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Time is one of your most precious resources when you’re a small business owner, and it just becomes more scarce as you grow and expand. That’s why streamlining your operations by syncing with business apps is key: Automation allows you to check items off your to-do list without requiring hours of work. Here’s how to tackle your biggest (and most time-consuming) tasks with Square tools and Square App Marketplace, which is a collection of third-party tools that sync with your Square account.
Employee management
The days of paper schedules are long gone, and if you’re still scheduling employees that way, ask yourself: How’s that working out for my business? Ramp up the efficiency of time tracking with Square Employee Management. With this system, employees clock in and out at the register, and you can assign them their own passcodes to accept payments in the field with Square readers. You can also track their individual sales and create custom reports. Another option is to link your Square account to employee-schedule-management apps like Homebase, When I Work, or TSheets.
Payroll
Happy employees are employees who are getting paid quickly. So connecting the systems where staff members clock in and out with payroll is the easiest way to reconcile timecards while managing everything online. Square Payroll allows you to pay both hourly and salaried employees (hours are imported automatically from the Square app). It also handles federal and state payroll taxes — including withholdings, payments, and filings — so that’s another headache you’re saving yourself.
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Inventory management
Keeping on top of inventory is crucial, especially when you’re selling through multiple channels And there are a variety of inventory-tracking apps available that sync with your Square account, like Stitch Labs, Shopventory, Intrakr Inventory, and Shopseen. These services can do things like alert you when stock is low and manage product listings. You can get a handle on product levels with Square Inventory, which sends you a daily alert email so you know which items are low or out of stock. You can also download and print inventory stock level reports through your Square Dashboard.
Restaurant tools
Whether you run a food truck or a brick-and-mortar bistro, all food service establishments face the same challenges when it comes to streamlining the ordering and food prep process. You can link Square with Fresh KDS, a tablet kitchen display system that helps you complete orders more quickly. You can also sync with Whisk, an app that allows you to manage your recipes and access cost and USDA nutrition reports.
Accounting
Perhaps the most time-consuming and tedious aspect of your business is keeping up with accounting and bookkeeping (unless, of course, you’re an accountant). Accounting apps like Intuit QuickBooks Online and Xero, plus TaxJar, Zoho Books, and Commerce Sync, sync with your Square account to streamline your bookkeeping operations.
Online stores
If you’re looking to launch an e-commerce presence or grow an existing online store, you can connect tools in the App Marketplace to your Square account. Integrating software like Ecwid, Weebly, or Bigcommerce can help you build a beautiful online store and see both your on- and offline sales in one centralized place. And once you’re ready to send items to buyers, ShipStation offers batch label creation and connects to shipping carriers.
You can also follow up with them via Square’s email marketing service
If you want more tips on how to cut down on time, check out our guide on how to run a business.
