What's New From Square: October Features Coming Soon (Volume 14)

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Hey Square Community,

A few weeks ago, we rolled out Volume 13, 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 month across multi-location management, inventory management, payments, tipping and team tools, hardware setup, reporting, and banking. Some are available for early access, and the rest will be fully available by October 20.

This is Volume 14. 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

Location-based editing limits for item details 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

In Item Library, some item details apply everywhere an item is sold — its name, description, and category among them. For a team member assigned to only some of an item's locations, those shared details are read-only. Details set per location stay editable: availability, location price, and channel assignment at the locations the team member is assigned to.

Why it matters: An item sold at several locations carries shared attributes that apply everywhere it's available. Previously, a team member who could manage items and inventory could edit those shared attributes regardless of which locations the item reached. Now operators can hand item management to a location manager while the item's details for the other locations stay as the seller set them.

Access: Once these controls are turned on, they apply automatically in the Square Dashboard Item Library for team members who can manage items and inventory for their assigned locations.

Receive stock in cases or pallets instead of single units 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

Sellers enter received stock in a unit other than the item's stockable unit, such as a case or a pallet, and Square converts the amount back into the base unit for inventory counts. Previously, receiving meant entering the total in the stockable unit — a bottle count rather than a case count.

Why it matters: Businesses buy in one unit and sell in another, so the number on a packing slip rarely matches the number the item is counted in. Receiving by the case means the number on the packing slip is the number entered. Stock levels still reflect what's on the shelf in the base unit.

Access: Available for eligible sellers with inventory on the Square Plus plan. In the item's Stock Adjustment window, click the unit shown in the quantity field to choose the unit to receive in.

Payments & Checkout

Card verification for larger invoice payments 🇺🇸

When a customer pays a larger invoice with a card that's new to a seller's account, checkout can include a step where the customer confirms their identity with their bank. Verification uses 3D Secure, the card networks' standard for authenticating a cardholder during a payment. On a verified payment, liability for a fraud-related dispute sits with the card issuer rather than the seller.

Why it matters: A first card payment from a new customer is the one a business knows least about, and invoices are often where the largest amounts sit. Verification puts the cardholder's bank behind the payment, so a fraud-related dispute is the issuer's to resolve rather than the seller's.

Access: Verification is on by default for sellers new to Square Invoices in Services, and a selected group of existing sellers is enrolled automatically, with more enrolled over time. Enrolled sellers take no action — verification already applies to qualifying invoice payments. In Dashboard, open the Square Invoices settings to review the setting or turn it off. Available to sellers in the US.

Operations & Device Management

Build combos inside Real-Time Check View on Point of Sale 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

Sellers review a full combo in one place, jump directly to members that still need options chosen or that are already set, and watch each selection land on the check as they go. Combos follow the same navigation and design patterns as the rest of Real-Time Check View on Square Point of Sale, replacing the legacy combo screens.

Why it matters: Combos are a large share of what some businesses sell, so how a combo builds matters as much as anything else on the check. Building combos in Real-Time Check View gives those sellers the same navigation and layout as the rest of the check, so a combo reads like every other item on it.

Access: Real-Time Check View is on by default for sellers who use combos, with combo building included. No setup is required. Sellers already using Real-Time Check View see no change.

Manage linked accounts with Multi-Account Suite 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

Square Multi-Account Suite helps franchises and other complex businesses stay in control as they scale. It brings the tools for managing multiple Square accounts directly into Dashboard, so you can oversee your organization from one place while each location keeps the tools and flexibility it needs to operate.

Why it matters:

Centralized menu controls keep menus, catalogs, and point-of-sale layouts consistent across accounts and locations. Set the right access for central and local teams in order to empower local operators while ensuring brand consistency and operational control.
Organization reporting brings the full power of Square reporting across your organization. Track key metrics and sales performance across accounts and locations in one centralized view, with built-in royalty reporting.
Shared gift cards mean managing a single gift card program that customers can use across your entire organization, with reporting to help reconcile activity by account and location.
Managed feature releases allow coordination of Early Feature Access and Release Bundles across your entire organization, so you can introduce new Square capabilities in a controlled and consistent way.

Access: Contact your account manager or sales to sign up.

Pool tips by percentage for each transaction 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇪🇸 🇫🇷 🇮🇪 🇬🇧 🇺🇸

Sellers pooling tips by percentage now have a per-transaction option alongside the existing workday and workweek methods. Each tip is divided among the team members who were on the clock when that sale happened.

Why it matters: Team members don't all work the same hours or the same volume, so a pool spread across a whole workday can hand an equal share to a stretch that earned far fewer tips. Calculating for each transaction ties a share to the sales a team member actually worked.

Access: Available on Square Plus. In the Square Dashboard, go to Staff → Tips settings to choose the pooling method. Sellers keeping the workday or workweek calculation don't need to take any action.

Pooling for unattributed tips when tipping directly 🇦🇺 🇪🇸 🇺🇸

When a seller uses direct tipping, unattributed tips are split equally across all team members who were clocked in during that workday. A tip is unattributed when no one is passcoded in with a personal passcode, when a shared team passcode is used, or when the team member who completed the transaction is tip ineligible.

Why it matters: Tips arrive with no name attached whenever a team works from a shared passcode, and someone then has to decide where that money goes. An equal split across the team clocked in for the workday settles it the same way every time, with no manual distribution to work out.

Access: In Square Dashboard, go to Staff → Tip settings. New sellers have pooling of unattributed tips on by default and don't need to take any action. Existing sellers keep their current setup and turn the setting on from the same place.

Scan barcodes with the built-in camera on iPhone and iPad 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

Sellers build a cart and create or edit items using the camera already on their iPhone or iPad. On supported screens, tapping Tap to Scan opens the camera to read the barcode and adds the item to the cart or fills in the item details.

Why it matters: A business adding a new shipment to its catalog can scan each barcode straight into the item record, then ring up the same products at the counter, using only the iPhone or iPad it already has. Sellers don't need to buy or connect a separate barcode scanner to scan items.

Access: Available on iPhone and iPad on Square Free. In the Square Point of Sale app, turn on Camera Barcode Scanner in hardware settings, then use Tap to Scan on a supported screen.

Set up printer profiles from the printer details screen 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

Sellers assign an existing printer profile to an unconfigured printer instead of always creating a new one. Tapping Printer setup offers the profiles that already work with that printer, and moves on to creating a profile only when there's nothing suitable to reuse. Creating a profile, choosing job types, and picking which Square Point of Sale devices print to a printer all happen on the printer's details screen rather than in a series of pop-up prompts.

Why it matters: A second printer in the same spot usually needs the same tickets as the first one. Reusing a profile keeps one set of rules for where each job prints, and setting it up on the printer's own screen shows which printer is being changed at each step.

Access: On Square Point of Sale, go to Settings → Hardware → Printers and open a printer's details screen, then choose Printer setup, Assign profiles, or Edit from a profile's menu.

Reporting

Close of Day report window anchored to reporting hours 🇦🇺 🇨🇦 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇪🇸 🇫🇷

Close of Day reports measure the covered period from the reporting day start set for the location, rather than the location's posted business hours. The end of the window is calculated at the moment the report runs, and the covered time range prints on the report.

Why it matters: A business day and a posted opening time aren't the same thing — sales start before doors open and often run past midnight. Anchoring the window to reporting hours lines a Close of Day report up with the hours a business actually trades, so early-morning sales and overnight tips land on the same report.

Access: The reporting hours window is off by default, so Close of Day reports keep their existing behavior until Square turns it on for a location. In Dashboard, confirm the start time per location so the window matches when the business trades.

Banking & Financial Services

4.25% APY on Savings balances of $10,000 or more 🇺🇸

Square Savings accounts earn 4.25% APY on balances of $10,000 or more, up from 3.50% APY. Balances below $10,000 earn the standard 1% APY. Automatic savings from daily sales processing and savings folders remain available to all Square Savings accounts, regardless of balance.

Why it matters: Sellers who build operating reserves in Square Savings can earn more on cash they've already set aside. The higher APY applies automatically when balances reach $10,000 or more, helping sellers get more from funds reserved for slow seasons, taxes, or unexpected expenses — without extra steps.

Access: Available to all Square Savings customers in the US. The rate updates automatically based on balance — no opt-in or account changes required.

Savings accounts are provided by Square Financial Services, Inc. Member FDIC. See Square Savings Deposit Account Terms and Interest Rate Chart.

🎉 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:

Scan barcodes with the built-in camera on iPhone and iPad: Sellers have been asking for this since 2016, when @rrowe1975 asked to scan barcodes with their phone while ringing up purchases. Now, Tap to Scan in Square Point of Sale on iPhone or iPad adds an item to the cart or fills in item details using the camera you already have — and it’s available on free Square Point of Sale app! Thank you @RockinGood @RobinM @kkirk and @Sam_400º and everyone who suggested this feature!

Receive stock in cases or pallets instead of single units: @Adamscottsmithwanted to record that one case of six four-packs of beer had arrived, and have Square already know that one case is six sellable units. @AOASpiritShop has also asked for this, wanting a single case scanned at receiving to add 24 candy bars to inventory, and @MJWRetail @LarsonsGeneral @TwinkleToes @ndixon and @rhickernell have run into the same thing: they buy by the case, sell by the unit, and end up doing the conversion by hand. Now you can choose the unit you receive in, such as a case or a pallet, and Square converts it back into the base unit for your inventory counts.

Pool tips by percentage for each transaction: Some shifts are busier than others, as @TGWH and @TheParlour-Yoni shared, so sharing tips by the day was not a great fit. Many sellers have found manual workarounds, like @Apt9F re-running sales by hand for overlapping bar shifts or @Eda0617 splitting tips 80/20 between front and back of house in a spreadsheet. For others, waiting until the end of the day to split tips is limiting, and they want to share tips by percentage while still pooling by transaction, as @tywebb04 and @ChrisKula outlined. Now percentage pooling has a per-transaction option, so each tip is divided among the team members who were on the clock when that sale happened.

Pooling for unattributed tips when tipping directly: When no one is logged in with their own passcode, tips can end up unassigned. @AlexGrant asked whether those tips could be split among the team members who worked that day, @frozenart wanted to know how to get unattributed tips through to payroll, and @Nico916 needed an equal split for bar staff who are not individually logged in. Now, with direct tipping, unattributed tips are split equally across everyone who was clocked in that workday, so they no longer sit unassigned.

Manage linked accounts with Multi-Account Suite: Since 2021, one of the questions we hear most from franchise owners is how to centralize things like gift cards, menus and catalogs when each location runs on its own Square account. @Anthem and their business partners each own their locations independently on different Square accounts but share customers, which left them relying on paper gift cards. @BenK has also asked whether gift cards could be redeemed across franchise locations with different owners, and @ssandwiches who runs five same-brand cafes on separate accounts, wanted a master login to make menu changes across every site and consolidate reporting. Now, Square Multi-Account Suite brings these tools into Dashboard: centralized menu controls keep menus, catalogs and point-of-sale layouts consistent across accounts, organization reporting (with built-in royalty reporting) shows performance across your organization in one view, and shared gift cards give customers a single program they can use at every location. Contact your account manager or sales to sign up. Thanks to everyone who shared how they run their franchise!

Set up printer profiles from the printer details screen: @davidmiller66, who runs five terminals and two external printers, asked for a way to set up printers on one device and copy the settings across to the others, rather than setting up each device separately. Now, when you tap Printer setup, Square Point of Sale offers the profiles that already work with that printer, so you can reuse one instead of creating a new one. Choosing job types and which devices print to a printer all happens on the printer’s details screen. Go to Settings → Hardware → Printers to try it.

Close of Day report window anchored to reporting hours: @BistroSupport needed the ability to adjust the hours for Close of Day reports, because orders taken before opening were missing. @ChadCap864 uses the report to calculate tip-out, but early event sales were left off. Now Close of Day reports can start from the reporting day set for each location instead of your posted business hours, and the covered time range prints on the report.

💬 Community Conversations

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

Protecting your business from card disputes: Card verification on larger invoice payments adds a layer of protection, and fellow business owners have more tips for processing safely. In a thread started by @Purple_HS, sellers and Square Champions swapped what has worked for them, from fraud rules and clear return policies to keeping records and written communication that hold up when a dispute is filed. Thanks to @TheRealChipA, @HC_Charlie and @JK_Fiber_Art for sharing their tips.

Read the full discussion →

💬 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. ⬇️

lennys26

“Scan barcodes with the built-in camera on iPhone and iPad” - The functionality to scan barcodes on these devices, for example using the retail app in a sales proces, is already available. How is this different than what already exists?