What's New From Square: October Features Coming Soon (Volume 13)

1 Kudo

Hey Square Community,

A few weeks ago, we rolled out Volume 12, and the response has been incredible. Thank you to everyone who shared feedback, asked questions, and helped other sellers navigate the changes.

We're rolling out a wave of new features and improvements across Apple Maps, online ordering, reporting, and kitchen operations, and more. Some are live now, and the rest will be fully available by October 5.

This is Volume 13. 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

Take future orders for sold-out items with a scheduled reset time 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

When a seller marks an item variation sold out in the item library, they set a date and time for it to return to available. The variation stays on the menu, listed as available for preorder, and customers keep placing orders for fulfillment windows that fall after the reset time on Neighborhoods and Ordering Profiles. Previously, marking a variation sold out removed it from ordering entirely, including future dates.

Why it matters: A bakery that runs out of an item partway through the day, or a caterer whose capacity for the day is already committed, marks the variation sold out and sets the reset for the next production day. Orders for later fulfillment windows keep arriving while the item is out. Sellers stop choosing between pausing sales entirely and taking orders they can't fill.

Access: Available to sellers taking orders through Neighborhoods and Ordering Profiles. In the Square item library, mark an item variation Sold Out and set a reset time. The variation is listed as available for preorder for fulfillment windows after that time.

Notes: Future ordering applies to variations without future counts, and it doesn't interact with sales limits

Payments & Checkout

Set up service charges that apply automatically 🇨🇦 🇺🇸

Healthcare mandates, kitchen appreciation fees, and other fee types are set up once in service charge settings. From that point on, the charge applies to the cart on Square Point of Sale without staff adding it. Previously, staff added a service charge by hand to every transaction that required one.

Why it matters: A restaurant with a mandated healthcare fee applies that fee to every check it rings up. Under the manual method, a server had to remember the charge at each transaction, and one skipped step left the fee off the check and the money off the books. An automatic service charge applies on its own, so the fee lands on every cart consistently.

Access: Available to sellers in the US and Canada. In Dashboard, go to Settings > Account & Settings > Payments > Service Charges to create a service charge and set it to apply automatically.

Connect Apple Business to manage Apple Maps place card details 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

Sellers link an Apple Business account to Square and manage supported business information and Apple Maps place card features from the Square Dashboard. Once connected, your business information – including hours, logo, and contact details – automatically stays in sync across Apple Maps, Siri, Wallet, and more. Sellers also add action links that send customers straight to their Square ordering, menu, or booking experiences.

Why it matters: Customers discover businesses every day through Apple Maps and Siri. Connecting Apple Business helps ensure they see accurate business information and makes it easier to take action from your Apple Maps place card.

Access: Available for payments-activated Square sellers with a fixed, physical business location or storefront. Setup may vary based on your location, business type, and Square account status. In Dashboard, go to Channels > Apple Business to get started.

Menu & Kitchen Operations

Preview tickets on Kitchen Display System before orders are sent 🇺🇸

Items appear on a ticket as they're added to the cart, before the order is sent from Square Point of Sale. The ticket is marked as a draft and updates as the rest of the order is rung in.

Why it matters: At a drive-thru window, kitchen staff see the first item the moment it's rung in instead of waiting for the completed order to be sent. That head start on preparation shortens the wait for customers while the order is still being entered.

Access: Draft tickets need to be turned on in two places:

On Square Point of Sale, go to More > Settings > Checkout > Order entry, then turn on Show tickets for draft orders on KDS. To set this from Dashboard, go to Settings > Device management > Modes, select a Square for Restaurants mode, click Manage on the blade, then go to Checkout > Order entry.
On Kitchen Display System, tap View all settings > Tickets, then turn on Show tickets for draft orders. To set this from Dashboard, go to Settings > Device management > Devices, select a Kitchen Display System device, click Manage on the blade, then go to Checkout > Order entry > Tickets.

Notes: Both Square Point of Sale and Kitchen Display System need the setting turned on for draft tickets to appear.

Set ticket layouts up to ten columns on Kitchen Display System 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

The column options for arranging tickets now range from four to ten, up from a previous maximum of six. Each option includes guidance on which screens it suits: four works best for small devices, ten for large displays.

Why it matters: A high-volume kitchen running a large wall-mounted display fits more tickets on screen at once, so kitchen staff see incoming orders during a dinner rush without paging between screens. Kitchens working on smaller devices keep the lower column counts that fit their screens.

Access: Available to sellers using Square Kitchen Display System. The expanded column options appear in the display's Layout settings and in device profile settings in Dashboard.

Operations & Device Management

Dark mode in Square for Retail 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

The Square for Retail app follows the device's system appearance setting, so it appears dark whenever the device is set to dark and switches back when the system setting changes. Sellers who want the app to look different from the rest of the device set a dark mode override in the app's appearance settings.

Why it matters: A bright white screen is hard to work against in a dimly lit space, like a shop floor after close with the house lights down. Dark mode also gives sellers who find high-contrast screens hard to read a more comfortable way to work through the day, and it matches how the rest of the device already looks.

Access: Sellers whose device is already set to dark mode see the Square for Retail app in dark mode without taking any action. To set the app independent of the device setting, go to Settings > Appearance in the Square for Retail app and choose a dark mode override.

Reporting

Create revenue centers to group and compare sales 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

Sellers set up parts of the business in Dashboard and map devices, floor plan sections, and channels to each one, so incoming orders are assigned automatically. Reporting picks up that assignment: the Sales summary report groups by revenue center to show how each one performed. If an order lands in the wrong place, sellers correct its assignment from Order Manager.

Why it matters: A restaurant running a bar, a patio, a dining room, and delivery orders sees all of that activity rolled into one sales total, which makes it hard to tell whether the patio carried a Saturday night or dragged it down. Revenue centers give each part of the business its own line in reporting, so sellers compare performance across them, spot gaps where orders aren't being counted where expected, and make staffing and menu decisions on real numbers.

Access: Available to sellers on Square Premium, Square for Restaurants Premium, or a legacy Square for Restaurants Plus subscription, with the Manage revenue centers permission. In Dashboard, go to Settings > Sales > Revenue centers to set them up. Results appear under Reports > Sales summary, and individual order assignments are updated from Order Manager.

Matching sales figures across Point of Sale and Dashboard reports 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

The Sales report on Square Point of Sale uses the same gross sales, product sales, and net sales definitions as the dashboard, and the payment methods section breaks out payment types in more detail. Both reports draw on the same definitions, so the totals line up.

Why it matters: A seller who checks the day's numbers on Square Point of Sale between customers, then reviews the same day in the dashboard that evening, sees one set of figures instead of two that need reconciling. The more detailed payment methods breakout also shows how customers paid without leaving the point of sale.

Access: On Square Point of Sale for iOS and Android, go to Reports > Sales. Sellers who already use the Sales report don't need to take any action.

🎉 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:

Take future orders for sold-out items with a scheduled reset time — @SweetAvenue asked for a way to list an item as sold out but still let customers order it for another date, and @dhaus wanted to choose a time to mark it for sale again. @NookAndCrannyBo and @jspiers667x hit the same wall online, where an out-of-stock item could not be ordered even though it could be made and shipped that same day. Now you can mark a variation sold out, set a reset time, and keep taking orders for fulfillment windows after it.

Set up service charges that apply automatically — @skennedy @Juicerx1 @outofthinair and @zohannysalon all asked for the same thing: a service charge that applies itself instead of one a cashier has to remember on every transaction. @erichash raised it from a compliance angle, wanting state-mandated fees handled the way sales tax already is. Set the charge once in service charge settings and it now lands on every cart at Square Point of Sale.

Preview tickets on Kitchen Display System before orders are sent — @deejtc found that items set to straight fire did not appear on the Kitchen Display System until the whole order was se.... Draft tickets now show as items are rung in, so the kitchen gets a head start before the order is finished.

Create revenue centers to group and compare sales — @mewscafe asked for a sales report that could filter by section, pointing out that many restaurants already track revenue centers that way, and @JCE_CHI wanted to see bar sales on their own rather than mixed in with tickets, merch and classes. Revenue centers now give each part of the business its own line in the Sales summary report.

💬 Community Conversations

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

Managing your Apple Maps place card — Our Square Champion @Twiggy wrote a walkthrough for claiming and editing an Apple Business Connect listing, and flagged that many businesses do not realise their rating shows publicly and is linked with Siri.

Read the full discussion →

Help test Stylist pricing and duration: @aazhang and the product team are looking for salons, barbershops, spas, nail and lash studios, and other health and beauty sellers to help shape Stylist pricing and duration before it ships. The idea is to set a different price and duration for each staff member who performs a service, so the same service can cost $65 with one stylist and $110 with another without building separate services or variations.

Want in? Share your use case and feedback in the thread ->.

💬 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.

Have questions about anything here? Drop them in the comments below. ⬇️