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Can I use Square on a laptop or computer instead of a moblie device?

The title of this post has been edited from the original: Can I use Square on my laptop instead of a moblie device?

 

Hi - I am trying to find out the answer to a question below:

Can I use Square on my laptop instead of a mobile device and plug the reader into the microphone? If so, how do I download the app on my laptop? It is not an Apple product.

 

Thanks!

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Admin

Best Answer

Hi everyone!

 

Big update for 2021: You can now use a connected Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal! Once you have Square Terminal, you can use it to turn your Mac or Windows PC into an all-in-one POS solution.

 

For additional information, check out our Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal product update.

 

Adam
Seller Community, Platform

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Super Seller

The only way you can use your laptop is if you use the Virtual Terminal option in your online dashboard. You'll pay a higher swipe fee there though becuase you're manually entering the customers card info.

I recommend putting the Square app on your phone and using a card swiper or contactless reader for ease of use.

Ryan Wanner
Golden Pine Coffee Roasters
Colorado Springs, CO, USA

Super Seller: I know stuff.
Beta Tester: I break stuff.
he/him/hey you/coffee guy/whatever.

Happy Selling!
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This reply was created from merging an existing thread: How can i run square from my lap top?

 

Does anybody know if I can take payments with the square from my lap top?

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Super Seller

you can use the virtual terminal to take payments on your laptop.  It is just lump sum payments though not the full item based pos like in Square POS. 

 

https://squareup.com/dashboard/terminal

https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5807-get-started-with-virtual-terminal

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Can I use my square card and chip reader on my PC which runs Windows 10?

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Alumni

The Contactless Chip card reader cannot be used with your PC at this time. If you're interested in using your computer to process payments, the Virtual Terminal might be what you're looking for.

 

I moved you to this thread to learn more. 

 

Justin
Community Moderator, Square
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This reply was created from merging an existing thread: how do I process a payment on my iMac

 

I'd like the ability to process a payment with my Macbook Pro. How do I go about this?

Thanks, Alan

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Admin

Good news Alan! As of this summer you can use Virtual Terminal to manually enter card information to your MacBook to process a payment — or you can use Virtual Terminal with the Square magstripe reader to process a payment

 

️ Helen
Seller Community Manager

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Good Morining!  I'm wanting to use a new iMac, with Square POS.  How would I accept credit cards and not have to pay a manual entry fee?

 

I don't see that the contactless reader works with anything other than mobile devices and Square Register.

 

Talk to me!

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Super Seller

you can use the magnetic swiper.  The virtual terminal isn't a full-featured POS but is handy to take one time payments.

 

here's a help article about it https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5807-get-started-with-virtual-terminal

 

and here's a video.

 

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Our office uses square account on our Samsung tablet.... BUT we are wanting to know if Square can be added to a desktop within the office?  We would enter card #'s manually.

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Alumni

The POS app can't be downloaded to a desktop but using the Virtual Terminal in Dashboard might work for you. 

 

This thread I moved you to should help. 

 

@Mattie46

 

Justin
Community Moderator, Square
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i have a new lenovo chromebook, does it still not take chip readers?

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Alumni

Check this thread out that I merged your post into. The Contactless Chip reader can't be paired to a computer but a magstripe reader can be connected to Chromebooks using the Virtual Terminal. 

 

@dulm

Justin
Community Moderator, Square
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Admin

Best Answer

Hi everyone!

 

Big update for 2021: You can now use a connected Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal! Once you have Square Terminal, you can use it to turn your Mac or Windows PC into an all-in-one POS solution.

 

For additional information, check out our Square Terminal with Virtual Terminal product update.

 

Adam
Seller Community, Platform
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Beta Member

Sorry, but whomever tagged Adam's answer as "Best Answer" doesn't understand what we want.

 

We have computers running Windows. 

We want to use Square via a Windows app or a website to process payments.

We do not want to have to buy a $340 setup when there's a $80 item that should work when we plug it into a USB port.

 

So here we are, six years after this was initially requested, and Square has no better solution than the Square Terminal. A business has to do more than $30,000 in revenue before they see a ROI. 

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Square Community Moderator

Hi @Horsefeathers - Thanks for stopping by The Seller Community, it's always nice to see your input 😊

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your interest in running the Square App from your computer. I recommend you submit a Feature Request here. This will help our product team get visibility and track other Sellers' interest in your request.

While there is no time frame for when it will be implemented, i'm happy to make sure our engineers have eyes on your request. 

 

As always, feel free to stop by The Community with question, concerns and even feature requests. We are more than happy to assist.

 

Ria
Community Moderator, Square
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why does it have to be a virtual terminal? why cant we have a windows application(S)?

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Do we have to use a Square Terminal? Can I just pair my contactless chip reader to my PC (via bluetooth) and accept credit card payments?

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Square Community Moderator

At this time connecting a Square Contactless and Chip Reader to a Windows PC is considered a feature request @OBXChiro. Thank you for taking the time to share your interest in this feature. I recommend you submit a Feature Request here. This will help our product team get visibility and track other Sellers with similar interest in your request. 

 

Important: When submitting a request, make sure to include the desired feature, and provide the details of how this feature will help your business succeed (how would you use it and what you expect from it).

JJ
Community Moderator, Square
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Here's what I did to turn my windows 8 Dell into a POS register;

https://www.bluestacks.com/blog/bluestacks-exclusives/how-to-install-bluestacks-4-windows-en.html

 

It's working!

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First watch this vid on YouTube for directions on  ‘how to’ 

https://youtu.be/YqByjDch_gA

You have to sign in or create an account. Easy to do. Wait for the engine to load. If everything seems to slow-there’s link to click on that will walk you through the parts to speed it up. Good Luck!

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