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Troubleshoot common employee tracking issues

If your team is experiencing problems logging in, recording transactions accurately, or tracking tips correctly, review the following steps to help resolve these issues.

Before you begin

Before you start troubleshooting, review the following:

Permissions required
Make sure you have the appropriate team management permissions to create, edit, or remove team members from your Square account.

When to troubleshoot
Try to complete troubleshooting during slower periods or after hours to reduce any impact on your team or customers.

Data and settings
Troubleshooting won’t affect your existing data or settings. Your transaction history and team member information will remain unchanged.

Step 1: Troubleshoot Employee Login Issues

If your team members can't log in to the POS, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Staff > Team Members.

  2. Select the employee's name.

  3. Confirm they have a passcode set and that the passcode is active.

  4. Verify their assigned location(s) match where they're trying to log in.

  5. On the POS device, go to Settings > Security and make sure Passcodes are enabled.

Common causes

  • The team member doesn't have a passcode assigned

  • The device's passcode settings are turned off

  • The employee isn't assigned to the correct location

If the above steps resolve the issue, learn more about managing team members. If the issue is still unresolved, move on to Step 2.

Step 2: Fix Transactions Recorded Under the Wrong Employee

If transactions are being recorded under the wrong employee, follow these steps:

  1. On each POS device, open Settings > Security.

  2. Turn on "Require passcode after each sale."

  3. Remind employees to log in before processing a transaction and log out at the end of their shift. This is especially important if you have multiple devices or shared devices.

Common causes

  • Multiple team members are using the same login

  • Passcodes aren't required between sales

If the above steps resolve the issue, learn more about POS security settings. If the issue is still unresolved, move on to Step 3.

Step 3: Troubleshoot Tips Not Appearing in Reports

If tips aren't showing up in your reports, follow these steps:

  1. Go to your Dashboard and open Reports > Sales > Team Sales.

  2. Confirm the employee's transactions are recorded correctly.

  3. From Staff, navigate to Settings > Tips > Tipping and ensure tipping is turned on.

  4. If you need pooled or automated tip reporting, review your subscription settings to confirm your plan includes advanced tip tracking.

Common causes

  • The employee isn't logged in when processing transactions

  • The tipping setting is disabled on the device

  • Your account doesn't include advanced tip tracking (available with select subscriptions)

If the above steps resolve the issue, learn more about tip management. If the issue is still unresolved, move on to Step 4.

Step 4: Fix Cash Tips Not Being Tracked

If cash tips aren't being recorded, follow these steps:

  1. Create a workflow for recording cash tips at the end of each shift.

  2. Encourage employees to enter tips through the POS or report them manually.

  3. For advanced tip pooling or automatic tracking, review tip pooling options.

Common causes

  • Employees aren't entering cash tips manually at shift end

  • Tip reporting is only enabled for card payments

If the above steps resolve the issue, your cash tip tracking should be set up correctly. If the issue is still unresolved, move on to Step 5.

Step 5: Enable Tip Prompt During Checkout

Common causes

  • Tipping isn't enabled on your account or device

Learn more about enabling and configuring tipping.

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