Retail App Lagging

[gbc8]

I’m using the square for retail plus. I run the point of sale on my iPad Air 2. The app lags so bad that it is almost unusable. I’ve called support, done every update, checked internet speed, deleted everything off the iPad except for the square apps, uninstalled and reinstalled the app,  and it is still painfully slow. If I’m not using the app for a few minutes, it closes out and I have to reopen it, adding to the delay when checking a customer out. The most noticeable lag is when typing in the search bar for inventory items. Some of my items have a large amount of variants, some about 25-35 variants. I have about 50 items in my inventory. I’m not sure what is causing the problem, and I’m extremely frustrated. Has anyone else had this issue? Or does anyone have an idea what may be causing this?

[TCSlaguna]

I think we have the same model iPad, and ours has been a little sluggish too, especially when inputting text. I know I will need a new iPad soon, our current iPad is eight years old. I do appreciate Square adding new features and functionality, but I suppose this will be more resource intensive for the device.

[gbc8]

Thank you for replying. I think it may be the age of my iPad in combination with the amount of variations I have per item. I'd get a new iPad if that would solve the problem, but I'm not sure this system can handle anything beyond a very simple inventory, and I should just find a new POS system.

[TCSlaguna]

We have a second Square Stand with a new iPad and it works significantly faster. I think you should give it a try. We have over 8,000 items in our Item Library. 

I know @PartyManiaMD  and @LLCafe also have large Item Libraries, perhaps they can share their experience with newer hardware. 

[PartyManiaMD]

I'm using the Square Register I bought in 2021 and it doesn't really lag like the OP is having issues with on the Ipad.

I feel like this might be an issue of hardware versus the software if it's constantly closing on its' own, I'm not an expert when it comes to Ipads but @gbc8 have you tried possibly using a different ipad or laptop?

Also are the item variations all on one item? I could see the potential for lag if there are tons of variations/modifiers on one item instead of running a slightly larger database.

I find Square for Retail on a Square Register to work fairly flawlessly, it's worth the investment especially if you're a retail store.

I'm actually in the process of deciding whether I want a second square register or 2-3 ipads on stands around the store.

[gbc8]

Thank you for the reply. Many of my items have 25-35 variants. I sell bras, and I have each color of each style as a separate item, but there are many sizes per bra. So even with the each color being a separate item, there are many variants. I'm pretty sure the age of the ipad is part of the problem, but I'm hesitant to spend the money for the register as I am also having other issues, and may need to go to another system entirely.  One issue is items are disappearing from my inventory. It is happening sporadically, and it is only one item at a time. But its happened about 5 times (that I know of) since I started with square in March 2022. With so many variants, and a different gtin and sku for each one, it is a really an annoying issue. I don't even have all of my inventory loaded yet because each of my items takes so long to enter.

[gbc8]

I have far less than 8,000 items. I don't have all my items in inventory yet. I think the amount of variants in combination with the age of the ipad may be the issue. I can update the hardware, but the is no way around the amount of variants.

[TCSlaguna]

Items should not disappear. I would Export your Item Library, save it. Then when an item disappears, I would look back at the exported item library. Export your most recent Item Library. Search by Reference Handle. If this probably persists, you should let Square Support know. 

We have a lot of variations as well. It shouldn't be an issue with newer hardware. Our Tumbled Stones we have 96 variations. 

Are you inputting new items on the iPad or from a computer? We always input new items on a computer. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

[gbc8]

I am inputing from my laptop. Which Also lags a bit. I have tested internet speed and cleared cache. The items disappearing has happened several times. I know exactly which items they are. The most frustrating part, is that I have tried to call support. I go through a few prompts, and then it just disconnects me. Two days ago I spent the day messaging back and forth with square dealing with the issue of not being able to call support. As of this evening, more than 48 hours later, I received an email saying a ticket has been issued for my issue. The issue being that I can’t get in contact with anyone. The other issues of deleting items and lagging apps and slow dashboard have not even been acknowledged yet. 

[MayaP]

Hi @gbc8,

Sorry you are running into some issues! Happy to assist. 

Just so we are on the same page, I would like to confirm some things:

1. You have never been able to speak with Direct Support. Or did this issue just start happening. 

2. You mentioned other issues are that items disappear from the retail app, the app lags, and the dashboard is slow. If you can elaborate  more on these issues. 

3. What troubleshooting have you done.

[homeprogreen]

I have items with lots of variations so I do understand the frustration at times with searching while trying to ring up a sale. 1 thing that would definitely speed things up is to enter the SKU’s for the item variations so that you can ring items up with a barcode scanner. Normally each item I receive already has a barcode on it and it’s just a matter of scanning the SKU’s into the correct spot in your item listing. For those that don’t have barcodes you can generate a sku in square for retail then print out the labels to add to the product tag. Much faster and easier then using the search function 

[gbc8]

I appreciate the square community's time taken to help with this issue. I still have only received an email stating a ticket has been issued. I have purchased a brand new iPad in the mean time, and the lagging is still an issue. I don't mind taking the time and keying in the gtin for each item, but when items just disappear out of inventory, it's pretty much a waste of my time. After 6 months of spinning my wheels, I'm about to throw in the towel.

[LSD95116]

Yes I’m having the same problem I did a point-of-sale and then I went to transfer the money to my bank and now my money is gone didn’t transfer and it’s not in the square account I wish I never use this application I need that I needed that money like now even charge me for instantly transferring it piece of **bleep**