Stop "Unable to find printer assigned to "printer profile"

[hooverdlh]

I have an unusual setup with Square Stands and printers that is causing me to get the RED "Unable to find printer assigned to" notification which is annoying for our employees.

I have to Square Stands with iPads running Square for Restaurants.  I have two locations on our property and we are either open at Location A or Location B, never both.  I have two Star network printers, one at Location A and one at Location B.  I created a profile for each printer, Profile A and Profile B.  Before the change in how profiles worked, everything was fine.  However, now I get an error at both locations because it's expecting both printers to be online rather than one or the other.  

Is there a better way to configure in Square for Restaurants?  

[Summer2024 · Accepted solution]

Hi, @hooverdlh !

Based on your unique setup, here are several potential solutions I have outlined:

1. Create Location-Specific Configurations Instead of having two profiles that are always active, you could:

• Create separate complete configurations for each location
• Use Square's Location Management feature to treat each space as a distinct location
• Switch between locations in the app when moving operations

2. Printer Groups Solution

• Create separate printer groups for each location
• Only enable the relevant printer group when operating in that location
• This prevents the system from looking for both printers simultaneously

3. Alternative Setup Options:

Option A: Single Location with Service Areas

• Set up as a single location in Square
• Use service areas or "sections" to designate Location A and B
• Create printer rules based on service areas
• Enable/disable service areas as needed

Option B: Separate Business Hours

• Set specific business hours for each location in Square
• Configure printer rules to only look for specific printers during their designated hours
• This would automatically prevent errors during off-hours

4. Best Practice Solution: Based on your specific case, here's what I recommend:

5. In Square Dashboard:

   • Create two distinct locations (Location A and Location B)
   • Each location should have its own printer configuration
   • Set up separate menus if needed for each location

6. When Operating:

   • At the start of the day, select the appropriate location in the Square app
   • This will automatically load the correct printer configuration
   • The system will only look for the printer associated with the active location

This approach would:

• Eliminate the "Unable to find printer" errors
• Provide cleaner reporting by location
• Allow for location-specific settings and menus
• Make it easier to manage inventory by location

I hope this helps!

[hooverdlh]

I created the new location; however when I check the iPad, Square doesn't have the option to change the location.  It shows the current location and is grayed out.  I even logged out and logged back in.   And there is no option to switch locations.  What am I doing wrong?

[Summer2024]

Did you try logging out, force quitting the app, and then logging in again? 

[hooverdlh]

This is perfect.  Thank you for giving me all of this information.  I decided to go with the best practice option and will have location specific printers.  I do not want separate menus, so I will make no change to my menu setup.  If there's something I need to do to make my current menu work at both places, please let me know.