Announcing the New Square Square Online Discussion Board

[Tom]

More and more sellers in our community are pressing on with Curbside Pickup and Local Delivery by opening up online stores for their business. With that in mind, we created the Square Online Discussion board — a space within our Seller Community where you can share your experiences, ask questions, and discuss all things related to your Square Online site.

If you're just getting started, check out our latest feature releases in our Product Updates section and have a look at some of our most viewed topics. If you don't see what you're looking for, feel free to start a new thread and we'll make sure you get the resources you need.

The Community is looking forward to hearing from you! Click reply below if you’d like to introduce yourself, share a link to your store, or let us know if you have any questions or suggestions!

[FoxandLion]

Hi, I saw a thread about staggering pick up/curbside times during rushes.  Was this a feature that is ready?  I didn't see it in the settings.  If someone could point me to the thread?

[RKTOYS]

Could you work on something important like implementing calculated shipping in your storefront?

Or an API that works without requiring your app that you don't support very well or a JavaScript form that you don't support on any browser but Chrome?

Every time I see a "new" forum that's slower and more basic than what AOL had 30 years ago, I weep for the state of "modern" technology.

[DebShi]

Hey there!

Great thread, full of lots of good info, thanks!

I run a busy coffee shop in NH square store here: https://luckyscoffeegarage.square.site 

In addition to our square store, we are also using the Cloosiv app with some pretty great results, the Cloosiv/Square syncing is improving each day.

My question, Cloosiv has a pretty slick 'hide'/'unhide' feature on it's merchant portal. I'm finding it cumbersome in square to quickly remove items from the store.

For example, we make 3 dozen oatmeal cookies for the day, we sell these cookies through the app Cloosiv (which doesn't have inventory tracking) and Square, which does (or doesn't, your choice). We sell down to 4 cookies and want to remove it from both stores so we don't OVERSELL them. In Cloosiv it's the matter of blinking an 'eye' icon off to hide it from the customer view. So easy!

In square, (please correct me if there's an easier way), I have to with go to that individual item and update my inventory or mark it as 'hidden'.

In square it's either:

dashboard> online store> items > search> mark as hidden or change inventory > save

OR

dashboard> online store> website> edit site> order page> item list> arrange/add items> edit item information> publish 

It would be so great if there was an easy "visible/invisible" button that could be used  on the fly when stocks are getting low.

Is there an easier way to do this?

Thanks!

[Donnie-M]

We have been able to update inventory in the POS app with not too much trouble.  

Tap 3 bar (bottom left) ->Items->Cookies->Stock->0 ->SAVE

That will mark it out of stock in the online store.  You can continue selling in the point of sale no matter the inventory count.  We are just very judicious to untrack the inventory at the end of the day if we edit any items.  I find this faster than going through the dashboard on the fly.

[DebShi]

Thanks! That's very helpful!

Do you know if there's a way to adjust a modifier without deleting it?

Example: We have a latte for sale with modifiers for milk preference....say we run out of Oat Milk....is there a way to make it invisible without deleting it from the modifier group?

It's the little things!

[Donnie-M]

@DebShi 

Without hiding it on an individual item we have just deleted the modified and then add it back when in stock.  The other option is to edit the modifier and just add:  Oat Milk (Out of stock) or something along those lines.  It keeps the modifier but alerts the customer that it is out.  Not ideal but not impossible.  I don't mind quick editing a modifier but if you are having to say edit your milk alternatives a lot I would set up 2 modifiers.  The first one is your usual subjects:

Milk 1:

Skim

2%

Whole

Milk 2:

Soy

Almond

Oat Milk

That way you have the set you might need to mess with a lot and the group you don't have to worry with.

[vhovar]

Yes, in the online store on items, you can mark one of the modifier options as invisible for a specific item. The obvious problem is if this specific modifier is used in multiple items you have to hide the modifier option in all the items using that modifier.

The other we we do this is simply to rename the modifier option to say (OUT)Oat Milk. That way they are aware it is usually an option but you are just currently out. The other nice thing is that this one change on the modifier is then reflected on all items using it. I actually wrote a little web based utility to call one of the Square APIs that allow my manager to easily change modifier items to "(OUT)" and back again. 

[BakingLife]

We have been using Square for many years and love it, it works seamlessly for us and is easy to use, keep track of our inventory and use for our customers.  We were excited to set up a website with Weebly as it has become a necessary part of our business.  However, as much as I want to say I love Weebly, what I do love is the idea that is syncs with Square and they are integrated but the reality is that some of the necessary functions on Weebly do not work.  We have been reporting these issues for several weeks now and the occassional time we do get a reply it is to tell us it is a known bug but there is no fix in sight.  We are losing online sales daily as a result.  We have emailed, used this forum, spoken with Weebly IT on the phone to no avail.  When will the ITEM creation and the VARIATION feature be fixed?  We are paying for a service for which we are not receiving and are also not receiving satisfactory answers nor solutions.  

Thank you,

Leanne Arnott

Five Girls Baking

[Fvasello]

We have just finished a surprisingly busy summer season using the Square Online store for ordering food at our Bakery and sandwich shop on Cape Cod. We found the online ordering to be incredibly problematic in several different ways. I posting this here because one of the biggest problems was not having the items grouped into categories. For example, an order ticket might come in like this:

Coffee

breakfast sandwich

(w/ modifiers)

muffin

latte

breakfast sandwich

(w/ modifiers)

cinnamon roll

chips

iced coffee

lunch sandwich

(w/modifiers)

coke

now, as anyone in food service knows, being able to quickly and clearly read a ticket is crucial to good error-free customer service. it’s super easy to miss something if a ticket is organized in such a haphazard way.

the person at the sandwich station doesn’t care about pastries, coffee, beverages, or snack items and the person making coffee doesn’t care about any food, other beverages, or snacks. If we are to continue using square online, for the volume of business we do, a ticket MUST be able to be organized in an efficient way, like this

BREAKFAST

Breakfast sandwich

(w/ modifiers)

breakfast sandwich

(w/ modifiers)

LUNCH

lunch sandwich

(w/modifiers)

PASTRY

Muffin

cinnamon roll

COFFEE

coffee

latte

iced coffee

BEVERAGES

coke

SNACKS

chips

You don’t need the category headings on the ticket, but I included there to make my point clear. 

without Just this Level of functionality, we will find another POS system and replace Square completely. We LOVE the Square register and POS for in person transactions inside the store, but the online ordering system has a long way to go. There are other serious problems we had with customers not understanding their orders were complete and showing up expecting their food and having to tell them to go back to the app and complete their orders. There’s something about The user interface that is confusing for many people. I think it’s because the app gives them a time that their order will be ready before they have actually completed the order process. They see that and think they’re done. 

we also had issues with orders not being printed even though the customer properly put their order in. They would show up expecting food and we would think they did not complete their order for the reasons above and begin explaining to them they needed to complete their order only to discover their order actually had been taken and showed up on the register, but for some unknown reason, never got printed. 

also, the inventory was constantly incorrect. At first we thought it was our error, but over time we realized there was some discrepancy that would occur when multiple people ordered the last quantity of an item at the same time. Then we’d have to look them up on the register and call or text them telling offering them a credit or substitution. This is just not a realistic thing to have to do with the volume of business we get during high season.

if these items are not addressed, we will not be continuing with square next year.

an informal canvassing of other businesses in town using square for food ordering and pick-up found that we were not the only ones having these problems. 

[Remi]

So where's all our previous posts? Feature requests etc? While you been arranging another 'community' have you actually been resolving any of the issues customers are having with your platform?

[upscale]

My shop opened on April 1, 2020.  It has been a tougher start than anticipated - but we were still holding our own until this recent lock down on July 1st.  We don't have a huge budget and it gets less each day that passes and no foot traffic.  Does anyone have any marketing suggestions?  I am on FB Marketplace, Nextdoor App, have a pretty decent website - but I need more e-commerce traffic since my brick and mortar is going doesn't appeal to those that are forced to wear masks.  Any marketing/strategies ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[aarontw]

Hi @upscale !

Thank you for posting your question on the Community. I'm sorry to hear that business is tough right now. You are certainly not alone ❤️

You might see more responses if you create a new thread at this link: https://www.sellercommunity.com/t5/forums/postpage/board-id/Square-Online-Store-Discussion

You may also want to share a little more about what you do at your business so people can share the most relevant marketing strategies possible.

[MAXSDELI]

Hey @Tom @Joe, just officially introducing myself, Max, here’s our online site url:

http://eatatmaxs.square.site

I’ve been a Square merchant since the very first dongle arrived, have participated in each iteration of Square online ordering since 2012 and would like to continue participating in that area moving forward. 

I will be upgrading our customer facing Registers this week to the Square Register away from the Square Stand and would like to continue testing beta versions if available for that platform. 

In regards to “feature requests” how should I go about making those suggestions, do I post here, to this thread?

One such feature that seems to have disappeared from our customers experience, is the “Recent Order” that would appear at the top of the page during Online Ordering, has it been sunset? We have it toggled on in our Weebly dashboard? This is the one feature which generates the most verbal feedback from our customers, it is sorely missed...

[swankyshoppe]

hi!  i use square to manage my inventory in my brick & mortar!  i have a weebly site and its not amazing!  i recently hired someone to design a square online site, because a square advisor explained that this site would be much easier.  NOOO!!!!  they do not sync categories set up in square, and every time you enter an item on your pos, you then have to go back to the online version and either create a new category or manually place it in a category already set up!  who has time for that???!!! so frustrating!  weebly has the option to manually sync the categories/items, and while its a pain to have to do that once a week or so, its so much better than having to do it for each item!  im not sure how square thinks this would be helpful to store owners! such a disappointment! 

[mvasquez90]

Hi everyone! My name is Kimberly and I am just starting my small business. Im focusing on fahsion accessories for women, kids and makeup. I want to make shopping afforadable. I decided to go this route since I am a single mother of 1 and with Covid-19 I made the decision to not go back to work since Im in the high risk category. My savings wont last long so of course I need a way to bring income in to keep on supporting me and my son. Square has helped me get started and im so grateful and happy that I finally get to do something I wanted to do. Feel free to stop by my site at www.mimisniche.com I have more items coming in so look at the Coming soon section. Thank you all so much. 

[H3avenlyH3art]

Happy New Year, everyone!

I am a sole proprietor/entrepreneur and have spent the last year trying to get my business off the ground. My name is Joan and my business name is Heavenly Heart Heirlooms. I am a follower of Jesus and my intent is to create inspirational art and designs for print on demand products. I am still new to surface pattern design, although I have been playing around with graphic design for about 11 years now. I am learning new things every day.

I wasn't sure at first what my focus would be, but with the things I have learned over the last year regarding surface pattern design and print on demand, I have decided my main focal point will be home decor, fabrics and wallpaper designs. At the moment, I have Printful and Square integrated, and my website is through Square Online with my own domain, https://www.heavenlyhh.net

I also have storefronts on Society6, Le Galeriste, Spoonflower, and Raspberry Creek Fabrics, but my primary focus right now is on Spoonflower, where I create designs for fabric, wallpaper, and finished home decor items that are sold on Spoonflower.

I am trying to revamp my website to use galleries where I can link my designs from my other shops to my storefront. Because each shop is separate, I am trying to create a gallery section for each shop, rather than just list all my items in one long page.

I am pretty much a beginner when it comes to building a webpage, but I am not in the financial position to hire a professional, so I am simply learning as I go, but find it difficult to get answers to my questions when I run up against obstacles.

My current obstacle is that I cannot seem to find a way to link a gallery image to another page on my website. This particular image is to provide instructions to my customers, so I need it to link to a page within my website, rather than to a shop item which would be an external link.

Another issue has to do with banners on my website. I can create a banner that displays nicely on a pc, and I can create a banner that displays nicely on my phone, but both banners become skewed when I switch views. Is there a way to create a banner that works well with both views, since they cannot be separated?

I would very much appreciate instructions on how to go about doing this. Thank you.  

[maxpete]

@H3avenlyH3art Happy new year and welcome to the Seller Community! I see your post here about your website questions. Someone from the community + support team will jump in to assist! 

[H3avenlyH3art]

Thank you, MAXPETE. I look forward to hearing from someone on this issue. 

[BernadetteA]

Hi @H3avenlyH3art

I actually just responded to your post here. For your banner question, I recommend checking out Adam's post for best practices here. 

Hope this helps you out, and Welcome to the Seller Community! 😊