Connect Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal for In-Person Payments
You can now accept payments in person with Square Terminal, a wireless checkout terminal that integrates seamlessly with Virtual Terminal on your computer. If you’re new to Square Terminal, check out the Square Terminal Guide or visit Square Shop to purchase one.
Accept all payment types from your computer so you never miss a sale – both in person and remotely.
Streamline your business with free and easy-to-use tools. Print professional receipts via Square Terminal’s built-in printer and collect feedback from customers with every digital receipt issued.
Provide a safer payment option for your customers and your staff with separate devices for contactless payments. A wireless checkout terminal is easy to transport from table to table or can be kept on the front counter while the bill is sent from a computer in the back office or billing department.
Pay lower rates for in-person payments. Pay 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.
Note: Before getting started, check that your Square Terminal is up to date with Square Terminal troubleshooting tips. Be sure to access Virtual Terminal on a supported browser on your computer.
Connect Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal
Virtual Terminal on your computer can wirelessly connect to one Square Terminal or many Square Terminal devices at a time. Bear the following in mind before you start the setup process:
Ensure that your Square Terminal and computer are connected to a Wi-Fi or Ethernet network. Note: Your device and computer do not have to be on the same network, but both devices must be online.
Sign out on your Square Terminal before connecting to Virtual Terminal. You can sign out of Square Terminal by tapping on the three horizontal lines, then tapping Settings > Account > Sign out.
To connect Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal:
From your Square Dashboard on your computer, go to the Virtual Terminal Overview page.
In the menu on the left-hand side of the screen, navigate to Settings > Devices.
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If you already have a Square Terminal, select Add a device.
Note: If you don’t have a Square Terminal, select Shop Square Terminal to go to the purchase page. Return to the Virtual Terminal Overview page once you have your Square Terminal in hand and are ready for setup.
On the next screen, enter a custom nickname and location to associate with your Square Terminal and click Create.
The setup flow will generate a device code on the Virtual Terminal screen. Make a note of this device code, and grab your Square Terminal device to begin the next steps. You can reuse this same device code if you ever need to reconnect to your Square Terminal.
On your Square Terminal, tap Sign In > Use a Device Code.
Enter the new device code that you just created and tap Sign In.
Once the pairing is complete, the Square Terminal will display Powered by Square and the Virtual Terminal will display Square Terminal Paired. Click the X or Done to go back to the Devices page.
To view your recently paired Square Terminal:
Visit the Virtual Terminal Overview page on your Square Dashboard.
Click Devices. You’ll see a list of Square Terminals paired to your Virtual Terminal.
Take Payments in Person with Square Terminal Connected to Virtual Terminal
To begin, go to the Virtual Terminal Overview page from your online Dashboard, and click Take a Payment.
From the checkout screen, choose between taking an Itemised Sale or doing a Quick Charge to key in custom amounts.
Fill in your order details by adding items to your basket or selecting the charge amount. If applicable, add an optional note, select your reporting location and add a new or existing customer to the sale.
Under Payment Method, select your Square Terminal in the list of options. You should recognise the custom nickname you created during setup.
When you are ready to take the payment, press Charge. You will see a loading page on your computer that says ‘Customer is completing the transaction’.
At this time, the basket details will appear on the Square Terminal screen, allowing your customer to review and confirm the sale; add a tip; pay using tap, insert or swipe; and send or print a receipt.
If you entered a Quick Charge amount, your customer won’t be required to confirm the sale before they complete their payment on the Square Terminal.
Once your customer has paid, you will get a confirmation on your Virtual Terminal that the payment was successful.
You can view your transaction history, send receipts and issue refunds from the Transactions tab of your online Square Dashboard.
Receipt and Printing Options
Once a payment has been successfully processed, you’ll have a few different options to choose from on the Virtual Terminal page.
New sale: No receipt is sent.
Send receipt: Enter an email address or phone number for the receipt delivery method.
Print receipt: Print receipt to a printer connected to your computer that is not your connected Square Terminal.
Print receipt on [Device Nickname] Square Terminal: Print receipt to connected Square Terminal.
To reprint a receipt from your connected Square Terminal:
From your Square Dashboard, go to the Virtual Terminal Overview page.
Locate the transaction under your Activity.
Select the transaction to open up the details.
Select the three dots (...) and choose Print receipt on [Device Nickname].
Depending on your settings, the buyer will also have the option to print or receive a digital receipt.
Cancel Payments
If you want to cancel a payment, on the Square Terminal, select the X on the Add a tip? screen or the back arrow on the payment screen. You can also click on the X from the Virtual Terminal screen on your computer. If the cancellation is initiated on Square Terminal, you will see a notification on your computer that the customer has cancelled, and you’ll have the option to confirm the cancellation or review the sale information.
To complete the cancellation:
Click Cancel on the Virtual Terminal screen.
Then, review the basket and click Charge to send the sale to the Square Terminal so your customer can finish paying.
Configure Settings
From the ‘Powered by Square’ screen on the Square Terminal, swipe from the left-hand side of the screen to reveal the menu offering Checkout, Settings and Support.
Under Settings, you can configure your:
- Wireless network
- Display and sound options
- Accessibility for talkback or magnification
- Printer
- Other general settings, including date and time, device names and language.
You may want to disconnect your Square Terminal from Virtual Terminal and use it to take payments as a standalone point of sale. To do this, you’ll need to manually sign out of the Square Terminal:
- Swipe from the left-hand side of the screen to reveal the menu.
- Tap Settings > Sign Out, then tap Sign Out again to confirm.
Note: You can always reconnect Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal on your computer at any time by re-entering the same device code or generating a new one.
To edit the Square Terminal Devices & Terminal Checkout Settings from the Virtual Terminal Overview page on your Square Dashboard, select Settings > Devices.
Edit the Square Terminal nickname or location:
- On your list of devices, select the three dots next to the device you’d like to edit.
- Click Edit to edit the device name.
Note: To edit the linked device location or device code, you will need to unpair then repair the device under the new reporting location. A new device code will be generated.
Edit the Terminal Checkout flow to speed up checkout
- To skip the itemised basket screen, toggle on Skip receipt screen to skip the receipt selection screen. Digital receipts will be sent automatically to customers who have opted to receive them.
- To skip the receipt screen, toggle on Skip receipt screen to skip the receipt selection screen. Digital receipts will be sent automatically to customers who have opted to receive them.
You can assign which team members have access to using Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal for In-Person Payments. If you already use Team Permissions for your team members, visit Team Member Permissions on your Square Dashboard.
- Go to Staff > Team from the online Square Dashboard.
- Click Permissions, then choose the permission set that needs access to Virtual Terminal.
- Under the ‘Checkout’ permission, tick the box next to ‘Use Virtual Terminal’.
- While on the same permission set page, choose the ‘Account & Settings’ permission and toggle it on.
- Under the ‘Device’ subheading, tick the box next to ‘Create, edit and delete devices’.
- Click Continue and make sure Shared points of sale and Dashboard are selected as access points.
- Click Save.
Now your team members with this permission set are ready to take in-person payments using the Virtual Terminal and a connected Square Terminal. If you aren’t using Team Permissions yet, learn how to set roles and assign permissions for your team online.
FAQs
Refer to our Square Terminal Guide for more information, including a video tutorial.
Not at this time, but you can connect Virtual Terminal to Square Terminal.
Once you connect your Square Terminal to Virtual Terminal on the computer, the Square Terminal will show a status screen reading Ready to take a payment. You will still be able to change your settings and access support resources. You’ll need to disconnect your Square Terminal to take payments as a standalone point of sale, though.
1.75% + VAT for each contactless or chip and PIN payment accepted through Square Terminal or 2.5% + VAT for each manually entered payment through Virtual Terminal on the computer. Learn about Square’s Fees.
As long as your terminal and computer are both connected to the Internet (on the same or different networks), you can use them together to make sales – no matter how far apart they are.
If the normal steps to disconnect your device aren’t working, tap Settings > Sign Out > Sign Out. Then, hold down the power button on Square Terminal for about 15 seconds to factory reset it.
You can use Virtual Terminal to manage and track cash, cheques and other types of payments. There’s no fee to accept these other tender types – if you do, Square doesn’t process any funds and functions only as an organisational tool. Money for transactions involving cash or cheque payments exchanged directly between you and your customer will not be transferred by Square. Note: Cash drawers are not compatible with Virtual Terminal and cannot be used when processing in-person payments using Virtual Terminal with Square Terminal.
To troubleshoot this issue, double-check that both your Square Terminal and Virtual Terminal on your computer are connected to a Wi-Fi network.
If your Square Terminal is connected but the payment is still not processing, ensure that your Square Terminal is listed on your devices page for your Virtual Terminal. From the Virtual Terminal Overview page on your Square Dashboard, click Settings > Devices. Click the three dots to reveal the Edit and Deactivate menu options. Click on Edit to see the Edit Device screen. Here you can view the device code. Try logging out of your Square Terminal and then logging back in by entering this code.
Note: Your device must be listed as Paired to accept baskets sent from Virtual Terminal.
Lastly, it’s always a good idea to try to restart your Square Terminal. Hold down the button on the left-hand side of the Square Terminal to reveal the Power off and Restart menu items. Tap Restart.