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!

[Ora]

Hi @Joe, just wanted to let you know that you are about to lose yet another customer (me) because of the lack of commitment to implementing (or at very minimum providing a timeline) for the feature.

[PapertownRental]

Joe, we would also like to have a "preauthorization" option that would allow us to ensure the customer has the funds available. We have a rental business and while we do charge up front, if they run over hours or if there is a fuel charge, sometimes the card will not go through for that subsequent charge. 

Would love an update on how and when this will be implemented. We are also looking at other options for a POS. We gross about $300k through Square, and I'd hate to leave because of something that is seemingly simple to implement. 

[ExpSK]

[The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Deposit or account for rental shop on Credit card]

Hey Guys,

We have a situation with our accounting when it comes to deposits - we rent and take a refundable deposit in addition to the rental fee, up front.  We don't want the refundable deposit to necessarily hit our bank account unless we need to keep the funds due to damage (makes for easier book keeping on our end).  Does anyone know of a way to have Square hold funds for a week or so?

If Square has a way to hold the funds until our final inspection, that would be great to refund the deposit directly from Square rather than our bank account.

Thanks in advance for any input/suggestions!!

[MacLeodAle]

In this new era of COVID-19 and contactless transactions, will Square be offering the simple yet essential ability to swipe/dip a card to open a tab AND keep card info intact for closing the tab? Currently we have to physically hold on to the card, but this will no longer be acceptable. 

[Alex_]

Hello @ExpSK,

Thank you for posting in the Seller Community. Welcome.

At the moment, Square does not have a feature that allows us to take security deposits or any form of a deposit without it being fully processed and sent to a bank on file. It definitely We definitely hear you out and see how it could benefit your business model. Our teams are constantly looking through our seller's feedback to make necessary improvements, and we will be sure to let you know if anything ever changes or if new updates are released. 

[AshleyK]

@MacLeodAle Thank you for taking the time to post this! I've merged your post with an existing thread in which we are tracking this feature, and as you can see, it is a popular one. I don't currently have any updates to share, but we will alert this thread once we get information. Thank you again.

[jasonbrumb]

I couldn’t agree more and have been advocating for this very feature for over two years. Now it is not just become in essential feature for a POS solution, however now it is an absolute necessity. I sincerely hope that Square fast tracks the need in deployment of this feature on behalf of the safety of its customers and their‘s.

[Joe]

Thanks for adding your voice here, @jasonbrumb. We hear you. While we don't have an accurate timeline to share on this feature just yet, we will continue to make relevant updates as we know them here on this thread. We appreciate your patience!

[aenimal11]

Do you have a link to that thread?

[1chuck2chuck]

We own a small brewpub and often start tabs for customers.  We keep their credit/ debit cards behind the bar until they are ready to settle up.  

Is there a setting on the pos/ square stand where we can swipe their cards so that their payment info is in the system, and then immediately give their cards back to them so that we don't have to hold it until they are done?