Square for Retail POS App: Actions and Defaults
Get the most out of the Square for Retail app — learn the best ways to find items, apply discounts, create customers, and build your cart. The Retail app is designed to streamline your checkout flow.
To get started 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.
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.
Checkout
From the Navigation menu, the Checkout tab is where you can build your cart 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 cart 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 dollar discounts.
Saved Carts: Add items and save a cart to check out later.
Favorites List
The Favorites 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 Favorite.
Search or scroll to locate your most popular items. Select each item you would like to add to your Favorites 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 Cart: Clears all contents from the cart 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, the Actions menu can be accessed by tapping the button with three dots, near the bottom of your screen.
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, 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, 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.
Log Out
Employees will see Logout with their initials on the Navigation menu. When employees tap their initials, the passcode and clock in/out page will appear.
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 cart from the Checkout tab, you’ll need to head to the Main Menu to create items from the Retail app. From here you can create items, categories, modifiers, and discounts.
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.
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 employee, 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 program. 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 Favorites List: You can add, rearrange, or remove items to your Favorites List.
Setup Hardware: Connect or manage your supported hardware.
Sign Out: Log out of the Retail app.
Support
Specs: Learn about your hardware and software versions.
Help: Review our Support Center documentation or contact us on Twitter.
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.