Get Started with Square for Retail
Square for Retail — your entire business on one retail POS system
Square for Retail is your smart partner to connect every tool that keeps your business moving — so you can shape what’s next.
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, iPhone, Square Terminal and Square Register, so connecting the dots (while optimizing your business’ 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 $89 per month, per location.
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 for your business.
You can easily accept payments using Square hardware, or simply using your iPhone with Tap to Pay on iPhone so that you never miss a sale — whether you are in-store or on the go.
Watch our YouTube video below to learn more:
Sign up for Square for Retail
If you’re brand new to Square, explore the Square Basics to get comfortable with our ecosystem and knock a few essentials off your to-do list:
Link a bank account to your Square for Retail account to start receiving transfers.
Set up your item library so you can hit the ground running and take full advantage of Inventory Plus features. Note: This is only available when you subscribe to Square for Retail Plus.
Get the right hardware for your business to start accepting payments, printing receipts, and scanning barcodes.
If you don’t have an existing Square account, you can also sign up directly for Square for Retail.
Afterpay and Square for Retail
With Square for Retail and Afterpay, customers can pay for transactions in four installments over six weeks.
- If you’re eligible, you can accept Afterpay payments between $1 to $2,000 in store via your Square for Retail POS app or via your Square Online website.
- Afterpay is available with Square for Retail Free, Plus and Premium plans.
Learn more about Afterpay and Square.
Square sellers using Afterpay get paid the full amount at the time of purchase, minus a processing fee on the total order. Enabling Afterpay with Square is free — there are no monthly fees or startup costs. There are no processing fees charged on the remaining installments or if your customer makes a late payment.
Afterpay online and in-person transactions are 6% + 30¢ per sale.
Note: Afterpay rates are fixed and do not vary by subscription type, hardware, or custom pricing.
You can go to Payment Methods via your online Square Dashboard to enable or disable Afterpay at any time.
Note: The setting for In-person payments with Afterpay is global and applies across all Square products that can also take Afterpay payments in-person. This includes other online platforms such as Square Point of Sale, Square Appointments, Square for Restaurants, Square Invoices and Virtual Terminal. There isn’t a way to enable/disable Afterpay only for Square for Retail at this time.
To see if you are eligible for Afterpay, visit our In-Person eligibility.
Square for Retail Features
Begin by logging into your online Square Dashboard and setting up your item library with details such as unit types (pounds, ounces, 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.
Export/Import Item Library: Take bulk actions on your item library and stock.
Import Unit Costs: Import missing unit costs. It’s important to note importing Unit Costs reflects as a Recount. Recount stock actions do not reflect in your Inventory Plus reporting.
Item Options: Quickly create and organize 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.
Device Code: With Square for Retail, you can create a device code to sign in to your account.
Create and Print Barcode Labels: You can generate barcode labels directly from your online Square Dashboard.
Create and Print Packing Slips: You can create and print packing slips with your Square for Retail POS.
Reach Customers: You can reach customers to let them know about upcoming sales and promotions with Square Email Marketing.
Use the Square for Retail POS App
The Square for Retail POS app is your full front-of-house POS solution.
Retail POS App Navigation: Review the Actions menu of the Retail POS app.
Favorites List: Create a favorites list for your most popular items.
Process a Payment: Manage your cart and process payments using an accepted payment method or Tap to Pay on iPhone.
Issue a Refund or Exchange: Process a refund or exchange from your transaction history or customers list.
Create and Manage Items From the App: Add or edit items for individual locations directly from the app.
Cash Management: Track cash sales and account for paid in/paid out adjustments outside of a sale.
Manage Inventory from the app: Adjust stock levels.
Manage Customers: Create, manage, message, or add a customer to a sale.
Notification Center (iOS Only): View account alerts, new feature announcements, and Square news — all from one easy-to-access place.
Learn more about the differences between Square for Retail Free and Square for Retail Plus.
Hardware
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 Change Settings > General > About Register > Software Update.
Note: You can check for an update right away by tapping Check for Update. Square Register also automatically checks for an update every hour.
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.
You can now use Square for Retail POS on Square Terminal. Visit the following support articles to get started:
Square Stand also offers a full POS countertop station. For additional resources, view:
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.
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.
Square Staff & Square Shifts
Your Square for Retail Plus subscription includes essential labor management tools, with the option to upgrade to advanced features. Square Shifts Free with Square for Retail Plus includes features such as time tracking, scheduling, and timecard exports. Square for Retail Plus includes two custom permission sets, in addition to the account owner.
You also have access to these features in theTeam section of your online Square Dashboard:
Add team members: Create individual team member profiles and assign passcodes.
Set roles and assign permissions: Customize your team members’ permissions and access to your Square account.
Add Square Shifts: Create schedules up to 10 days out, set availability for your team, view and edit timecards, and more.
You can also subscribe to Square Shifts Plus for advanced labor features.
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 specific vendors.
Bulk Receive Stock: Bulk receiving stock allows you to quickly scan or enter your inventory via Square for Retail on iOS and Square Register.
View Square for Retail Reports
View Inventory History: View a detailed report of every inventory adjustment.
Advanced Reporting: Square for Retail offers a suite of powerful reporting tools.
The Square Ecosystem
Square connects every aspect of your business, so you can focus on your customers. It doesn’t matter what you sell, Square has apps, features, integrations, and hardware, built to work together and simplify your day-to-day. Watch the video below for an overview of the Square ecosystem.