Why doesn't Square support payroll for multiple locations?

[hattiejanes]

I was so in love with Square and Square payroll with just one location for our coffee and ice cream store. So happy in fact that I converted our other existing location from Revel to Square after using it at our second location for a couple of months. The payroll was so easy compared to our restaurants that have to use a payroll company, so I dropped our payroll service as well. Only, come to find out, Square does not support multiple locations for Payroll! I can't split up bank accounts and time cards, I can only run one payroll for all locations coming from one account. 

Only one bank account available for payroll when operating multiple locations is not how most businesses operate. I would've assumed Square to be more ahead of this but am very disappointed. I will have to pull both locations off Square Payroll until they start supporting growing businesses.

[#2]

I was so in love with Square and Square payroll with just one location for our coffee and ice cream store. So happy in fact that I converted our other existing location from Revel to Square after using it at our second location for a couple of months. The payroll was so easy compared to our restaurants that have to use a payroll company, so I dropped our payroll service as well. Only, come to find out, Square does not support multiple locations for Payroll! I can't split up bank accounts and time cards, I can only run one payroll for all locations coming from one account. 

Only one bank account available for payroll when operating multiple locations is not how most businesses operate. I would've assumed Square to be more ahead of this but am very disappointed. I will have to pull both locations off Square Payroll until they start supporting growing businesses.

[porktaco]

@TheNailBar very much so!

[Coffeeandhair]

Any update to this matter?

[natesterling]

Just want to add my name to this request.  We businesses need to be able to have different business locations linked to separate payroll bank accounts to be able to keep everything separated and organized.  Square payroll allows me to add bank accounts (but that doesn't do me any good) because Square payroll does not allow me to use that added bank account to pay different employees at different locations.  Square should have done this 4 years ago in 2017 when it was first requested.  Doesn't make any sense to be able to add payroll bank accounts but not be able to use the added payroll bank accounts.

[dutchmonkey]

Same request here--I've spent hours over the past week on hold/talking to Square about this, as we're starting to add employees on our second location.  To complicate things, we use the tipping distribution feature, as well as the Guideline 401K and workers comp.  So, splitting off to a new payroll account would mean manually entering sales and hours data, and paying a second 401K subscription. It's total madness.  So my choices are either operate as two independent businesses, which disallows sharing gift cards, POS items, and loyalty/marketing programs, or run payroll through just one of the businesses, and have the other show as not having employees? Won't this mess things up when it comes to future programs like PPP, etc.?  My head is about to explode. 

[misSTEAKSmade]

Is there any kind of update or timetable for this?

I have to make some hard choices concerning Square based off of this and a few other feature shortfalls. I see that you can *select* the location where an employee works, but if you select a 2nd address, it give you an error saying it's not allowed/possible.

It makes Square Payroll (and therefore Square itself) a harder sell for multi-unit restaurants to keep with this limitation. The "workaround" of having two separate Square accounts, and effectively breaking out each location to its own account is horribly inefficient for multi-location operators. 

[misSTEAKSmade]

Popular enough to get some movement?....

[misSTEAKSmade]

Any chance we could get an official update from the dev team or management? I need to know weather or not I'm bailing on Square. I have expansion plans, and Square is either part of it, and supports that direction for its user base....or Toast will (and currently does).

[dutchmonkey]

I got an email yesterday from Square saying that for different EINs, I'd need a separate payroll account for each one. "There is no other way around that.".  Disappointing, because practically every other feature supports having multiple locations/accounts.  It's pretty confusing.  I even asked if it was possible to file a Schedule R with the automatic 940/941s, so we could use the main business as a common pay agent for the second, but no dice.  

[misSTEAKSmade]

I had essentially the same response.
Items, Discounts, Reporting, Other 3rd Party integrations, Multiple locations with different  EIN's, etc, etc......are all setup for multiple locations........and it's all almost worthless without fixing this issue.

[dutchmonkey]

What I'm doing now is applying for our first business to be a IRC Section 3504 Pay Agent for the second business, through the IRS, so the first business can handle payroll and withholding for both businesses.  It requires filing a Form 2678. Hoping that works out if we're ever audited.