Beating a Dead Horse but it needs to be: Preauthorization

[FarmAndBar]

We need to be able to preauthorize credit cards when running a tab. Period.  We really enjoyed the low buy in and easy menu development and a couple of the other features, but a bar/restaurant needs to be able to run a tab and preauthorize a credit card.  I've gone back and looked at conversations about it and it appears that this has been a CONSTANT request by users that has gone ignored.

I'd like to know why it isn't available.

[#2]

So sorry for the confusion here, @Amanda_Bierock @FarmAndBar and others!

Pre-Authorization recently became available to all users of Square for Restaurants (Free, Premium, and Plus), and you should be able to turn in on by following the instructions in this support article, via the Dashboard and device settings.

Enable and Configure Pre-Authorization Bar Tabs

If you are using Square for Restaurants and aren't able to enable Pre-Auth by following these steps, please reach out to our support team for assistance.

For businesses that use Square Point of Sale, there is not currently a way to access Pre-Authorization.  While we did run a Beta test last year for Pre-Authorization on Point of Sale, it has been discontinued and Square for Restaurants is the only application that currently supports this functionality.

The team developing Pre-Authorization decided last summer to focus their efforts on Pre-Auth within Square for Restaurants and discontinued the Beta and development of Pre-Auth for Point of Sale.

Some testers who participated in the Point of Sale Beta we ran last year may still have access via their open tickets settings on individual devices (like @ryanwanner) but accounts that were not enrolled in that Beta feature last summer can no longer be added.

@nika I hope this context is helpful when these questions come up - it can be confusing because at times we had a POS Beta on the way.  It's understandable when it's been a request for so long 🙂

Andy
Beta Specialist

[#3]

Hello all! We are so excited to let the community know that this feature is now available for Square for Restaurants! For more information on enabling and configuring preauthorization for bar tabs, check out this help article. Respond here if you have any questions, and thanks for your patience while our team built this out. We appreciate you!

️ Kristen
Square Community Manager
Product Engagement

[#4]

Pre-Authorization for Bar Tabs Update ⭐
Hi everyone - I'm Hadley, from the F&B product team. First of all, thank you SO MUCH for continuing to share all the feedback here over the years, we know how important the Bar Tabs feature is. For anyone who is not aware, this feature is currently in beta in the US for Square for Restaurants POS. 

➡️ You can join the beta community here and our beta team will enable feature to your account. You can find the support article for getting set up on RST POS here. 

As a reminder, when a feature is in beta, there is still some engineering work happening to iron out the smaller bugs and optimizing the experience for our sellers and their customers. If you choose to participate in the beta testing, please share any feedback (good or bad 😄) to our beta team at [email protected] so we can learn how it is working for you and your staff.  

Thank you!

[seabreeze]

Following this thread as I to have the same problem with Deposits.. mainly how to have room total add full tax without the deposit screwing it up.. 

[Jhm]

Hi there,

I just had the same problem did you ever figure out a work around?

[FSheldon]

No other workaround found other than the ones by EJ_ mentioned above, which were helpful and can be made to work.

Making clear descriptions in the line items of what is happening for your clients will help. I would make those special notes permanent items that you can add so you don't have to write each time: make as many as you need to handle each situation. If need be, a note can also be added to the body of the invoice to clarify further.

This does not put all the tax in one place, which would be better but, the few times we've done it this way, none of our clients expressed any problem with it.

[NatalieB]

[The title of this thread has been edited from the original: hold on cards]

Hi!

I am trying to use square at my job and want to know how it works to take credit cards hold. We are selling tours and would like to require all credit card info as part of booking to be able to charge cancellation or no show fees. Can anyone shed some light?

[Alex_]

Hi @NatalieB, 

Welcome to the Seller Community! We appreciate the post. Currently with standard Square Point of Sale App, we do not have the option to place a hold or pre-authorization on cards. If you haven't already, I would consider looking into our Appointments App which helps with booking and can offer no-show protection.

Feel free to check it out here, and let us know if you have any questions by directly replying in this thread.

[tylochinterpriz]

[The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Refundable Deposits for Rental Goods]

I am running a local rental shop, where our inventory is rented out daily and weekly. I am hoping to charge a refundable deposit on the goods rented. I will make a permanent sale (the rental cost) but also charge the refundable deposit. 

Is this possible? How do I do it?

[Amanda_Bierock]

UGH! How is this thread STILL GOING with no resolution???? Square was more than happy to raise rates in November, but can't get this feature added after how many YEARS!? 

[Alex_]

Thanks for posting in the Seller Community. Welcome @tylochinterpriz! 

At the moment, we do not have a feature that can include a refundable deposit within the same transaction. You would have to charge the deposit and intended amount separately, and then refund the deposit afterwards.

Our product teams are constantly looking through our seller's feedback to make necessary improvements. Let us know if you have any other questions by replying in this thread.

[tylochinterpriz]

Will my account be marked negatively for issuing refunds? Usually this is a no-no in the merchant processor industry.

[Kassi_]

Hey there @tylochinterpriz- 

Welcome back to the Community!

No, it would not reflect negatively issuing refunds on your account. That is a great question and I am glad you asked. 

Thank you!