Feature Request: Display GST / Tax in receipts for Square Online

[Remi]

As I've raised numerous time (as have others) in the 'old forum' (why do we need a new one?), the GST/tax reporting in receipts is not working through the Online store. It is a LEGAL requirement in Australia to accurately display the amount of tax collected on items and total spend.

Please advise when this will be looked at. Your Customer Service have assured us in the past that all compliance requirements have been met in setting up the platform to work in Australia — the ATO and tax requirements beg to differ.

[Seamus]

Hi @Remi,

This is one we've tabled with the eCommerce team - I wish I had more to share with you right now, I will let you know once I hear more!

[Remi]

So how can you call it a viable product in Aus?

[Remi]

Is it looking like something that might be resolved for the new financial year?

To my knowledge it was raised at least near the end of 2019/20. Given the nature of the issue's tax relation and legal standing I'd have imagined a priority status might be applied. Certainly anything higher than "tabled".

Looking forward to your reply, and a proposed date for a resolution.

[Seamus]

Hey @Remi,

Unfortunately I don't have any more news about this at the moment. The workaround right now would be to send your customer a receipt manually from the Square dashboard upon request, but I do acknowledge this is is not an ideal solution, and will let you know once I have more to share about the issue!

[BrettRennie]

Hey legend,

Any progress on this one?

We have multiple businesses using the platform and GST does not show up in sale receipts to customers, nor in the orders. It's marked as $0 every time despite it being set up correctly in the backend and applied to all the items which are being sold.

Any chance you could give me a call to discuss?

[Remi]

@Seamus ... perhaps you can let us know the best avenue for contacting the Square/Weebly team to get an effective and meaningful response on matters like this? This forum clearly isn't the platform, nor is the Weebly 'community' ... so what's the best way of us feeling like we're actually getting some level of service?

Thanks in advance.

[Seamus]

Hey @BrettRennie and @Remi,

This is some we're continuing to provide feedback direct to the eCommerce team about. It's been raised with the right people internally already and we've included this thread as feedback from Australian users. At the moment the workaround is still to send a receipt direct from Square Dashboard upon request.

Again, I understand it's not an ideal solution and will continue to advocate for this feature - it's unfortunately not as simple as flicking a switch to make it happen. I'll update this thread and tag everyone as soon as I hear more on this.

[Remi]

Respectfully .., NOONE is suggesting it's 'flicking a switch'. The matter was raised and acknowledged as a known issue by a Square/Weebly rep in November 2019. Which begs the question ... where does legal/tax compliance stand in the development/management team's playbook?

[Seamus]

Hey @Remi,

I don't have any further info to share about this right now, but I'm with you in hoping we can get Online Store receipts showing Australian tax info soon!

From a tax compliance perspective, the workaround would be to send the customer a receipt from Square Dashboard upon request, which will have the required tax invoice information for Australia. Again, I know this isn't an ideal workaround and I'll update this thread as soon as I have more information to share!

[Remi]

Which would need a manual action for EVERY order placed?!

You can quickly see how this 'workaround'  just doesn't ... work.

Way to automate things, amirite?!

If the info can be correct in the Dashboard ... can you explain exactly why this information doesn't translate to the checkout/receipt correctly? And why this can't have been fixed in 6 months?

[Seamus]

Hey @Remi,

At the moment I have nothing else to share and will update you as soon as I do!

[Remi]

 @Seamus ... seems there HAS been an (yet another sly) update, where receipts now say "all items inclusive of GST where applicable" and no $ amount of tax is shown.

Once again, this (not displaying tax amount totals) is outside the regulations in Australia for Tax Receipts and reporting.

Please provide an official response on this matter. Not a personal response, but an official response of exactly WHEN you will have this issue resolved. At the moment, the "fix" only seems to be making a bad situation worse.

[Seamus]

Hey @Remi,

It looks like this change occurred yesterday and receipts no longer feature a $0 tax amount, instead indicating there is GST charged where applicable. To send the customer a tax invoice with GST breakdown you'll still need to do this from your Square dashboard.

At the moment I don't have any news on when Square Online Store will be able to send receipts with a breakdown of GST amounts. As always, I'll update this thread if I hear of any changes and will continue to pass on new feedback we receive for this feature!

[Remi]

So ... every online sale requires us to review, manually align and send the customer a valid (and legally required) tax receipt? Can you explain why this doesn't function as intended/proposed?

It doesn't have to be a breakdown ... a total GST is the minimum requirement for a sales receipt in Aus. Customers shouldn't have to request one specifically.

Applying a number to a digital receipt doesn't seem outside the realms of possibility if, as you say, the amounts are calculated and correct in the Square Dashboard.

As per my message yesterday, while I appreciate YOU "don't have any other news" and might not know personally, please ask someone who does and can provide information/responses officially and report back — you're the one with a direct line to the apparent 'development team', not us.

It is mind boggling that such a requirement has gone ignored, or was released without proper functionality — dissolving confidence in the Square platform having a positive and/or extended future.

[Seamus]

Hey @Remi,

I understand your frustration here, and I wish there was more info I was able to provide.

As policy Square doesn't publicly reveal timelines for feature requests and new releases, so I'm not able to provide any further info on potential timelines for this feature. I have passed your feedback to our eCommerce team on a number of occasions, we're tracking this issue and our team are aware that this is an important feature for Australian users. I certainly hope it's one we can implement as soon as possible, but unfortunately I'm not able to provide any more information about it at the moment.

[Remi]

This was apparently at a 'tabled' status on the 3rd of June, 2020.

Are you actually any closer to resolving this issue? Perhaps you'd prefer (or take action) if users start reporting your lack of compliance with local tax laws to ACCC and other bodies. We've called ... zero action. We've emailed ... zero action. We've posted in the old forum ... zero action. We've posted here ... problem made worse, but ultimately ... zero action.

This is a ridiculous situation and "tabled" is no longer good enough. Square users deserve MUCH better

[fandrews]

@Seamus  I'm sorry but I have to agree with @Remi.  If you can not meet the regulatory demands of a country then you should not be rolling your product out.

I am sure there are a large number of merchant who are completely unaware that they are breaching Australian tax regulations.  A tax invoice needs to be sent for all purchases and your work around solution is the only way to do so then that should be made perfectly clear to the merchant BEFORE they spend a significant amount of time setting up their online store that ends up being non compliant.

[Seamus · Accepted solution]

Hi @fandrews,

At the moment Square sellers are able to provide their online store customers with a tax invoice upon request from the Transactions section of Square Dashboard, as per ATO requirements.

I understand the frustration here and ideally we'd have a simpler and more automated solution than the one we're currently able to offer for online store transactions. I'll continue to advocate for this feature for Australian sellers and will update this thread when I hear of any changes to how this works.

[fandrews]

@Seamus you are missing the point.  I know there is a work around but that work around should be highlighted BEFORE a merchant spends their precious time setting up an online store with Square as they would be assuming that their Square Online store would meet ALL ATO requirements.

Last thing I want to be doing is double handling a transaction.  Small business owner's time is precious enough as it is.

And for the record a Tax Invoice needs to be issued for ALL sales not just sales where the customer requests a Tax Invoice.

[Remi]

Careful @fandrews you'll probably get a private message from Seamus suggesting you need to keep all interactions positive. Apparently Square Customers cannot and should not be disappointed, let alone voice their disappointment or frustration.

It's a pretty great reflection of how disconnected a company can be from its actual user base.

More time has passed ... still no valid solution provided by the Square/Weebly team.

We're STILL disappointed and are passing this feedback on to other business we discuss platforms with.

Hope you're well @fandrews . Stay healthy