Become a Beta Tester for Square Appointments

[Elyn]

Hello,

I’m Elyn, a Beta Specialist with Square’s Beta Team. Betas are tests of upcoming Square features before they’re released, to help identify areas of improvement for these new products and tools. In the Square Beta Program, the Beta Team selects testers across all types of businesses, including restaurants, retail, services, health and beauty, and more. Your feedback directly helps us build the right products with your business top of mind. The Square development process starts small and uses feedback along with other insights to plan its future.

Within the Beta Community we have a special group for Square Appointments betas. Some are big impactful changes and others are small but maybe exactly what you’ve been hoping for. We would love to have anyone join using Square Appointments and is interested in providing feedback on new features. Click the link below to request to join, you’ll receive a follow up once accepted into the group. 

Join Square Appointments Early Access

Take a look at what our Beta testers helped with so far this year!

• Multi Staff Booking
• Square Online Booking Site
• Tiered Commissions
• Appointments Point of Sale new Navigation and Checkout
• Appointments Availability - Find a time on Dashboard

Still testing or testing soon 

• Categories in Appointments Booking site
• Appointments Availability - Find a time in iOS, Android and Square Register

We’re happy to answer any questions you may have about the Beta process.

[thebeardlyman]

It would be great for each person in appointments (in my case, barbers) to have their own booking link that is available for just them. There are too many clicks that clients have to go through right now.

[Elyn]

We love this kind of feedback when testing relevant features, it would have been great do to have you during the Square Online booking site test.  I hope you join us!

[Novo]

I agree with the Individual Booking Site links for Stylists/Barbers. As well as add the ability for each provider to customize their own services individual to their own specifics on price and service details.

[BeChewzy]

Are there more specific items coming for restaurants using appointments as reservations?

[Elyn]

Hi @BeChewzy We don't have any upcoming tests specific to restaurants in Square Appointments. We did a small test in 2020 testing the current flow for restaurants but found it wasn't a great use for Square Appointments who's focus is more towards Health and Beauty industries.

[Megahair]

Here are your areas of need:

I want my clients to see the tip appropriation on services alone, not retail. Why else would you have me categorize like that?

We need a waitlist. COVID mean so many last minute cancellations. Please recognize our need to fill those spots immediately!! 

I need to be able to combine customer tickets. I won’t put my clients through checking out twice. But I want services and retail to go under the correct client. If I have a husband and wife, I have to put all sales under one. Same with mother and son or daughter. I have to use a separate CRM to keep it all straight. You have an excellent CRM and I would love to not be using another party CRM. 

If these features are an issue of payment. I would gladly pay for these services! In fact, I think you should have an a la carte menu of services! Not every business needs the same services. Why not customize what each business needs. 

You could also use business coaches that work on commission.  Someone to help me use the services that square has to offer. They reach out to me and make sure I continue to utilize square marketing. If I’m utilizing it, I’m going to continue to pay for it. If I don’t use it because it overwhelms me, then I’m going to eventually cancel it. Service coaches can ensure user success. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. I available for video conference to expand on any of these features. 

[Elyn]

Thanks for sharing in such detail @Megahair 

I believe some of these may be in development already. Square Appointments plans out new features annually and is working out the 2022 plan now. As they build new features many of them will go through Beta first (Where the beta community comes in). The timing for feature releases is exactly that, even the smallest features require months of planning, design and engineering. If you'd like to be part of beta and provide early feedback on new features we'd love to have you join the Beta Community Appointments Early Access Group

You can also check out the Square Appointments Feature Requests board to provide more detail and your use cases for existing feature requests. 

[Megahair]

Thanks for the reply. I’m excited to become a beta tester. As a busy service provider and retail seller, I hope to provide lots of valuable feedback. Thank you for the opportunity!! 

[Innerglo]

The truth is - Almost every feature requested for appointments is already implemented by competitors. That is where most of the request are coming from, because people have used those features in the past. 

The exact things you mentioned, I am also needing in my salon. As much as a pain as it is, I can switch to another software that already has those features fully beta tested and operational for years at this point.  

I think square for payments is great, however the appointments side of things doesn't get enough development attention.  Just one feature, ONE FEATURE... One waitlisting customer per month filling a cancelled appointment more than pays for the competitor service fee.   Don't even try and count the ROI on the other features, its a blow out.   

[ASPettus]

Thank you! A waitlist in Square Appointments is desperately needed and is not a current feature. 

[hollythestylist]

Yes all of those! I’d also like to include the option to “block” an individual client from being able to book online so they would have to contact me directly to schedule an appointment, like a toggle to turn it in it off in their profile from our end. Also, I would like the option to individually requisite a card on file or prepayment for new customers or repeat offenders vs. people who never “no show” or “cancel” last minute it always write a check, I feel I don’t need their card on file or prepayment. It should be an option per customer profile. Is there a way to be able to add an image or photos to their customer profile? For example, they brought a picture of a haircut they like and I took a picture of how it turned out. I could load those in her profile to refer back to…? One more thing in regards to messaging within the app. Sometimes I don’t see that a customer messaged me. Is it possible for that to have a banner alert or notification pop upon the screen if I’m in the app already. The only way to see it is to leave the calendar screen and dig for it. I don’t always see the email notification if I’m busy with clients. Because of the nature of the.business, I usually only see emails in the morning maybe at lunch or the end of the day. I have too many things I’m catching up on. The tipping on services has been a continuous request of mine from the early days of square even before using appointments. It’s a bit frustrating to clients and I feel like I have to let them know and it feels awkward saying, $75 was your service total and your retail purchases were $32.00 plus tax so the percentages listed are based on the full amount not just $75.00. It takes longer to process for them and they feel delayed and a bit uncomfortable as they do mental math in front of me. And the waitlist!!! So many appointments systems have a waitlist, but us. This would take an extra step out of the way and streamline the whole process. This is the reason I started using appointments a couple of years ago so I could have all the details in one place. With the upcoming changes, I am looking at other options for booking because I am a sole proprietor, independent stylist. Although I do use marketing and would love to use loyalty, I want all the confirmations and communication options. Not sure I will stay with all these needed updates and I’ll already need to increase my monthly budget with no extra benefit to me or my business. Very frustrating!

[Lojeababb]

I second everything you just wrote. Well said. I’m a single studio as well. I switched to square recently because of pricing and now I would have to pay more to have less than my last scheduling company. I already pay extra for marketing. It’s disappointing. 

[tranquilityskin]

Totally agree!  I’ve been asking for the separation of services and retail for the tipping for years!!!  It should not be that hard. 

[Icampos]

Hi there! I have multiple staff members, all with different pricing. So it’s be really nice to have a tiered system as far as staffing goes and being able to customize how long it may take for that staff member to do that service. Ex. 

it takes Izzy 4 hours for full bleach retouch + tone & cut, = 185

It takes kayla 5 hours for full bleach retouch + tone & cut = 150 

I also think it would benefit greatly to have a different bank account for each team member. (But that’s a story for another day) 

I also strongly agree with the waitlist feature that would be AMAZING

[Elyn]

Hi there, I've seen a lot of business have success using service variations for this case. Each variation can have different timing, pricing and staff assigned to it. Check out this article to get started

I'd encourage you to join the Beta Community Group with the link above if you'd want to be one of the first for waitlists.

[Mandy414]

I currently use appointments to book Birthday Parties at my Play Cafe. It is not ideal, but it's the best we can do to not have to use an outside app that has it's own set of problems. I've read on threads all over that people would like a more broad usage of Appointments. One small thing would be allowing us to change the "BOOK" tab on my website to say something else, for me I'd like it to say "Parties". We use Square in almost all of its capacities. Appointments isn't one of our most used areas, but I'd love to be a BETA tester for any area. 

[VitruLA]

Gym in LA - I would like to be considered for BETA testing.

[christiema]

I'm a small business owner currently based in NYC and would definitely be interested in BETA testing.  We currently use Square appointments for our studio called Lace Skin Studio and we offer facials specifically. Thank you and please let me know!  

[Elyn]

We'd love to have you beta testers @christiema  @VitruLA @Mandy414 Just use the link above in this post to request to join the group.

[RMConsultingLLC]

I manage 18 spa website in Square appointments. I would love to be a beta tester and get my clients as beta testers too.

I was just featured in a group with 42,000 spa professionals and will be converting a lot of spas to Square this month/year…