Square POS (Point of Sale) is a feature-rich system that provides everything you need to accept payments in your retail space. With the application for Square POS, you can start selling anywhere. Your online store and Square will automatically update your inventory and order data across online and offline channels so you don’t have to track your digital and physical sales separately.
Connecting your online store with Square POS (for online merchants)
You can connect your online store with a Square POS system to track both online and offline inventory and sales. Using this sync can help prevent discrepancies and overselling.
To connect your online store with Square POS:
- From your store admin panel, go to Other Channels → POS.
- Click Connect Square
- Click Sync your inventory
- You will be taken to the Square Dashboard. Sign in to your Square account.
- Click Allow to provide the required permissions to the app
Now your online store and Square POS are connected.
To populate your catalog with inventory from Square, click Import Catalog from Square. If you wish to sell offline with Square, you can Export Catalog to Square POS.
Syncing product catalog: Export to Square
You can automatically sync inventory, product catalog, and orders between your store and Square POS. Any changes to product details (e.g., prices, names, descriptions, options, variations) require a manual update. You can use the Import/Export tool to update your remaining products.
If you create new products in your online store, you can transfer them to your Square system to sell the products at your retail outlet.
To export products from an online store to Square:
- From your store admin panel, go to Other Channels → Square.
- Click Export Catalog to Square
The Export tool will transfer the following product details from your online store to Square:
- SKU
- Name
- Price
- Stock level
- Description
- Product options (only if you use them to create variations in your online store)
- Variations
- Category
While product stock levels sync automatically, any changes to other product details (e.g., prices, names, descriptions, options, variations) require a manual update.
To manually update products:
- Go to Square Dashboard → Items.
- Delete the product you wish to update from the Catalog.
- Return to your store admin panel in Other Channels → Square.
- Click Export Catalog to Square to launch the product details sync.
Syncing product catalog: Import from Square
You also have an option to populate your catalog with inventory from Square.
To import products from Square to your online store:
- From your store admin panel, go to Other Channels → Square.
- Click Import Catalog from Square
To transfer new products created in Square POS to your catalog, launch the Import from Square. This tool transfers the following product details from Square to your online store:
- SKU (if a Square product doesn’t have SKU, your online store will set its Square product ID as SKU)
- Name
- Price
- Stock level
- Image
- Description
- Options with titles and price modifiers
- Variations
- Category
While product stock levels sync automatically, any changes to other product details from Square POS (e.g., prices, names, descriptions, options, variations) require a manual update.
To manually update products:
- From your store admin panel, go to Catalog → Products.
- Delete the product you wish to update from the catalog.
- Return to Other Channels → Square.
- Click Import Catalog from Square to launch the product details sync.
Syncing inventory
To ensure accurate stock count and prevent overselling, we automatically sync product stock levels between your online store and Square when both the following are true:
- the option Sync your inventory and sell offline with Square Register is enabled in your online store admin area in Other Channels → Square;
- products have matching SKU numbers in both systems.
When selling with Square, store updates your online product stock levels (for matching SKUs) within minutes of a new order. A reciprocal process occurs when products are purchased from your online store to keep your product stock levels up to date.
Syncing orders
Orders created through your online store will automatically sync to Square POS.
Your orders will sync if all of the following are true:
- the order was paid for with Square payment;
- the option Sync your inventory and sell offline with Square Register is enabled in Other Channels → Square.
Orders created with Square POS will not appear in your store admin, but the system will automatically update the stock of the purchased products.
Setting up location for pickup orders
If you provide pickup options from several locations, synchronization between online pickup orders and retail locations in your Square POS is crucial. You must assign a pickup location for each pickup option in your store admin area.
To set up a pickup option and specify a pickup location:
- From your store admin panel, go to Shipping & Pickup.
- Click Add In-store Pickup
- Configure the pickup option by entering a name, instructions for the customer, and pickup date and time.
- Select the desired store address from your list of active locations specified in Square’s Dashboard.
- Click Add Pickup Option.
When a customer selects a pickup option at checkout, their order will be associated with the corresponding business location in your Square Dashboard.
Make sure your store locations are activated in your Square Dashboard. For more information on managing locations, please visit the Square Support Centre.