Home>Hardware

Set Up Hardware with Square for Retail

What’s in this article?

You can use supported hardware with your Square for Retail point of sale to run your business – giving you an all-in-one countertop solution. Square for Retail Free and Square for Retail Plus are compatible with iPad and iPhone. With Square Stand, you can connect your iPad to a cash drawer, receipt printer and barcode scanner to equip your business with a full POS setup.

Note: At this time, you will not be able to use either Retail app with Android mobile devices.

Set Up Hardware

USB Connection

To set up hardware from Square for Retail Free or Square for Retail Plus:

  1. Sign in to the Square for Retail app.

  2. Tap the three horizontal lines on your Square Point of Sale app.

  3. Tap Settings > Hardware.

Note: If you’re using a Square Stand to connect your compatible USB receipt printers, cash drawers and barcode scanners, just insert the USB plug directly into the USB hardware hub – your hardware will automatically connect. Just make sure you’re signed into the Retail app with a device code.

Bluetooth Connection

With the exception of the Square Reader which connects through the Retail app, all other Bluetooth devices will need to be connected through your iPad settings. Read more about setting up Bluetooth hardware with your iPador setting up with your iPhone.

Create Printer Station

You can create a printer station from the Retail app to limit which printers connect to specific points of sale.

To create a printer station:

  1. Tap the three horizontal lines on your Square Point of Sale app.

  2. Tap Settings > Hardware > Printers.

  3. Tap Create Printer Station.

  4. Name your printer (for example, “Front Register”), enable Receipts, Bills, Reports, Order Tickets or Order Ticket Stubs. Choose to Automatically Print Receipts to automatically print at checkout to bypass the receipt screen. Note: This will disable digital receipts but tap on the Transactions tab to resend a receipt.

  5. Tap Save.

Compatible Hardware

Square Stand

The Square Stand securely holds your iPad in place and swivels so that your customer can review the payment total, sign and enter their receipt information for delivery by email or text.

You can purchase the Square Stand from the Square Shop. Once you have your Square Stand, just insert your iPad and start taking payments. The Square Stand includes a USB port to directly connect a supported receipt printer, cash drawer and barcode scanner.

Read more about setting up your Square Stand, as well as recommended hardware to create your point of sale station.

Printers, Cash Drawers and Barcode Scanners

View a full list of compatible hardware to start using your Retail point of sale. Keep in mind, the Retail app is only available for iPad and iPhone.

Barcode Printer

An essential piece of hardware for many retail sellers is a barcode printer. With Square for Retail Plus, you can generate and print barcodes directly from the online Square Dashboard. Note: Barcode printing is not available with Square for Retail Free.

Learn more about printing labels with Square for Retail Plus – including compatible label sizes and how to generate and print barcodes from your online Square Dashboard.

Square Reader

To process your customer’s card quickly and securely, you can use the Square Reader. If you have a free USB connection on your Square Stand, you can plug the reader directly into the USB hardware hub by using the Dock for your contactless and chip card reader. Once you connect, you should see your reader appear automatically with the status Ready.

If you don’t have available space on the USB hardware hub, not to worry! The Square Reader can connect to the Retail app through Bluetooth. You’ll need to connect the reader through the Retail app, not through your iPad settings.

To connect the reader via Bluetooth:

  1. Open the Retail app and tap the three horizontal lines.

  2. Tap Settings > Hardware > Card readers.

  3. Tap Connect a Reader.

  4. Put your reader into pairing mode by pressing the button on the back of the reader for 3-10 seconds.

  5. Remove your finger as soon as you see orange flashing lights. If you see red flashing lights, you’ve held the button too long and you’ll need to try again.

If you run into any issues, review troubleshooting steps to help resolve most problems with connecting the contactless and chip card reader.

What’s in this article?