How do I get Square to add sales tax with Virtual Terminal?

[Robi]

I had to enter a few transactions in manually last week.  when I entered the total, Square did not calculate sales tax for the transacation like it does when I use the register.  I had to calculate it manually and then enter the total with tax but then the tax reports don't show it as tax I collected.  

[EJ_]

Hi there!

The ability to itemize or add sales tax to a payment with Virtual Terminal is not available. 

While the Virtual Terminal feature allows sellers to manually enter payments from a web browser or personal computer, it is meant to be an alternative to the Square Register app and Square Invoices. 

If you need a detailed payment that includes information like sales tax, service fees, item names etc., you'll need to Manually Key In Card Payments with the Square Register app or Send Invoices Online with Square

[Par-T-Perfect]

I love the VT option, it is great for our office to process payments without using our phones. We use the app out in the field but I love the browser option for our office. I do feel the missing tax option as well as no easy way to connect the payment to a customer make the VT actually useless for us unfortunatly. We were all very excited to see Virtual Terminal but the excitement quickly turned to disapointment after first use. We also now have to ask the customer to pay their tax seperately because we did not realize it would not add it in automatically. Hopefully you will work to match the VT to the same operating standards as the register. 

[truerock]

This is obviously bizarre and probably not accidental - although I can't think of why Square would leave out sales tax... because they don't want anybody to use Virtual Terminal until it has been tested further?

I keep seeing the weidest things from Square.  Their information technology is really subpar.  To me it seems there are individuals driving the Square software user interfaces who have no expertise in the area and have general lack of analytical and design skills in general.

In my opinion (based on decades of professional IT experience) there needs to be a review of the skill sets of Square employees involved in software development - especially in the design area.

[RHatch]

The Virtual Terminal is no different than what a physical card terminal does.  You enter the amount of the total sale and charge the card.  You use a register or sales ticket to record the sale/tax information.   If you compare Apples to Apples it's the same.  If you compare Apples to Oranges then you're not going to be happy.  Yes, there is always room for improvement.  Square was designed to work on the phone and tablet but continue to add features, like VT to make it easier for all of us.

[Sailsman]

This reply created from merging an existing thread: "virtual terminal transaction showing as non-taxable" The author has been notified via email.

virtual terminal transaction showing as non-taxable. How do I have the transaction show as taxable?

[Helen · Accepted solution]

Update: You can now add items and taxes to a Virtual Terminal sale! 🎉😊

Read Product Update for step-by-step instructions and a visual: Virtual Terminal: Add taxes, items and discounts! 

Thanks so much for your patience! 

[truerock]

Yes, it will now compute sales tax - but wait for it - IT DOESN'T LIST SALES TAX ON THE RECEIPT.

I'm sorry to be so rude - but, you must have the stupidist sytem designers on the planet.

If I was the manager of your IT department I would fire everyone just for this incredibly stupid blunder.

There is something very wrong with your organization.  It is scary you are handling such a large amount of financial transactions.

[RHatch]

You can see my previous reply on this subject above.  If you want a full details on your receipt then you should use Square POS App or Invoice.   

[truerock]

Or you could fix the Square Virtual Terminal.

Every cash register on the planet lists sales tax on a separate line on the receipt.

So... out of billions of cash registers on planet Earth, there is exactly one that does not list the sales tax on the receipt: Square Virtual Terminal.

Again, if I was the IT Manager at Square, I would fire every single person who was too stupid to understand how incrediibly wrong this problem is.

Sorry to be so harsh - but, this level of incompetence is incredibly rare.  Square is processing an incredible amount of money every day and it has people working for it that are beyond the lowest level of incompetence.  If I was on the board of directors at Square I would quit as quickly as posible before some major issue blows up and people start going to jail.

You need to get Price Waterhouse or some other major financial consultant in place to figure out what in the heck is going on in your organization.

I have decades in financial information system design and support and I feel very confident in my evaluation.