On-Demand Delivery with Square Online
| Ready to set up On-Demand Delivery? Go to the Square Online Overview page. |
Square has made delivering orders locally simple and easy for your business. With Square Online and On-Demand Delivery, a courier from a reliable local delivery service provider (e.g. Uber/Postmates, DoorDash) will be dispatched automatically to your business location to fulfill the local delivery. Customers can sign up for text alerts, which link to a live map for real-time order tracking.
To learn more about building your website first, check out getting started with Square Online.
With On-Demand Delivery, you won't have to pay commissions; just a flat fee of $1.50 per order. You can choose to cover the fee, pass the local delivery costs on to your customers, or cover local delivery for orders over a certain amount (e.g. free delivery for orders over $50).
| Already have your own delivery staff? Try In-House Delivery. |
Learn best practices for local delivery through Square Online to set your local delivery offerings up for success.
Turn On-Demand Delivery On
Enable location
You will first need to enable local delivery for your locations. To do so:
In your Square Online Overview page, go to Fulfillment > Pickup & Delivery.
Choose a location, and toggle on Accept delivery orders.
Choose On-Demand Delivery.
Finish setting up all other features, and select Save when finished.
The Location display name for your business should be descriptive of your location.
Note: By selecting On-Demand Delivery as your local delivery option and proceeding, you agree to the On-Demand Delivery Terms of Service.
Set up location
Next, you’ll need to set up a few local delivery settings for your location.
Set prep times for different items, allow customers to schedule their orders for a time of their choosing, and even limit the number of orders allowed to not overwhelm your business.
Set a maximum local delivery fee, how much of the fee you or the customer will pay, minimum order amount, a service fee, and whether or not to allow for no-contact deliveries.
Note: It is common to charge customers a service fee for the convenience of local delivery, and we would recommend implementing a service fee that helps you cover the increased fees of doing business online.
Update Fulfillment Settings for Items
Your location is now ready to accept local delivery orders, but your items may not necessarily be available for local delivery. To default the fulfillment method for newly-added items to a specific fulfillment method:
In your Square Online Overview page, go to Items > Item Preferences or Shared Settings > Item Preferences.
Under "Default item fulfillment," select Edit.
Select the fulfillment method(s) of your choice to default to.
Select Save when finished.
All items imported in the future will default to your selected fulfillment method(s).
Note: You can edit fulfillment for your existing items at any time from your Square Online Overview page in Items > Site Items. Do this by selecting an individual item and going to the fulfillment section, or by using the bulk editing method.
Sell Alcohol
If you’re selling physical items or food and beverage items, you may sell alcohol with Square Online if permitted by law in your area. Learn more about selling alcohol with Square Online for additional details specific to On-Demand Delivery.
Note: In order to view On-Demand Delivery orders for alcohol on Square POS, you must update to the latest version of the POS app. Additionally, alcohol delivery is only available with On-Demand Delivery via DoorDash at this time.
Manage On-Demand Delivery Orders
You can manage your On-Demand Delivery orders with a few different tools, including the Square Online Overview page, the Order Manager in Dashboard, the Order Manager in Square POS, as well as printed order tickets. Learn more below.
To view, track, and fulfill orders in your Square Online Overview page in Dashboard:
- In your Square Online Overview page, go to Orders. In this tab, new orders will display the order type and a status of Pending.
- Select an order to view more details.
- To accept the order, select Mark as in progress.
- Mark as ready when the items are available for pickup.
- Mark as complete once the order has been picked up. If it’s a non-physical item, you can Mark as complete once it’s been fulfilled.
To view, track, and fulfill orders in your Order Manager in Dashboard:
- In your online Square Dashboard, go to Orders. In this tab, new orders will show a status of New.
- Select an order to view more details.
- To accept the order, select Mark as in progress.
- Mark as ready when the items are available for pickup.
- Mark as complete once the order has been picked up.
You can also filter pickup or local delivery orders using the Type dropdown filter.
To view, track, and fulfill orders in your Order Manager in Square POS:
- In your POS menu, go to Orders. In this tab, new orders will show a status of New if you use the Active filter.
- Tap on an order to view more details.
- To accept the order, select Mark as in progress.
- Mark as ready when the items are available for pickup.
- Mark as complete once the order has been picked up.
Orders scheduled for future local delivery can be viewed using the Upcoming filter. Learn more about orders in Square POS.
To print orders that come from Square Online with a compatible printer station, first ensure you have completed the setup for pickup and delivery. Once complete, you can automatically print new orders from Square Online by following these steps:
- In your Square POS menu, go to Settings > Orders > Alerts.
- Toggle on Allow Alerts.
- Under Frequency, set it to Immediately.
- In your Square POS menu, go to Settings > Orders > Print orders.
- Toggle on Automatically Print New Orders.
Order Tickets will display “Name of Courier [time]”, as well as any delivery notes (e.g. Delivery ID) provided by the courier. Learn more about printing your orders and setting up printed tickets for orders in Square POS.
Refunds
Refund responsibility
| Cancellation Period | Cancellation Fee | Delivery Fee Refund | Tip Refund |
|---|---|---|---|
| Order Placement to Dispatch | None | Refunded | Refunded |
| Dispatch to Pickup |
Uber/Postmates: $5.00 charged to your business DoorDash: None |
Refunded | Refunded |
| Pickup to Delivery | None | No Refund | Refunded |
| Post-Delivery | None | No Refund | No Refund |
Processing refunds
If an appeal with the On-Demand Delivery service provider is successful, the disputed amount will be credited back to your Square account within 31 days.
You will receive an email from Square when the credit has been processed to your account. You can see these adjustments from the Balance Overview page in your online Square Dashboard by going to Transfer Reports and selecting a report. When the report loads, view what’s listed under Total Collected > Other.
In the event of a cancellation, it is solely your responsibility to determine and pay out the appropriate refund amounts agreed upon between you and your customer (per your business’ refund and cancellation policy).
Learn more about the On-Demand Delivery Terms of Service for more information.
Switch Local Delivery Types
To switch between the local delivery types of In-House Delivery and On-Demand Delivery in Square Online:
In your Square Online Overview page , go to Fulfillment > Pickup & Delivery.
Under the location in question, select Edit location.
Edit the "Delivery settings".
Choose between delivering orders with your own couriers using In-House Delivery, or with third party couriers using On-Demand Delivery.
Complete all other details, and select Save when finished.
Turn On-Demand Delivery Off
In your Square Online Overview page, go to Fulfillment > Pickup & Delivery, and click the toggle to turn off local delivery. You can turn local delivery back on with the toggle at any time and restore your previous settings.
If you would like to temporarily stop accepting all online orders regardless of fulfillment method, in your Square Online Overview page, go to Settings > Checkout or Shared Settings > Checkout, and click the toggle to turn off online ordering.
FAQ
To learn more, check out the On-Demand Delivery FAQ.