What's New From Square: May Features Coming Soon (Volume 4)

3 Kudos

Hey Square Community,

Two weeks ago, we rolled out Volume 3, and the response has been incredible. Thank you to everyone who shared feedback, asked questions, and helped other sellers navigate the changes.

We're here with another set of features and improvements coming this week across inventory, discounts, kitchen operations, ordering, account management, and security. Some are available for early access, and the rest will be fully available by May 28.

This is Volume 4. Here's what's new.

🔔 Make sure you turn on notifications for the Product Updates board so you never miss an announcement. Click the blue Subscribe button in Product Updates.

Inventory Management

Add items by category when creating a cycle count 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸

When setting up a cycle count, you can select a category to automatically add all items within it. Instead of selecting items one by one, choosing a category prefills your cycle count with every item assigned to it.

Why it matters: If you manage a large catalog, building a cycle count item by item is tedious — especially when you're trying to count an entire section of your store, like all footwear or all candles. Adding by category lets you set up counts faster, so you can run them more often and keep stock levels accurate.

Access: When creating a cycle count, look for the option to add items by category. Select the category you want, and all items within it are added to the count automatically.

Learn how to conduct, review, and approve inventory counts ->

Payments & Checkout

Advanced rules for manual discounts 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸

Manual discounts support advanced rules including category-based targeting, buy-one-get-one (BOGO) offers, and conditional logic. These rule types, previously limited to automatic discounts, can be configured when creating or editing any manual discount.

Why it matters: Automatic discounts apply to every qualifying sale — but sometimes you want your staff to decide when a deal makes sense. A regular who's buying in bulk, a customer having a rough day, or a one-off exception that doesn't fit your standard promotions. Advanced rules on manual discounts let you build the logic once (e.g., BOGO on a specific category) and leave the decision to apply it up to your team at checkout.

Access: Rolling out next week. To set up advanced rules on a manual discount, go to Discounts on your Square Dashboard and create or edit a manual discount. You'll see options for category targeting, BOGO, and conditional logic during configuration.

Learn how to create and edit discounts ->

Scale integration on the item details screen across all POS modes 🇨🇦 🇺🇸

The item details screen in Square Point of Sale supports integrated scale workflows across all POS modes — Standard, Retail, Quick Service, Full Service, Bar, Bookings, and Services. When a weight-based item is added to a sale, you can weigh it directly from the item details view and price it based on the measured weight. Previously, scale connectivity was limited to specific modes.

Why it matters: If you sell items by weight — produce, bulk goods, deli meats, or anything that needs to be measured at checkout — you can ring up those items without leaving the item details screen or manually entering a weight. This keeps the checkout flow consistent regardless of which POS mode your business uses.

Access: Connect a compatible scale to your Square POS device. When you add a weight-based item to a sale, the item details screen displays the weight reading and calculates the price automatically. This works across all Square POS modes with no additional configuration beyond the initial scale connection.

Learn how to set up and sell items by weight ->

Menu & Kitchen Operations

Custom text colors for modifiers on Kitchen Display System 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸

You can assign custom text colors to modifiers so they stand out on your Kitchen Display System. Colors are configured per modifier from the Modifiers page in the Items section of Square Dashboard.

Why it matters: During a busy service, kitchen staff need to spot critical modifier details — like allergy notes or preparation instructions — at a glance. Custom text colors let you visually distinguish between different types of modifiers on the KDS, helping your team prepare orders more accurately.

Access: Go to Items > Modifiers on your Square Dashboard. Select the modifier you want to customize and assign a text color. The color appears on your KDS tickets once the change is saved. This feature rolls out next week.

Learn how to create and edit modifiers ->

Daily auto-reset for ticket numbers in food and beverage 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸

Ticket numbers automatically reset to #1 before each business day. The reset fires 15 minutes before your configured opening hours, or at 4 AM if business hours aren't set. The existing max-value reset (at 100 or 1,000) still applies — tickets reset on whichever trigger comes first: time of day or max reached. No manual steps are required.

Why it matters: When ticket numbers carry over from the previous day, your kitchen staff might open the morning with orders starting at #347 instead of #1. That makes it harder to track orders at a glance, and high numbers can overlap with table numbers or cause confusion on the KDS. With daily auto-reset, your team starts each day with a clean count — order #1, #2, #3 — so tickets stay short, readable, and easy to call out.

Access: Rolling out next week. The daily reset applies automatically based on your configured business hours. If you haven't set business hours, the reset defaults to 4 AM. To review or update your business hours, go to your Square Dashboard under Business information.

Drive-Thru for Square for Restaurants 🇺🇸

Drive-Thru is a dedicated POS configuration for Square for Restaurants that supports the full drive-thru lane flow — arrival, order entry, prep, payment, and handoff. It includes:

Automatic order numbering that assigns a ticket number at the start of each order for tracking from greet to handoff
Send & Stay, which fires items to KDS without closing the order so you can continue building and send additional items in batches (each as its own chit with coursing respected)
Live integration with Order Confirmation Systems (OCS) from The Howard Company, providing real-time sync with digital menu boards — edits and voids update instantly as orders are built
A dedicated Drive-Thru fulfillment type with its own tab in Order Manager and separate routing
Vehicle descriptors for quick-add labels (e.g., "red Civic") to identify cars at handoff
Per-device fulfillment settings that let you configure different workflows for front counter devices and window devices within the same location
Speed-of-service reporting to track service time, throughput, and exceptions by channel, location, and daypart

Why it matters: Drive-thru lanes move fast, and each station in the lane has a different job. Drive-Thru gives order-takers, prep staff, and window cashiers purpose-built workflows — the POS skips payment selection and cart review screens at the order point, KDS receives items as they're called in (not only when the full order is complete), and OCS boards show customers exactly what's been entered in real time. Per-device settings mean a single location can run front-counter and drive-thru fulfillment side by side without conflicting configurations.

Access: Drive-Thru is available on the Square for Restaurants Premium plan. It runs on Square Register, Square Terminal, and Square POS on iPad. Configuration and multi-location deployment are managed from Square Dashboard. The Howard Company OCS hardware is required separately for the digital menu board integration.

Online Ordering & Fulfillment

Delivery radius settings for courier-powered delivery on Online Ordering 🇺🇸

Sellers using courier-powered delivery through Online Ordering Profiles can set a custom delivery radius for orders fulfilled by third-party couriers. The seller-defined radius takes priority over the courier's default serviceable area. Orders from addresses outside the configured radius are not offered to couriers.

Why it matters: A seller with quality-sensitive cuisine — such as a pizza shop operating in a dense urban area — can restrict deliveries to a radius the kitchen can support (e.g., 1 to 1.5 miles), rather than accepting the courier's broader default zone.

Access: Rolling out next week. This applies to courier-powered delivery only; seller-powered delivery radius settings remain unchanged.

Learn how to set up delivery options for your online store ->

Online Ordering profile page consolidates setup into a single screen 🇺🇸

The Online Ordering profile page consolidates QR code ordering, brand controls (Cashtag, logo, color, and About section), menus, pickup and delivery settings, taxes, service charges, and store policies into a single management screen. A persistent mobile preview displays brand changes before you publish. Menus surface readiness indicators so you can see what's missing before going live.

Why it matters: All Online Ordering configuration lives on one screen. You don't need to navigate across separate settings pages to set up or update your QR ordering, branding, fulfillment options, or store policies.

Access: Available to food and beverage sellers in the US.

Operations & Device Management

Dark mode available across all Square Point of Sale apps on iOS 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸

Dark mode is available across all Square Point of Sale apps on iOS — not just Food & Beverage modes. The updated color scheme matches market design standards for improved readability in low-light environments.

Why it matters: If you run a bar, theatre, spa, or any business where the lights stay low, a bright POS screen can be distracting for both your staff and your customers. Dark mode reduces glare so your team can ring up sales, manage orders, and check appointments without a screen lighting up the room.

Access: Set your iOS device to dark mode in your device's system settings (Settings > Display & Brightness > Dark). Square Point of Sale automatically follows your system preference — no additional configuration is needed inside the app.

Learn how to use modes with Square Point of Sale ->

Dedicated settings for Kiosk modes 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸

Kiosk mode includes a dedicated settings experience where you can manage device groups, assign menus, configure branding, and control individual kiosk devices. All kiosk configuration lives in one place rather than requiring navigation across multiple settings screens.

Why it matters: Setting up and managing kiosks previously meant jumping between different settings screens to handle menus, branding, and device assignments. With a centralized settings experience, you can configure everything — from the menu a kiosk displays to the colors and logo customers see — without leaving the Kiosk section.

Access: Rolling out next week. Available to sellers using Kiosk mode on Square Point of Sale.

Learn how to create, assign, and edit Square Kiosk profiles ->

Account Management & Security

Dashboard prompts to designate Authorized Representatives 🇺🇸

Eligible sellers who have team members but haven't designated any Authorized Representatives are prompted to add them through email CTAs and Dashboard notification and action center surfaces. The prompts route you into a dedicated flow where you can assign trusted team members as Authorized Representatives. Once designated, those team members can contact Square Support on behalf of your business.

Why it matters: If you have managers or admins who help run your business day to day, they may not be able to reach Square Support on your behalf unless they're designated as Authorized Representatives. Without that designation, only the account owner can get account-specific help — which creates delays when you're unavailable and your team needs support.

Access: This prompt is available on the web only and appears for active sellers who have team members but zero Authorized Representatives. You'll see the prompt through an email CTA or a notification in your Square Dashboard. POS support for this flow is not yet available.

Magic link fallback when captcha verification fails during login 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸

If captcha verification fails during login, you can verify your identity through a magic link sent to your email address. Instead of being blocked from your account by a false-positive captcha result, you receive an email with a secure link that lets you complete the login process.

Why it matters: Captcha checks occasionally flag legitimate login attempts — especially on certain browsers, networks, or devices. Previously, a false positive could lock you out of your account with no alternative. The magic link fallback gives you a reliable way to get back in without waiting for the issue to resolve itself.

Access: No setup is required. If a captcha check fails during login, you're automatically prompted to verify your identity via a magic link sent to the email address associated with your Square account.

Self-serve appeal for compliance-related account deactivations 🇺🇸

Sellers whose accounts have been deactivated for compliance reasons can submit an appeal directly from the Square Support Portal. The self-serve appeal flow lets you provide additional information for Square to review your case without needing to contact support. This appeal option applies to compliance-related deactivations and does not apply to accounts deactivated for Terms of Service violations.

Why it matters: If your account was deactivated and you believe the decision was made in error, you have a way to request a review and supply supporting information on your own — without waiting for a support agent.

Access: Log in to the Square Support Portal with your deactivated account credentials and follow the prompts to submit an appeal. The appeal option is available to sellers with compliance-related deactivations who meet eligibility criteria.

🎉 Your Feedback in Action

These updates are a direct result of feedback and feature requests shared across the community! Here's how the Community helped shape what we're launching:

Daily auto-reset for ticket numbers: @paradice928 @XiAnFamousFood @TheDock @bmd102 @ptf and many others requested automatic daily ticket reset because having ticket numbers trailing day after day can be confusing not only for staff behind the counter, but also for customers. Sellers have been asking for this since 2018 — now it's here.

Drive-Thru mode: @ehrlecm1 asked for more tailored settings and support for drive-through businesses. Now, there’s a dedicated Drive-Thru mode that can address this long-standing gap. This would not have been possible without your continued feedback and participation in our early testing.

Scale integration across all POS modes: Sellers like @BBCafe1 and @Tcblb1 have been requesting scale support for Square for Restaurants since 2022. Now, scale works everywhere for sellers in the US and Canada — regardless of whether they are running Retail or Restaurant modes.

Dark mode on iOS: @Sam_400º posted looking for dark mode because their bright screen "looks a bit crazy" in low-light settings. @Dnev and many other sellers have also said they've been "hunting for a Dark Mode option for years." The wait is over.

Advanced rules for manual discounts: @RiseUpRefillVT asked how to create a category-specific discount that isn't automatic — they wanted staff to apply it only to select customers. Now manual discounts support the same advanced rules that were previously automatic-only.

Magic link failback when captcha verification fails: Since Square introduced captcha verification as an additional security measure, we have received feedback on how it can potentially delay access to accounts for sellers from @geekeliteaz @UncleRed99 and @TheRealChipA . Now, instead of being locked out of your account if captcha verification fails during login, you can verify your identity through a magic link sent to your email address.

Add items by category when creating a cycle count: As @JTPets outlined, cycle count is the inventory counting that matters to retailers. With the new update, you can now set up cycle count by category, instead of having to do it by item.

Custom text colors for modifiers on Kitchen Display System: For businesses like @smoothville, it’s important to be able to quickly spot when customers have requested modification when tickets come through on KDS. Now, with the new update, you can assign color to modifiers.

💬 Community Conversations from Previous Volumes

Here's what else is happening across the Community worth knowing about:

Item Details Redesign: We have rolled out new settings for how you can configure your item details at checkout. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share feedback on the Item Details redesign — your feedback and engagement helped drive this change. You can find more details on what is changing and share your feedback here ->

Real-Time Check View: If you have yet to test out the new real-time check view update, take a look at what the experience look likes here:

For Quick Service Mode
For Full Service Mode

This feature is currently available in beta. You can find more information on how to opt in and share your feedback with us here ->

We Want to Hear From You

Tried a new feature? Share your experience in Feedback Discussions — look for posts tagged Release Feedback or start your own.

Need help or running into an issue? Post in our Help boards where fellow sellers and Square Champions can chime in.

Have an idea for something new? Share it in the Feature Requests board. The more details you provide about your use case, the better we can prioritize.

Thank you to everyone who takes the time to share feature requests, vote on ideas, and participate in discussions. Your input directly impacts our product roadmap, and we're always listening!

🪧 Stay in the Know

Browse the Early Feature Access tab in your Square Dashboard to get a head start on upcoming features.
Visit Square Release Notes for the latest product updates, or browse the Feature Log for a full history of what's shipped.