thread Re: Horrible support getting started in Hardware Setup & Troubleshooting

Horrible support getting started

Trainman1957 — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 10:06:59 GMT

I am loosing my mind. I've called multiple times to try to get answers with no luck, just off shore people who know nothing. I own a service business and need to charge for services on the road. Some customers are in Philly and some not. The sales tax in Philly is 2% and Pennsylvania 6%, so that being said, If I'm in Philly I need to charge 8% total. I'm NOT a brick and mortar store.

I cannot get the site to allow the following: 0% for tax exempt, 8% for Philly and 6% for the rest of Pennsylvania. Every time I get someone on the phone they say something totally different and don't have a clue!

If I force the site to add all sales taxes listed, I can click on one and a window pops up and allows me to de-select the tax I don't want to charge, however when I click "save" they all come back!

How is anyone using this method for business when they will not talk to you and don't care about the customer???

Help!

Re: Horrible support getting started

Candlestore — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 00:44:04 GMT

@Trainman1957 ;

On a computer you would need to sign into your Square Dashboard through a web Browser.

Goto account and Settings - Business Administration- Sales Taxes Link : business/manual-taxes

You add all 3 taxes here one by one and save after each one.

Yes you would need to choose the Sales tax for each Transacation since you change locations into and out of different sales tax areas.

Or you could setup 2 taxes one at 6% for State and add another 2% for philly areas.

Then turn OFF tax for tax exempt.

The biggest thing you have is that you keep moving or changing tax districts and the pos does not know that. The other thing you could try is change the Ship to Address so it knows the Zip code to apply the correct tax. I have had this happen when I sell over the phone in my store. Sales tax is aplied by where the item is shipped to. So far mine have only done this in state, Bingmans ferry and Bath. Both of these areas only collect the 6% state sales tax and not the extra 2% Philly gets. For tax exempt I assign the sale to the buyer, and in their customer infor I have they are Tax Exempt and type in their EIN or Exempt code.

On my Ipad (Square Stand) I can choose :

In Store
Ship To
Pick Up

This is after I put an item in the cart and then choose the customer. Then Square sets the taxes. Like when I ship to NY or NJ the tax is applied at 0% but if I ship in PA its 6%.

What type of hardware are you using for your sales; computer, cell, tablet?

Re: Horrible support getting started

Trainman1957 — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 13:47:04 GMT

Hi Keith,

Thank you, finally someone who makes sense. I do have both the 2$ and 6% tax set up, and I didn't think about the shipping address as some of my client's main offices are "IN" Philly but I work at the satellite sites outside Philly. So the "ship to" would make sense. I also add the processing fees in to each sale, another issue I've had. The last sale I had I needed to revert back to my Paypal invoicing because i got through the entire "PC BASED" transaction and when I hit charge card it kept failing.

I don't know why, but it did ask for the card number, expiration date, code and zip code. I wonder if the zip code had something to do with it because I used the zip code from the ship to location. It also never asks for the name on the card.

As for my other source to charge clients, I use the swipe adapter for my cell phone. When I tried to do the transaction from my APP, the transaction fees did not come up. So frustrating.

Re: Horrible support getting started

Candlestore — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 20:47:35 GMT

@Trainman1957 ;

You're welcome.

I have a Retail store so the Charge Reader plugged in, I rearly use any more except through my Ipad in a Square Stand which is all connected. I am not sure about how to add Transaction fees, I just include it in my sale price to everyone.

So yes with the Ship to address Square Calculates the Sales tax on where the purchase is being shipped to rather than where it is sold. Now with the Credit card being denied, I would make sure that the customer gave you the zip code associated with the Billing address of the Card they are using. Like me for example my Business card and my Zip Code for the store are different. My Credit Card goes to the house where as my Purchase goes to my stores zip code. This could be a reason for a denied Credit Card sale. I have had this where the customer gave me their Zip Code instead of the one of the Credit Card for the Actual purchase. The customer said well that is my Zip, and then I asked is it the Zip where you get the bill for the credit card? No I get that at the central office, what is that zip...... then it would work and go through. It is small things like that, that will make us crazy.

Yes if you Clients address you sell to does not require the 2% Philly tax, but the warehouse your shipping to does, you would need to supply the warehouse zip in the ship to address and at time of Sale. Some people try using these outside places to save on paying the In Philly Tax. My brother got hit with it on a Wage tax when he worked in Lansdale Pa just outside of Philly. Philly said well its a Tax for working in city limits. Needless to say he relocated as soon as he could, to get out of that Philly City Tax, first time we heard of a Tax for working in city limits.

When taking a Credit Card over the phone, Square does not ask for the name, buut you could add the Customer to the Sale if you like. Then the Name of the Customer would show on some reports instead of just Customer or what the generic feild name is. What is terribe is I can not assigne John Doe a 2% extra sales tax (with in City) or No Sale tax for tax exempt customers in Square. You have to change these manually.