thread Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today? in Food & Beverage

How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

alejandro-ref — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 18:01:39 GMT

Curious how restaurant and bar owners here are handling customer referrals. A few things I keep hearing from F&B owners I talk to:

Most are doing it manually (discount codes, handwritten cards, "tell them I sent you")
Nobody's tracking who referred whom, so rewards are inconsistent
When they try third-party apps, most are built for retail or salons, not restaurants

For those of you running anything referral-related:

Are you tracking it, and if so, how?
What reward works best in your experience — free appetizer, gift card, % off next visit?
Has anyone tried tying it to loyalty points through Square Loyalty?

I've been working on this problem specifically for Square merchants (I built a tool called ViralRef), and I'm trying to learn what actually moves the needle for restaurants vs. what we've seen work for salons. Happy to share notes with anyone who's experimenting.

— Alejandro, Miami

Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

TheRealChipA — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 12:52:26 GMT

Hey there @alejandro-ref.. I followed the link to your tool and I'm duly impressed! A couple of years ago I tried to sign up for another referral program that was supposedly geared to F&B (and was listed in the Square App Marketplace.). But their website didn't work, no one responded to messages of any kind, etc, so I was left to assume they are no longer in business. FYI, I run a soft serve shop.

Here's what I would love to see in a referral program, other than what I saw on your website:

Definitely something tied to Square Loyalty. I'd love the option to give affiliates bonus points in their loyalty account, to automatically move them up to a new tier for affiliates, only, etc. I'd also love to run occasional promotions for my loyalty affiliates where they could earn even more.
I find that eGift cards work great for rewards in my situation.
Lastly, I didn't see this but maybe I missed it on your site. I'd like to give a nominal reward to new customers who are referred to us. In my case it would be a one-time discount of some kind for their first purchase. But I'm sure other F&B sellers have different thoughts. This one is a requirement for me to even consider a referral program.

Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

alejandro-ref — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:11:40 GMT

Thanks, this is useful. Quick answers:

#3 (reward for the new customer): Built. Both sides get rewarded — you set the invitee reward as a first-purchase discount (flat $ or %). Your dealbreaker is covered.

#2 (eGift cards): Built. Native Square eGift cards or coupons, your call per campaign.

#1 (Square Loyalty integration): Not built yet, honest answer. But bonus points, affiliate-only tiers, and loyalty promos for affiliates is the best feature ask I've gotten in weeks.

Going on the roadmap.

Would love a quick call to scope it with you.

Soft serve is a great fit. Beta is 3 months free for feedback — DM me the email you'd sign up with and I'll get you set up.

Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

purrfectpair — Wed, 27 May 2026 01:30:49 GMT

Hi Alejandro-ref! I just started exploring viralref and was really impressed with the style and setup of everything; until it wouldn't let me launch the referral program I spent the past 20 minutes building (and multiple attempts). I even went ahead and tried to sign up for the Pro Features but nothing changed and I was still stuck. The program is so promising and I would love to implement that asap!!!!

Please email me at info@purrfectpaircatcafe.com soon so I can get this up and running. I was hoping to launch this week.

Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

RoniM — Wed, 27 May 2026 02:51:38 GMT

I've been trying to find a way to create a loyalty subscription. Customer pays a small fee per month ($9) and receives 10% off every order. Is that something you're able to build and integrate within Square?

Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

RoniM — Wed, 27 May 2026 02:55:16 GMT

Also trying to convert DoorDash customers to order from our website next time. Currently we put a '10% off your next order' in their bag to drive them to us. It would be even better if we're able to drop them a $5 or $10 gift card in their bag that is processed and redeemed through a loyalty program like yours.

Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

Pintuna — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 17:47:56 GMT

Hi @RoniM, this is Ashwin from Pintuna. We are a trusted Square partner. The Pintuna Membership App can easily handle your requirement "Customer pays a small fee per month ($9) and receives 10% off every order". And the Pintuna Loyalty App supports Referral feature as well. Happy to demo the app if interested. Thanks!

Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

RoniM — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 22:16:57 GMT

Hi Ashwin, thanks for letting me know. Do you integrate directly within Square's UI? I do not want to manage anything outside of the Square dashboard.

Re: How are Square F&B owners running referral programs today?

Pintuna — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 16:22:55 GMT

Hi Ronim, all the points are automatically calculated and do not require any interaction with our app. But you will need to login to our webapp to manage the program. Square does not allow 3rd party apps on its devices.