Horrible new update. Creating items and updating inventory is a nightmare.

[MapleStreet510]

Just wanted to vent here that once again @Square has managed to do an update that makes everything work slower, is not intuitive, and makes our jobs harder. 

Updating inventory counts: used to be able to choose the reason for ALL variants and update inventory at once. Now you have to choose each individual variant.

Adding variations to new products: confusing, it encourages you to add ALL options in a variant at once unless you click in and choose them individually. Once you add one variation, it is hard to find a way to add second variations - your window must not be minimized at all or you wont' be able to see the place to add a variation set at the very bottom of the screen.

Adding an item to categories: again, you now have to click ALLLL the way in to each category individually to find subcategories. 

Everything takes longer, it makes absolutely no sense and it is just another one of those moments with square that makes me want to scream. Does @Square  consult with ANYONE who actually uses these products before they make idiotic changes like this?  I've worked retail for over 30 years, clearly nobody at square has. 

Incredibly slow and stupid workflow. 

Do better, Square. 

[doc_choc]

You raise a good point. It would be interesting if we could find out whether Square has a working group that looks at workflows as relates to inventory control, order fulfilment etc, the basic everyday operations of a business. No system will work perfectly as every person or organisation has their own preference and quirks, so one system will never fit all, but there is definitely a lot of common ground which are basic to most workflows and should be looked at as a minimum expectation.

[KimsBooks]

We are also very confused and frustrated with the new dashboard updates. The consensus of the staff who use the product is: it is not intuitive at all, it is clunky and inefficient to use. Entries require more keystrokes. We are unable to see all fields at once, even if several fields are eliminated. We can see all of the fields if the window is maximized. But who has the luxury to work in one screen. 

[Lootz]

As a professional in the software cognitive performance space, I am compelled to provide a critical assessment of the recent inventory interface deployment. While the update seemingly attempts to mitigate vertical scrolling, it has inadvertently introduced a staggering amount of procedural friction and latent navigation, fundamentally undermining the "streamlined" experience it purports to offer.

The following architectural choices represent a significant regression in user efficiency:

• Obfuscated Visibility Controls: Critical "Website Visibility" toggles have been relegated to secondary hidden menus. Forcing a fundamental visibility setting behind an additional interaction point is a violation of basic accessibility hierarchies.
• Segmented Financial Data: Decoupling "Price" from "Unit Cost" into disparate screen quadrants disrupts the cognitive mapping of profit margins, forcing the user to visually scan the entire interface for related data points.
• Asynchronous Reporting Workflows: The requirement to select an ellipsis to define a reporting category after setting primary categories is a redundant, non-linear step that adds unnecessary "action-density" to a high-frequency task.
• Interaction Proliferation (The "Carrot" Problem): Hiding channel attributes and vendor selection behind carats and additional buttons has exponentially increased the "click-to-completion" ratio. This is not a workflow; it is an obstacle course.
• Variations Menu Fragmentation: The current variations architecture lacks a logical, hierarchical flow, suggesting a "Minimum Viable Product" release that treats the end-user as a live UX test subject rather than a valued client.

Conclusion: This update appears to have been optimized for visual minimalism at the total expense of operational throughput. It is a classic "Good Enough" deployment that forces the merchant to expend more manual effort for the same output. I strongly suggest a performance audit to reconcile these UI choices with actual human-centered design principles.

[MagicToybox]

I love your assessment! I seriously doubt if any of this was tested before implementation. I also wonder if there is AI influence in this design, as it does not seem logical or relevant to physical real-world funtionality. 

[MagicToybox]

I noticed some changes a few weeks ago, but today everything got worse for me when trying to add inventory and print labels. The "Print Labels" process changed between yesterday and today: The new print labels process adds 12-15 additional steps to each print job, and at least three new screens. It also creates a process loop through 2 different pages, if you want to add more than 1 item. Additionally, the format of existing pages has expanded requiring scrolling up and down a screen to perform one task. 
New Process Steps: * indicates a new step. "New step" is anytime additional key input or mouse use

1- From Item List select Actions

2- Print Labels

3- *Screen format changed and now all buttons do not appear on screen requiring scrolling to complete one task. Scroll down to add items labels to print. 
4 - *New screen has replaced text field with three buttons that require you to choose the format you'd like to search your item list by (By Category, By PO, or Add Items). Old screen defaulted to search by "Item Name" and started cursor in the text box. Having No defaults adds an additional 2 steps by having to choose search type, and then keying into the search box. Additionally, I don't understand why these search options were selected- I've never worked in a retail establishment that would want to print labels "by category" or "By PO." If they do exist, make these options, but keep normal item printing defaults intact. Select "Add Items"
5- *New Item Search screen with Item List. This did not exist before- completely unnecessary.

6- *Click into Search box. Why does are you not started in the search query box? 

7- Type your Search Query. This used to occur at step 3 in the old process. We've added 4 steps just to get to item search. 

8- *Typing your search has a slow version of predictive text. When you stop typing, it begins to add items to a list below your search. However, you need to select each item in the list that you want to add, requiring a seperate mouse click for each item in the list under search query. If your item is not in the top 3 results from your query, you need to scroll through the list. Why has the screen expanded to only allow 3 query results to appear at a time? While the predictive text and search is not markedly different from the old method, the page format is. The old process defaulted you to selecting the best match, and allowed scrolling through with mouse or directional arrows. Additionally, keeping you in the original screen at step 3, which allowed you an easy transition for additional search queries by simply typing over your old query without changing screens.  

9- *New Button to add the item to the list. "Add X" No need to have an additional button in the old process. 

10-* Return back to Print Label Screen at step Three. Scroll Down again to Item Labels. 
11-* IF you want to add additional items with a new search, repeat steps 3-10. In the old process, you did not have to cycle back and forth through seperate screens instead keeping you in the autofill text box. Selecting similar items would simply appear in ABC order in the text box, and could be selected quickly instead of repeating processes repeatedly. 
12-*Now that the items are added into the print label field they autofill to print 0 labels. Each item must be selected individually and label quantity added. The old process autofilled to the quantity on hand, and defaulted to 1 if there were 0 in stock. Printing quantity on hand should be the appropriate default quantity if implementing price changes, or receiving new product. You only needed to make a quantity change as needed. Now every print job requires every item to change quantity individually. Select each item you want to print labels for. 

13- *Type in your print quantity for each item. 
14- *Scroll back up to top of screen. 
15- *Now press button "Create"
16- Label Created Screen 

17- Select Print Labels

18* Print Preview Screen moves you into a print preview screen in a new internet tab to preview prints. This is an entirely new screen, and seems completely unecessary. Why is it in a new tab? If making multiple print jobs, each one generates a new Tab, that must be manually closed.

19* Select Printer Icon from Screen 15. 
20- Back to Windows Printer app Pop-up screen, with additional print preview. This is the original screen that normally would pop up where step 18 is now. Making steps 18 and 19 completely redundant and useless. 
21- Print Labels

22- *Manually close any Print Preview tabs created at step 18.

[MagicToybox]

OVer the last few weeks since this roll out, I've tried everyway imaginable to talk to someone at Square regarding how this update actually affects retail businesses.

-I've made multiple posts here in the Square community Boards, tagging each post as requesting a reponse from Square. No response from anyone at Square, but I have had many other businesses commenting about the same issue; often with this topic as the top discussion on the Square Community. 

-I've spent hours on the phone with customer support agents in foreign countries, who were all very nice and polite, but did not have any knowledge of the system, or authority to make any changes or direction about how to speak to anyone else. They seem to have no way to actually put you in touch with anyone that actually works for Square, and can only put notes into a system. They assured me someone would be in touch with me in 48 hours- that was more than two weeks ago, and no contact. 

-I've spent hours on the chat service, with a support agent, who's only response is again, that someone would be in contact with me in 48 hours. No Contact. 

-I've even turned to social media- complaining on Square Instagram posts. That DID get a response from someone on the Square Social Media Team (I think it was a real person working for Square?). They said they'd have someone contact me. But no. NO one has contacted me. 

At this point, I am really disappointed in Square, and angry at myself for paying for this service. Square when you read this: YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME SORT OF ACTUAL CUSTOMER SUPPORT!!! You have plenty of money to afford actual people to talk to your customers. You owe it to your clients.