Transitioning to a terminal/stand

[PoutineSupreme]

Hi! I currently operate a food truck business and have been living using our square contactless reader for the past year. We are now looking to move to a terminal but don’t quite understand whether we need to buy a brand new card reader, or whether a reader can be attached to a new stand and function as it always has. Do the stands word only with apple tablets?

Thank you, community, for your help!

[ryanwanner · Accepted solution]

The terminal is a completely standalone way to ring people up. For a food truck environment with limited space, the Terminal is a great way to go. The terminal accepts swiped, dipped, and contactless payments.

Do note the terminal does need a wifi connection in order to work. Your phone or tablet's Hotspot capabilities are enough though.

If you decide on going with a Stand, it does only work with Apple tablets. Also, if your food truck is anything like the trucks I'm familiar with, the service window is about at the customer's eye level. The stand only tips down a little bit, so it will be quite difficult for customers to interact with it. And the stand isn't something you want to hand out the window.

IMO, the Terminal is probably the best idea for any food truck. It's small, extremely portable, and will run almost everything the Point of Sale does. (it doesn't have the grid like the Point of Sale, but that's the only downfall I can see)

[Iknowaguyfoodsl]

I run a food truck as well. Can the terminal sync with the stand?  I want to be able to punch in the order via the stand/ iPad, have the terminal copy the order, and the customer can pay via the terminal on the shelf.  Is that possible? 

[ryanwanner]

Hello @Iknowaguyfoodsl !

Yes you can! This is something that Square just released a few months back.

Check out the steps needed on this help page.

I've used this in the past and it works really well!

[skerr]

Ryan, you say the terminal doesn't have the grid, but does it have the items library?  Or does it just have calculator look that you punch in the total amount of sale? 

[ryanwanner]

Actually @skerr the comment about no grid is out of date now. The new user interface now allows for an item grid! You also have full access to your item library as well. 

[TheJudith]

Hi -

Can customers add a tip directly on the Terminal?

[ryanwanner]

@TheJudith yes! The tip screen shows up just like the flow on a regular tablet or your phone.