[Roundup] 🐝 May 2022 🐝 Product Updates and New Features

[Ryan_M]

Hey Sellers!

If you missed any of these feature releases and announcements then now is your chance to get caught up! Here are all the product updates that were posted on the Seller Community throughout May 2022. 🙌

New Square for Retail Feature: Automatically Track All Inventory Quantities

We’ve simplified creating items to help you get to selling faster.  Now, sellers using Retail POS free or those subscribed to Retail Plus can track inventory deductions automatically. This has been a long time request from our retailers. In the past, Sellers needed to toggle “ON” tracking for each item, by receiving a quantity, or toggling “ON” one-by-one as they added a quantity. 

Read the full update

Reintroducing Square Point of Sale

Square Point of Sale is now better than ever. The user interface that you’ve come to know over the years has gone through a few key changes to make your day-to-day business easier to manage. With added features throughout the redesigned checkout and navigation flows, you’ll be able to accomplish more each day and watch your business grow.

Read the full update

New: Payroll On-Demand Pay Includes Manual Check Coverage

On-Demand Pay (ODP) is the feature that offers Payroll employees access to a portion of their wages before their employer runs payroll. In the past when an employee takes ODP and then gets paid by manual check, the amount they were advanced via ODP was not subtracted from their manual check. This results in them functionally getting double-paid the ODP amount, once by Square Payroll and then again by their employers. This launch will implement separate debits to ensure that the employee is paid the correct amount and the seller is debited the correct amount as well.

Read the full update

New: Square Charge for Desktop

We're excited to announce we’ve launched Square Charge, our first desktop app to quickly process keyed-in transactions directly from your computer’s top menu bar. Note: At this time, Square Charge is only available for Mac users running version 10.11 (El Capitan) or newer.

Read the full update

New: Accept Dip and Tap Payments while Offline with Square Terminal

We never want you to miss a sale, even if your internet connection is unavailable. In the past you could only accept swiped transactions in Offline Mode, but now you can accept dip and tap payments while offline as well! In Offline Mode, Square Terminal captures card information while connectivity is interrupted, and approves payments without any verification. Once connectivity is restored, the transaction is sent to the issuer for an online authorization. 

Read the full update

New: Accept Afterpay In Person!

Afterpay is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) payment method that allows customers to pay in four instalments over six weeks. Merchants get paid in full – immediately. Afterpay acceptance is currently available In-Person with Square Point of Sale, Square for Retail, Square Appointments, Square for Restaurants and Virtual Terminal.

Read the full update

New: Accept Payments with Afterpay on Square Online Checkout

Eligible sellers are automatically enabled to use Afterpay when they create a payment link with Square Online Checkout, allowing their customers to select Afterpay as their payment method at checkout. Sellers will get the full amount immediately. Learn more about how Afterpay works on their website.

Read the full update

New: Square for Restaurants mobile POS

We’re excited to announce the launch of Square for Restaurants mobile POS, which brings you the ability to take table-side orders and payments with Square for Restaurants on Square Terminal (and soon to the new Restaurant Mobile POS kit).

Square for Restaurants mobile POS is currently available on Square Terminal. 

• Before you start using Square Terminal with Restaurants mobile POS, walk through these software update instructions.
• Learn more about pricing, available features, and getting set up with our Square for Restaurants mobile POS Get Started Guide.  

Read the full update

New: Create promotions with Square Loyalty

We're excited to announce the launch of Loyalty Promotions. If you’re using any Square Point of Sale app and are designated as a business, you can subscribe to Square Loyalty and create a digital rewards program to reward customers for their purchases. Sellers now have the option to create a Loyalty Promotion. This helps drive repeat visits and boost sales. Promotions incentivize customers to return to your business for events like happy hours or weekend sales to earn extra rewards. 

Read the full update

New on Square Appointments: Additional Commission Reporting Data Fields in the CSV File Export

The Appointments team launched a new feature that allows you to audit and understand staff commission calculations through reporting. We added three new data fields in the “Item Detail” CSV file export on your Square Dashboard:

• Itemization Type: e.g. Item vs Service
• Commission: Dollar amount
• Employee: Name of commission earner

Read the full update

What do you think of these monthly product update posts? Let us know in the comments below! 👇

[JUYBoutique20]

Love Love Love all the new updates...

[ShopTea]

Can we please get an update to Purchase Orders where we can bulk add variants of an item to the PO? It's so time-consuming and frustrating having to click back and forth for each variant. 9/10 times I forget one or double one up and have to spend more time finding the mistake. 

[Doran]

Love all the new updates especially the AfterPay in-person option!

[TCSlaguna]

Automatically Track All Inventory Quantities in Square for Retail saves us a lot of time. Thank you!

[backyardtent]

Those are all awesome!! I would love to suggest something that I would love to see as well! For our business (event rentals), we utilize the "Date of Service" field for the event date the equipment is being rented for. I would LOVE to be able to choose the columns that are shown in the main Estimates/Invoices page, and have them "sortable". This way I could sort by the Date of Service and I could see which events were upcoming. As of right now, the events are listed in the order that they are booked. Thank you!

[SPECTRUM1]

Changes to the Square Register screen / user interface layout should be opt-in. After the big service outage on June 1, the different looking main screen that appeared on my Register on the morning of June 2 just looked like the system had failed again.  Luckily I was able to find the "revert" in Settings / Hardware. I do not have time to explain these changes to all our staff at this time.  Opt-in would be a better way to go. 

[Anthem]

Thank you and way to go! This type of communication is fantastic and a core topic of a very recent conversation among beta and super sellers. Keep it up!

[sensational]

Thank you for the incredible updates. I'm still waiting on a Block a Client feature for the Appointment section. As a small business, we should be able to block a client from booking a service with our business instead of just being able to decline an appointment. Please consider providing this feature in the near future. 

[ambertfarm2020]

Some of these updates are really nice.  For a huge game changer to compete with multiple website ecommerce hosting companies, a couple of things need to be done.  

• Ability to sell on multiple platforms such as ebay, etsy, walmart, amazon, wish, and more would be a huge addition.  (Adding more sales channels)
• Ability to print upc codes without spending $40 more dollars in subscription costs.
• Maybe combine upc codes and real time shipping for $10 - $15 more for the performance plan would be ok.
• Make marketing a little more integrated where a customer can access emailed or facebook coupon codes directly to product instead of additional clicks which can be frustrating for impatient customers.

With high competition in costs, 3rd party apps, and better flexibility such as godaddy, shopify, and wix.. I am surprised that square isn't as competitive with updates then other providers.

[Trail-Angels]

I think the changes to the free account ruined it for me. No google calendar sync, no confirmation for appointments, the 2 features that meant anything to me. Sure I can add an employee but I don't need one and never will. Time to look for something specific to shuttle business this isn't cutting it.

[jawsfree]

Glad to see some improvements but when will we be able to run a open tab without having to hold the card to finalize payment?

[allier]

I do not like the updates to the Square Register, especially when not giving us notice to update our team and roll out training on how this will impact them.  Opt-in would be a much better approach.  I tried to revert back but I'm not seeing that option (I used the instructions from the article) on any of my Square Register devices.  Taking away the swipe option to remove an item is now a time killer, instead of a quick swipe now it is three clicks. 

[RMConsultingLLC]

I am so excited about the updates and changes that have rolled out this year... Thank you for taking our feedback and making so many updates so quickly! #TheBestIsYetToCome

Richard Merrill, CEO (he/him)

Richard Merrill Consulting, LLC

Spokane, WA, USA

Super Seller: I help others.

Beta Tester: I question everything.

Happy Selling!

[LincolnPerk]

I am overall happy with most of the updates.  As stated in other comments, I would like to have the option to opt-in to the new updates and interface at a time of my choosing, instead of getting frantic calls from confused employees first thing in the morning when the system is suddenly different than what's expected.  Controlled change is fine and good in business.  Surprises are not.

My biggest issue with this update is the Notifications for new Online orders.  The old interface on iOS would have a pop-up in the middle of the screen for new orders that was impossible to miss.  Now there is a small popup on the very top of the screen that quickly disappears.  If you are not actively looking at the screen when it shows up, you will miss it.  And the "Orders" button at the bottom is not very prominent.  I would like at the least some configuration options on the notifications settings to make it much easier to see when a new online order has been placed.

[Stacelyn24]

I'm loving the new updates!!!  Tested out the commission reporting for Appointments and putting together a loyalty promotion now which should attract current clients to refer new clients to our newest nail technicians for additional loyalty points...this just might be a game changer lol 🙂

[SammyGrace2414]

So many great updates! I am most excited about Square Charge for Desktop. I'm crossing my fingers hoping itemized sale (with barcode) becomes a feature in the future!! 

[mdgolden01]

Ooooooo snap I love this!!! 

[TincysCorner]

I can't find my gift card option to allow a customer to load and purchase a gift card since  new updates in the square register.  I use the retail for square.