Prepare documents to challenge disputes
- Sellers with the reports permission to view disputes reporting can see open disputes.
- Sellers with the reports permission to respond to disputes can accept or challenge a dispute. Set permissions in Square Dashboard.
The Disputes team’s aim throughout the disputes process is to help you send relevant evidence to your customer’s bank that gives you the best chance of protecting your sale. The guide below will walk you through the documents we’ll be looking for should a customer dispute an online or in-person payment.
Watch a video to learn more about how the process works:
Before you begin
The bank is looking for any supporting evidence you may have about the transaction, such as contracts, invoices, email correspondence, terms of service, or signed proof of delivery.
When submitting evidence and documents, keep the information factual, clear, and concise.
Per PCI Compliance, sellers are not permitted to store a customer’s CVV in any form. We recommend that you obtain verbal confirmation of CVV when adding a card on file from the Square Dashboard. You might also consider requesting this information in-person when your customer is present and filling out the authorization form.
Download our card authorization form template >
Documents to submit
The types of documents that apply to your Square account can vary depending on the type of business you run and the type of dispute you receive. You may be asked to submit some or all of the following documentation when you challenge a dispute.
Contract forms
Signed contracts are PDF or electronic documents that demonstrate a commitment to deliver and pay for goods and services. Not all businesses use contracts for customer transactions. If this is the case for you, you can upload receipts and/or invoices.
If you currently don’t use signed contracts, you can Create and manage Square Contracts tailored to your specific business type from your Square Dashboard.
Invoice
An invoice is a written document that includes a description of goods/services and the payment amount. As with contracts, you can use Square Invoices to send custom invoices to your customers. Be as specific and detailed as possible when filling out invoices. The more details we have regarding a purchase, the better equipped we are to assist you if a dispute occurs.
Goods and services confirmation
When sending invoices, you can toggle on a Goods and services confirmation. In order to pay for an invoice, your customer is required to confirm they accept the goods and services with satisfaction. This only covers final payments taken after goods and services have been delivered.
Goods and services confirmation is recommended for high-value invoices, especially if your customer changes their mind later. It greatly increases your odds of winning a chargeback dispute on an invoice payment. Charging a payment method on file is not available for invoices that have goods and services confirmation enabled.
To use this feature, learn how to Create and send invoices.
Authorization form
We recommend that you get signed authorization for the full amount to be paid as well for each individual payment if a purchase. An authorization form should accompany a contract in which you and a buyer have agreed to multi-part or recurring payments. The form should include:
Your business name and address
Your customer’s name and credit card information
A brief description of the transaction
A customer signature authorizing you to charge their card
Cancellation policy
Have a set, comprehensive cancellation policy in place and communicate it to your customers before concluding a transaction. Your cancellation policy should cover returns, exchanges, and refunds and give a clear time-frame for when they can be done. Include a written version of your cancellation policy on any contracts or receipts, as well as on your website if applicable.
Proof of address
Having an established physical address creates more confidence and trust when it comes to disputes. Any type of bill with your name or your business’ name on it accompanied by a current physical address is acceptable. If your business does not have a physical location or you run your business from home, provide a document with your home address. Typical examples include utility bills, cable/internet bills or tax returns.
Registration documents
Generally, businesses need to be registered with the city, county, or state they operate within to be legally recognized. Contact your local treasury or tax department to apply for registration. The details of this process depend on where your business is located. Once your application is approved, you should receive a physical certificate of registration in the mail.
Seller permits
Seller permits are state-issued licenses to perform business transactions. The specific requirements to obtain a seller’s permit vary from state to state. As most states legally require you to have a seller’s permit to do business, make sure you have a valid one ready to display before making any transactions. If your business has multiple physical locations, an individual seller’s permit is needed for each one. Most states issue seller’s permits through their respective tax departments. To apply for a seller permit, contact your state’s consumer affairs office or board of equalization.
LLC Filings/Articles of Incorporation
When you start a business, you need to register as an Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) so the IRS can process your business’s taxes. Once you’ve registered, your state will issue you a certificate, or “Articles of Incorporation,” that identifies your business as an LLC. Contact the office of your state’s Secretary of State to apply.
Communication with your customers
Providing the bank with proof that you took proactive steps to remedy an issue is an important way to strengthen your response to a dispute. If you have made an effort to resolve issues that may relate to the dispute — or had to postpone or cancel a delivery — we encourage you to share relevant screenshots or photos of these conversations.
We recommend you gather and upload the following types of documentation that illustrate how you offered assistance with resolving the customer’s issue:
Offering a partial refund to your customer: If you provided partial goods or services, you can provide signed proof of the goods or services and include an invoice or itemized receipt showing a breakdown of the transaction amount and the refund amount.
Offering a refund outside of Square: We strongly recommend issuing all refunds through Square, and back to the card used for the original payment. This decreases your chance of losing a potential dispute, as well as lowering the risk of scams or fraud that may occur from refunding outside of the card network.
If you and your customer agreed on a refund outside of your Square account, providing proof of the refund is ideal. For example, photos of the front and back of a refund check that has been signed by the customer.Offering a credit voucher for future use: You’ll need to provide proof that the credit voucher has been provided to the cardholder. You can strengthen this documentation by specifying the time frame the credit voucher will remain valid.
Offering to reschedule services or delivery of goods: Providing specific dates if possible can help strengthen this support further.
Collect any supporting documentation the form asks for and attach it to the form before submitting it. Square will then send the information you provide us to your customer’s bank. We may reach back out to you if we think the bank will need more information. You can also upload additional information from your Disputes Dashboard within the seven-day timeframe. Once you submit the information request form to Square, additional information can not be shared with the bank.
How to format documents
To access the form and upload files, sign in to your Disputes Dashboard. Submit only HEIC, JPEG, PDF, PNG, or TIFF file types. We’re unable to successfully download any other file types.
You can also submit your documentation from your smartphone. Tap Choose file in the form, and either take a photo of the documentation or select a photo you’ve previously taken.
If you are not able to view the form, make sure JavaScript is enabled in your browser and is fully up to date. To enable JavaScript, follow the instructions based on your browser: Firefox, Chrome, or Safari. If you continue to have issues uploading documents, try using a different browser.
Disclaimer: Although this tool is designed to help prevent payment disputes, the risk of a payment dispute is present with all card payments. Sellers will continue to be liable for all payments they accept and the disputes they receive. Square is not assuming liability for payments, regardless of the risk evaluation that is delivered.