Square Register Questions and Suggestions

[Chaos_Emporium]

I just bought the Square Register Hardware and have set it up with very little issue, but I have a few questions.

• On the "Checkout" page there are tabs on the left to make it easier to search for items. There are my custom pages, "All Items," "Categories," "Discounts," "Gift Cards," and "Keypad." My question is the "Gift cards" tab. Why is there a whole separate tab for something that is essentially one item? I don't see this on the regular square app on my phone. Is there a way of setting up multiple gift cards that would make this practical? Or is this a setting that can be changed where a different category is displayed on its own tab and I just have it set up for "Gift Cards" by mistake? It would be awesome if that was the case...

• Under the "Settings" page there is a link for "Online Checkout" when I click on this I get "Connection Error: Unable to connect to the Internet." I am definitely connected to the internet on Wifi and have had no problem running credit cards. When I click on the "Online Checkout" on my Square Dashboard it connects just fine.

Lastly I have some small suggestions and requests:

• Its absolutely ridiculous that square doesn't have a demo/training mode so that people can practice with the software without altering their reports. The only alternative is making a separate account with all the items copied over that is just used for training and then refunding all card sales afterwards. So much extra work for something that should be included.
• I hate that the menu has been moved to a button on the top center of the screen that drops down. It is visually unappealing and as placed a much used item in the most inconvenient place on the whole screen. I'm use to the button being in the bottom left where I could reach it quickly. Now every time I need the menu I have to reach the top center of the screen. It would be nice to have more control over how the system looks for both the employee and customer.
• I would love the ability to change the keyboard layout (or program a custom keyboard)! I have a custom keyboard that I have programed on my android phone that works great with the square app and makes checkouts so much easier as there are a few set codes that I am constantly typing into the search bar followed by numbers. Square should have its own keyboard that is customizable, or at least give me the option of having a layout where the numbers are always there. Having to switch between letters and numbers constantly is very annoying. I understand the item grid is suppose to kind of act like a programed set of buttons, but the complete lack of customization of the "buttons" makes this feature unusable to me. They can only be set up as either an individual item / discount or a category. I have over four thousand separate items in my inventory. Even using the categories buttons are not enough because you can't search the sub menu that pops up, it just lists all hundred or so items in that category.

[JustinC]

Hey @Chaos_Emporium  - thanks for expanding your ideas and providing detailed feedback. Bubbling up to our Product Team for visibility. 

On another note, the gift cards tab is built in as a default tab and cannot be replaced with a different category. Also, for the Online Checkout error you're seeing, I'd give some basic troubleshooting a try:

• Check if an update is ready to be installed under Settings > General > About Register. 
• Reboot by holding the power button down until you see RESTART. 
• Perform a Factory Reset. Sounds scary but your data is saved in our servers and is accessible upon login. You'll need to reconfigure your device settings though. (Don't reset if you have pending offline transactions, as they will be lost)

I hope this helps

[Chaos_Emporium]

I went through your suggestions and it is still showing an error. I even try connecting with an Ethernet cable instead of wifi. The factory reset didn't work either.

I had a problem a while ago with my square account communicating with the online store provided by weebly. The error was stopping me from bulk uploading my inventory. I was on the help chat for hours and it took awhile to get it fixed. Maybe my settings got change during the troubleshooting? That seems unlikely since the error just says can't connect to the internet.

The register has connected just fine to check and download updates, run credit cards, and check reports so this is odd.

[JustinC]

Thanks for running through those steps. Not sure why you keep getting that error.  Sounds like CS will need to take a look again. Try giving them a holler during normal biz days or email in anytime. Reach them here. 

@Chaos_Emporium