Shipping Label - Integrate with Royal Mail Click and Drop

[Jools]

Royal Mail supports integration with various online stores and marketplaces

Integration with Square would be great so that shipping labels could be automatically created, and postage paid

https://www.royalmail.com/sites/default/files/click-how-to-guide.pdf

https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/11716/~/click-%26-drop---connect-your-ch...

Regards

Jools

[#2]

Hello everyone, this is Alex from the Square Online product team. We know how frustrating it is to have been told that a Royal Mail Click & Drop integration is on the roadmap for two years, and we're sorry that we haven't yet been able to launch this for you. Behind the scenes, we're in the process of making some fundamental changes to our shipping product, so we decided to build all shipping carrier integrations (not just Royal Mail) in a way that aligns with our long term strategy. This will take us time to fully execute. We also understand that you have to make decisions about how to operate your business, and that an expectation of a Royal Mail integration has been a key factor in choosing to continue using Square. Unfortunately, we don't have a concrete update that we can share with you on our plans or timeline for this today, but we'll be sure to post in this thread when our beta is ready for you. 

[ARMelts]

Hi there. 

I have not been in this thread much recently because i am loosing faith and hope. This request has been a MAJOR factor for us traders. This could be a deal breaker for us reaching peak season - Xmas. I do not have faith in square, i do not see this coming into place anytime in the near future. This from a business point of view could leave square with a lot less customers and i really do feel that this should be your number 1 priority. Quite clearly our voices are not being heard. I would much rather invest and spend time creating a new website. Full of false promises and hopes. I first reached out almost 1 year ago and we are still no further forward. I feel as though us traders should take matters into our own hands, find a more suitable website host as this quite clearly wont be implemented in 2021. Square has had many chances and heard the cry from many traders but yet we continue to pay our fee’s and cant get this. This change would not only help us but also be another ATTRACTIVE feature for square reaching new customers but im sorry, over 9 months and still NOTHING. Hope everyone manages to struggle through the busy peak period without this much needed request! Take care guys x

[SGM1]

@Ria 

Unfortunately your offer proves how little anyone at square cares about us as users!

This request has been acknowledged by square employees multiple times and the last solution after months of promises was another paid integration with yet another app. As others have said lazy and all about revenue! Not good when Royal mail offers free integration.

Square have a good base platform but meaningful development is nonexistent and there is no point in these continued meaningless responses as this is not the first thread where nothing has happened in over a year.

Customer service is king, square have a long way to go. Currently little or no incentive to expand or pay more when the basics are missing or flawed.

[tariqc]

FYI:-

https://help.parcel.royalmail.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360011462338

https://api.parcel.royalmail.com/ - a safe set of calls

[phillipsrw]

Royal Mail Integrations might be a little late now for this season unless it happens in the next week. I think our management team as I am sure many other online retail companies using Square have lost confidence in Square to listen to their customers here in the UK, showing a lack of innovation and  basic online functionality like integration with Royal Mail shipping, no innovative for gifting functionality a massive missed opportunity, lack of stock management functionality for modified items online, no omni-channel solution for the discounts (POS-Online), poor image resolution for linked items on Newsletters. Squares focus has been far too much on food and drink, and restaurants ordering systems so much so that you have taken your eye off the ball with online retail. Real shame. Unless we have some support from Square or indication of an innovative set of useful tools for Online selling in the pipeline I will be making the recommendation in 2022 that we move platforms to a company that listens and supports its customers. I think many of your customers have had enough now, no more questionnaires no more customer feedback forms, its time for you to refocus and time for some positive action on behalf of Square. 

[alexws]

I understand the frustration on this long standing feature request, and I want to jump in to share some context around our prioritization decisions. The Square Online Shipping Team has been focused on overhauling Square Online's shipping settings to introduce Shipping Profiles, which allow you to set shipping rates on the item level -- this has been our top shipping-related feature request globally since we launched Square Online. With Shipping Profiles now available to all of our sellers around the world, we've started building integrated shipping label functionality in the countries that don't yet have it, and the UK is at the top of our list. Integrations like this take time and I'm sorry that we will not be able to deliver this ahead of the busy holiday season, but please know that we hear you and this project is the Shipping Team's number one priority. We know that fulfilling shipping orders manually is difficult work and that we need to make it faster and less tedious for all of you, and I promise that this group here in the Seller Community will be the first to be invited to our beta when it's ready.

Alex

[Andy1981]

Okay, well, it sounds like I'll be going with Shopify. Which is a shame, because I do actually prefer Square because of the easy integration between the hardware and online platform, but it sounds like it's a bit of a nightmare if you want an easy-er life!

[phillipsrw]

I think the problem and the frustrations is this was highlighted as an issue over 2 years ago and no movement or willing to support its customers on this. If we don't sign up to one of the couriers on the list which tend to be US supported couriers there is no way to print a shipping label. What's the use of an online sales platform if you can not print even a generic shipping label, let alone one integrated to a courier such as Royal Mail. As much use as a chocolate teapot! Can't even print a gift receipt from the dashboard you have to do through the POS, just very none user friendly. I would challenge a member of Square to attempt to fulfil a single order let alone the volumes we see at Christmas. (if you want to set the order status to 'in progress' you have to do this from the Square dashboard, if you want to print the order you have to tunnel through to deep link to Weebly, if you want to print a gift receipt you have to do this via the POS in the shop with a thermal printer, if you want a shipping label you can't print one, if you use a courier like Royal Mail you need to cut and past the inform over to the Royal Mail Click and Drop, if you want to add tracking to the Square order you have to cut and paste this from the Royal Mail Dashboard and paste back in to the Square Dashboard, we don't even have auto fill for the courier name on the tracking so you have to type this every time. Its crazy yet nobody is even addressing the issues, we like Square and have been supporters of the system for some time but when the basics are not there and your customers are requesting features all the good things Square do are totally negated by not being able to do the above, fulfil an order in a timely fashion. Real shame but it doesn't sound like you will be fixing the basics anytime soon and too many false promises to keep hanging on in the hope that Square revaluates its priorities.  

[signature_home]

Hey @alexws @tranguyen @Ria ,

Any update on the status? I'm presuming we will go through another Christmas without this 😞 

Do you have a project timeline for this feature request! its a well documented, long standing request that I would say 100% of your UK customers are waiting on! 

Can you please provide a date you expect it to BETA release? Surely if Square are actively working on this - then somebody must be able to give us a timescale? The lack of transparency and perceived commitment has made us re-evaluate whether we stay with Square after Christmas - I know others already moved due to this issue already. I want to stay with Square but really need that reciprocating feeling that you want us to stay with you?  I think its time for Square put it's cards on the table and just give us an update?

If it's in your list.... then can you tell us what's above that - can you share your feature roll out plan? I think we would be more than happy to vote on the features that are most important to us so you can re-prioritise the features that really matter to your customers? 

Thanks in advance!

[SGM1]

@alexws @Ria @tranguyen 

I agree with Signature_home more transparency and information on what you are actually working on would go a long way as there are many threads on this Forum that go back months and years with users as frustrated by the lack of response and information as by the issue raised.

Even the response rate to these messages and private messages has being getting longer!

Come on please talk to us.

[RichGreen]

Soooo.... After two years I see that there is still not even the slightest integration between Royal Mail and Square. I thought I might be able just to print shipping labels but no, that has to go via Shippo who then insist on using partner courier firms at approx 5x the price I would like to pay for shipping. If there is anybody out there who can correct me if I am wrong but if I receive an online order, I still literally have to cut and paste the address out into my label printing software ? (Let's forget about RM integration for now). Wow. 

[phillipsrw]

You are correct, no movement on this by Square. Frustrating but what can one say. There is demand for the integration but possibly not enough to make it happen. Their development resource seems to be focused both on the needs of the US domestic market and also in general on the food/restaurant sector. Online and Web store development and new features I think are a lower priority. 🤔 

[TheSpell]

The most frustrating thing is that they could get an intern/someone in for work experience for the week and even they could do it. The time and effort their staff waste running us in circles, they could have completed the job 10 times over already.

It really is that quick and simple to integrate if they wanted to do it. They just don't want to for some reason 🤷‍

[Pesh]

I'm glad I found this thread, it has helped encourage me not to switch to Square Checkout/Weebly!

[SGM1]

Now I see a uk TV advert for square which seems like its asking for trouble when they have not sorted the integration with the UK's most widely used shipping service let alone the issues with Facebook shops and pixel integration (See the other threads) and the generally very slow response to anything.

Maybe an influx of UK users will help to push this up the priority list!

[phillipsrw]

One can always hope, but alas I'm not holding my breath on this one. 

[ShopKeeper1]

We currently only use square for card payment processing. We are now looking to move our whole POS system to Square but not having integration with Royal Mail Click & Collect is a BIG deal breaker - any update of when or if this will be implemented?

Cannot move to Square without this functionality....

[signature_home]

@tranguyen @alexws 

Please can you give us some update on progress? We have had radio silence on this thread from Square since October - which doesn’t offer any confidence to UK users? 

im not going to go over old ground as I think it’s already clear how important this is for UK users. Continued lack of response will only confirm to me personally that you have no interest in this feature or the views of UK users and as such I will regrettably have to make the move away from Square to other suppliers who have this important feature. 

[Breffni]

Hi everyone,

We appreciate you taking the time to voice your opinions and explain how this integration would benefit your business. Both our Seller Community team and eCom team are monitoring this thread. When we receive updates on the developement of these features, we will be sure to alert this thread and @alexws can also provide further context.

While we don't have an update just yet, one of our partners — EasyShip — does allow sellers to link their own Royal Mail account.

This is a paid integration but if you're shipping under 100 parcels per month, there's a free plan available.

[Trestigerlily]

You do realise how incredibly insulting it is to keep stringing this thread out with no actual answers? I am moving from square because although we were promised integration with royal mail (basic need for UK ecommerce) you implemented a paid 3rd app instead! It's clear you do not value your UK customers and I'm sure you've seen...we are all leaving. 

[Pesh]

While you probably get some kickback from this, EasyShip starts at £23/month to integrate RM. If I'm having to pay extra for it, I might as well use another platform that integrates for free, and gives me access to an online store. 

[SGM1]

@BreffniNot this AGAIN!

Square really do not have a grasp of the issue and this response is insulting in the extream.

1 Royal Mail is the uk's biggest shipper

2 Royal mail account gives businesses a discount on normal prices with no monthly fees.

3 This integrates with Royal mails click and drop service again no charge unless you want a direct daily collection.

4 Royal mail developed their system to make intergration easy

Easy ship was squares solution last time you said things were moving forward but this is just another paid addon which adds more complexity and cost. Which means other platforms are more stable, cheaper and faster to respond to customers.

How can you advertise on uk tv when you don't even have the basics right for the uk market.