue processing the additional tender types until the entire sale has been completed.
You also have the option to edit the split or cancel a completed payment should you need to change the amount or payment method. If you cancel one of the payment methods, ensure you complete the sale otherwise it will be voided entirely. To cancel, click Edit Split in the top right corner of the page.
Continue processing the split payment amounts until the entire sale has been completed. You can send the customer a digital receipt via email for the completed sale.
Note: The Add Tip feature can't be used when splitting payments at this time.
Customise Transaction ID on Your Customer’s Statements
When a customer makes a purchase from a Square seller, the transaction will show on their billing statement with an identification descriptor. By default, these descriptors begin with SQ followed by BUSINESS_NAME.
Virtual Terminal has a customisable Statement Identification field to personalise this descriptor per order. Simply enter your 20-character descriptor during checkout to help your customer easily identify a past transaction at your business.
If you are interested in this feature, please reach out to us so that we can activate it on your account.
Save Customer Information with Virtual Terminal
Square’s Customer Directory and Card on File features make it easier to save and charge returning customers using your online Square Dashboard.
When you accept a payment using Virtual Terminal, you’ll be given the option to save the customer’s name and payment card to their profile in your Customer Directory for future payments. You’re also able to securely store a customer’s card on file from your Customer Directory.
Learn more about managing team member permissions.
- Take a payment with Virtual Terminal using the steps outlined above.
- Once completed, locate the transaction in the Transactions tab of your online Square Dashboard.
- Press the three dots and select Add Customer to search or create a new customer.
- Save by clicking Add Customer.
This payment will be included in the customer’s directory profile.
- Take a payment with Virtual Terminal using the steps outlined above.
- Once completed, visit the Customer Directory in your online Square Dashboard.
- Search or create a new customer > press the three dots next to Card on File > Add Card.
- Enter their full name as displayed on the payment card and their email address.
- Enter their card number and details, including expiry date and CVV.
- Click Download Authorisation Form > print, fill in and have the customer sign the authorisation. Keep on file for as long as you store their payment card data.
At this point, this customer’s card will be stored to their profile in your Customer Directory.
- From the Virtual Terminal Overview page, select Take a Payment.
- Enter the payment amount and any discounts or notes.
- Select the Customer > Customer Card on File should appear as the Payment Method.
- Confirm the last 4 digits of the card with the buyer to ensure that the card is still valid.
- Click Charge.
Recurring Payments with Virtual Terminal
Streamline and automate your recurring payments right from your computer with Virtual Terminal. Save time, get paid on time, improve your cash flow and enhance customer relationships by easily scheduling recurring quick-charge or itemised sales for your repeat customers.
The only requirement to schedule your first recurring payment is to add or charge a customer’s Card on File. The processing fee for charging a Card on File is 2.5% + VAT per transaction.
- From the Virtual Terminal Overview page, select Take a Payment.
- Select Quick Charge to charge a custom amount, or Itemised Sale to add an item, modifier, discount and tax to the sale.
- Add a Customer Card on File or select an existing one.
- Click Make this a recurring payment.
- Select a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly interval, and add a unit – such as every two weeks or every three months.
6.Choose whether to end the recurring series on a specific date, after a certain number of payments or never. - Click Save.
- Review the recurring payment details, then click Charge to confirm.
Your customer will receive a digital receipt for this and all subsequent recurring charges.
Note: The first charge in the recurring series will occur immediately in Virtual Terminal. All subsequent charges will occur via recurring invoices.
Learn more about scheduling recurring payments with Virtual Terminal.
You can view and manage your recurring payments at any time from your online Square Dashboard.
- Sign in to the Invoices section of your online Square Dashboard.
- Click the Recurring tab on the left panel.
- Select a recurring series from the list to view, edit or cancel.
Give a Team Member Access to Use Virtual Terminal
You can configure your Team Management settings to grant access to Virtual Terminal. Before you can get started, you’ll need to create at least one team member.
Team members who wish to save customer information and charge a card on file using Virtual Terminal must have the following permissions enabled for their permission set:
View, Edit, Create and Delete Customer Directory Data
Add and Remove Customer Cards on File
Use Virtual Terminal
To give a team member access to Virtual Terminal:
Visit Staff > Team > Permissions in your online Square Dashboard.
Select the permission set the team member is assigned to.
Check Use Virtual Terminal. If applicable, check Add and Remove Customer Cards on File and View, Edit, Create and Delete Customer Directory Data to allow this team member to save and charge cards on file using Virtual Terminal.
Click Continue > Select the access points at which the team member can use their permissions.
Save.
Note: Changes made to permission sets apply to all team members assigned to that permission set. Learn more about managing permission sets and permissions.
After you grant Virtual Terminal access to your team member, they will receive an email with instructions for setting up their account. Team members will be able to see only the account elements for which you have granted access.
Note: Permissions are only available through Square’s Team Management.
Fees
The fee for transactions manually processed through Virtual Terminal is 2.5% + VAT per transaction. The same fee applies to Virtual Terminal payments accepted using a card on file.
The fee for in-person payments when you connect Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal is 1.75% + VAT for every contactless or chip and PIN transaction. Pay 2.5% + VAT when you key in a credit or debit card number manually.
Learn more about Square’s processing fees.