FAQ: Supported and Unsupported Business Types in Australia

[Seamus]

EDIT: May 2021 Update

Payments support is now available for associations, clubs and NFPs who have an ABN. Read more here, thanks for your patience 🙂

EDIT: 2021 Update

Work has commenced on building payments support for the following ABNs commonly used by clubs, associations and NFP organisations. While we don't have a set ETA for availability, we hope to launch support for these ABNs at some point in the first half of 2021:

• Other Incorporated Entities
• Other Unincorporated Entities

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I’ve tried signing up with Square and received a message about my business type being unsupported for payments. Why am I receiving this message?

In Australia, different ABN entity types are subject to different regulatory requirements that determine eligibility to register for financial services such as electronic card payment processing. Due to the additional requirements for some entities, Square is not currently able to support all ABN entity types for payment processing.

What ABNs does Square support/not support?

ABNs we can on-board via the online signup process:

• Individual / Sole Trader
• Partnerships
• Private and Public Companies
• Trusts (approx. 4 weeks processing)

ABNs we don't currently support

• Other Incorporated Entities
• Other Unincorporated Entities
• Government Entities
• Co-operatives
• Any other entity type not listed as supported

I know someone who is using Square for their organisation - why can’t you support mine now?

Square previously trialed a program that involved experimenting with different ways to support the manual onboarding and verification of business information so that certain organisations could be supported for payment processing. 

This trial proved challenging for both Square and the organisations involved due to the additional obligations Square needs to meet to comply with Australian regulatory requirements, and it is not scalable at this time. While we cannot support payment processing for you, remember Square can still work as a free point-of-sale application to record sales, manage inventory, run sales reports and analytics, send digital receipts and more.

When will it be possible for my organisation to use Square?

While we don’t currently support your business type for payment processing, we can take your details and reach out to you if this changes in the future.

I’ve already purchased hardware, how can I get my money back?

If you have purchased hardware via the Square website, please visit our Support Centre to learn more about submitting a request for a refund. Alternatively, if you purchased Square hardware you can return it to the place of purchase with your receipt for a refund.

Can I just sign up as an individual or use another ABN rather than use my club/organisation’s ABN?

As per our Terms of Service, we require you to provide accurate and complete information about the business or organisation you’re taking payments for at the time of sign up. Setting up a Square account as an individual or different ABN would be in violation of our Terms of Service.

[Seamus]

@Treasurer1901 not that I've heard so far, however support can look further into this for you. I have heard of this issue in the past when some of the APIs we link to to check business info or ID verifications are temporarily down (eg the ABR, Equifax), or very occasionally it appears as a bug.

You can call support on 1800 760 137 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm Melbourne time), or contact us via online chat or email:

1. Sign in to your Square account

2. Head to our contact page https://squareup.com/help/au/en/contact

3. Go to "Other"" then "I don't see my issue"

4. Click "Message us" or "Email us"

[SDAB]

Hi Seamus

Thank you for Square's efforts to resolve this issue and create a path for NFP's, its greatly appreciated. 

I have successfully navigated the onboarding process and have had transfers enabled.

There was a bug on the page providing the personal information of the representatives that wouldn't allow me to proceed if I picked (check box) that I was one of the representatives, I got around this by putting my details in the fields instead. Might need to check that out. 

Question:

How do we keep all the information up to date when we elect new representatives? 
Can we upload newer versions of the documents provided? eg. AGM Minutes. 

Thanks SDBA

[Arie]

Hey @SDAB,

Thank you for bringing this bug to our attention, we'll pass this on to the team!

When you elect new representatives, you can upload the documents to your Square Dashboard, or email them in to us 👍 

[staidansstrathm]

Seamus,

Thank you for advising that our church may now set up an account.

I  had almost completed the application but when I got to the requirement to submit the AGM minutes.

I must ask if they are  needed to demonstrate our established process or to confirm my bona fides?

I am  not listed as an office bearer of the church in the minutes as  I am taking an enforced sabbatical for a year.

Would the minutes of the monthly parish council meeting in which I am authorised to establish a  Square Account suffice instead?

Many thanks

Hugh Roberton

St Aidans Anglican Church Strathmore

s*******************@gmail.com

[Arie]

Hey @staidansstrathm,

The AGM minutes need to list who holds the position of President, Treasurer and Secretary, or equivalent officers, for verification purposes.

You can upload the AGM minutes instead of your monthly council meeting minutes. The person administrating the Square account doesn't need to be an office bearer, so it's ok for you to establish the account even through you're not holding a position listed in the AGM minutes. 

[staidansstrathm]

Arie,

Many thanks

Hugh 

[tjovic]

Hi @Seamus, is there a way I can tell how our application is going? I submitted it on the 23/5/2021. I logged into our account on Sunday and it said “You’re ready to take payments now” which I thought meant that it had been approved so I bought the Square terminal, logged in and set it up and when I tried to take a payment I got the message “not authorized for card payments”  thanks @tjovic 

[treasurer4]

Do you have any information regarding the Victorian Government Small Business Digital Adaptation Program?  Specifically if we can use it for Square?  We want to use it to purchase a square register for our sporting club.  Do you know anything about that?  Just thought I would check before I started researching.

[Seamus]

@treasurer4 yes you can! Square is listed on the Victorian Government Small Business Digital Adaptation Program's website here 🙂

[treasurer4]

I know but it looks like it is for subscriptions - not hardware.  Do you know if it includes hardware?

[Seamus]

@treasurer4 You'd have to check with the program support for that actually - I'm not sure if it's just digital products or physical hardware as well. There is some contact info on the webpage I linked, I'd definitely check with them!

[enixy]

hey there! i double checked that they do accept products, so long as you also purchase a subscription of sorts. 
My question however is.... can I buy my square reader from officeworks? or only on the square website. it doesn't seem to specify.

[Seamus]

@enixy I'd again check with relevant government program support for the official ins and outs of this program - I'm unfortunately not able to speak on their behalf, and anything in this forum probably isn't going to be considered an official source of information about the program if you run into any issues down the track!

Always check at the source to make sure you avoid any potential issues 🙂

[ellishousearts]

Brilliant! We went out today, bought the Square stand and set it up for our community art gallery (an Incorporated Association). (we had bought it 2 months ago and then took it back when we realised we couldn't use it). So easy to set up and use. Thanks for supporting us and keeping us regularly updated Seamus. I can see how it would have taken a while to set up the info you need for an Incorporated Association, like the certificate, AGM minutes and details of officeholders. Cheers,
Caroline (ellishouseartcentre.com.au)

[Seamus]

No worries @ellishousearts, happy to help and hope things go smoothly from here 🙂

[gakerma2]

Hello Seamus,

We are an NFP holding an ABN and are looking to provide card payment so it's great that we can now register as an NFP. We have two transaction bank accounts, one for Door Entry and the other for Membership payments. is it possible to link the Item Sale to a different account depending on whether Door Entry or Membership?

[Arie]

Hi @gakerma2,

Thank you for writing in! Welcome to our Seller Community 🥳

Only one bank account can be linked to a Square location, so you'd need to create a second location in order to achieve this. 

To set up a second location, head to Account & Settings > Business > Locations > Create location. I'd recommend choosing a name for the location that's easy for your team to recognise. 

Once you've created the location, head to Account & Settings > Account > Bank Accounts and add the second bank account. 

You'd have to select which location you're wanting to take payments for when signing in to your Square account. In order to switch between locations, sign out and back in to your account. 

Please let us know how you go setting up your second location! 

[NASC-INC]

Hi Seamus,

It's great that Associations have been allowed onto the Square platform, however there's one big problem. Most Not For Profit Associations fundraise via raffles, and are well within their right legally to do so. However Square currently prohibit the sale of raffle tickets through their platform. 

This presents quite a big problem, and had led us to have to remain with our current EFTPOS provider, which is much more expensive.

Is this something Square can look into changing, particularly for the NFP Associations where it is perfectly legal for us to sell raffle tickets?

Thanks

Brody

[Seamus]

Hey @NASC-INC,

I'm unfortunately not able to speak to why any given sales are prohibited / not prohibited on Square's platform. Sorry I can't be of more help here. You can read our full payment terms here.

[NBC1]

Hi,

I bought a square not realising that it can't be used for schools.  Our students run a cafe project and we are wanting to take card payments now after covid.  Will square be available for school soon? If not do you have any suggestions for what could be used alternatively?

[Arie]

Hi @NBC1,

Thanks for writing in!

Several school P&C associations use Square for their canteens or uniform shops. You'll need a supported ABN - commonly this would an incorporated, or unincorporated ABN. If you don't already have an ABN, have you considered applying for one?