Payment Providers: Square

---

Plan Availability: ✓ Soho | ✓ Pro | ✓ Plus | ✓ Enterprise | X Flex |
Locate: Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment or Manage > Integrations > Payments
Prerequisites: 

• Admin permissions to manage Payment Providers.
• One or more Locations configured within Square.

---

About Square

Square is a very popular Payment Provider and highly recommended by Checkfront for use with your business. 

Customers can make payments through Square online. Alternatively, our Checkfront iOS/Android apps support in-person payments through Square readers.

Square is currently available through Checkfront in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and Ireland.

 

Google reCAPTCHA is now supported by Checkfront with Square. Learn more here... Google reCAPTCHA

 

PSD2 and SCA compliant  This integration is Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) compliant including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).  Checkfront is prepared to handle any transactions that the Payment Provider deems applicable.  These measures help reduce fraud and make online payments more secure!  Learn more about PSD2 and SCA here... What is PSD2 and How Will It Impact Your Business?

 

Square is the supported Payment Provider for our mobile apps. Learn more about out Android and iOS apps here... Android App: Downloading and Installing iOS App: Downloading and Installing

 

---

To enable Square, log in to your Checkfront account and navigate to Ecommerce Setup and Payment tab under the Manage menu. Locate and click on the Square tile within the list of featured providers.

From the Add-on Setup modal, click on the option to Connect to Square.

This initiates the authorization process, where you authorize Square to connect your Checkfront account for the purpose of payment processing.

 

If you are not already logged in to your Square account, a login screen appears for authentication purposes. Enter your Email Address and Password, then Sign In.

 

Once you've successfully logged in, the connection is established with Square and you are redirected back to Checkfront where Square is now marked as an Active Provider. 

 

The example in the screenshot above is using the test environment (Sandbox). When you go live with your Square account integrated, the Provider should not be labelled as Sandbox.

 

Next, click on Setup to configure your Location setting.

 

From Add-on Setup, verify the connected Square business Location. You can change the connected Location by selecting from the drop-down menu displayed.

Click Update to save your Location selection.

 

This step requires that you have one or more Locations created within Square. Learn more about Location Management in Square here: Square Support | Location Management

 

No Locations Found If you encounter this error message, it means that your Authorization token for the Square Integration has expired due to inactivity, as you haven't processed a transaction in recent days. Tokens expire after 30 days and can be renewed up to 15 days after the last expiry. Resolve this issue by disabling and then re-activating the Square Integration within Checkfront.

 

---

Ensure that the Country field is enabled and required in the booking form (Manage > Layout > Booking Form) when using Square, otherwise, payments may fail.

 

---

Billing Address and Postal / Zip code information can be captured and sent to Square where Address Verification (AVS) checks can be applied to help protect against disputes and fraud.

This is true for both Customer-facing (Payment page) and Staff-side (add payment form) payments.

 

Make sure that your Booking Form (Manage > Layout > Booking Form tab) includes the fields you require - Address and/or Postal / Zip code and that the fields are marked as required. The Billing Address and Postal / Zip code fields on the Payment page are prefilled with the values entered in the corresponding Booking fields. The Staff-side add payment form includes these fields by default - no additional configuration is required.

 

Learn more about Address Verification (AVS) with Square here... Risk Manager Payment Guide

 

---

We highly recommend you test the integration with Square before processing any live payments through your account. 

To use Sandbox Mode, the testing environment, ensure the Square live integration is disabled (Setup > Disable) and then follow the steps above, this time choosing to Connect to Square in Sandbox Mode. A test Location is preselected for you to match your account's currency, for example, CAD Test Location.

 

Don't forget to deactivate the Sandbox connection and Connect to Square with your live account when you have completed your testing and are ready to take live payments!

 

---

Square provides its own hardware for in-person payments. You can use any Square reader available in your region to swipe card-present transactions for your bookings through our mobile apps.

 

iOS & Android App Booking Flow The payment flow for Square in our iOS and Android mobile apps is as follows: 1. Ensure that you have both the Checkfront and Square Point of Sale apps installed on your device. 2. Make sure you’re logged into the Square app, and specifically, the location matching your Checkfront configuration. 3. Find and view the booking in Checkfront mobile app. 4. Select Payments. 5. Select Take Payment. 6. Set the amount to be processed if it differs from the total balance owing. This is not editable once you’re in Square, other than to split that amount across multiple cards 7. Add any notes. 8. Finally, click the  ‘Pay $999.99 on credit’ button. 9. Checkfront sends a request that opens the Square app, and you are presented with an option to pay by Credit Card or Gift Card. Only gift cards purchased through Square can be redeemed through the Square Point of Sale app, not Gift Certificates purchased through Checkfront. If you have a contactless reader connected, you also see the option to take a Contactless payment. You should select this option if you wish to make the payment via the tap method, rather than swiping. If you don't select this option, then tap still works, but the payment is not recorded in Checkfront. In that case, you need to go into the Checkfront Booking Manager and process a manual POS payment to record the transaction. 8. Either swipe, tap (if applicable) or key in credit card information. If possible, we suggest swiping/tapping over keying in the card number as Square provides a lower rate on card-present transactions. 9. [Optional] A split payment can also be created in Square, allowing you to split the amount previously noted (e.g. $999.99) for payment across multiple credit cards. 10. Click Charge. 11. Both failed and successful payments redirect back to the CF app (with an error message, if applicable). 12. Booking is be updated with transaction details.

 

To facilitate payments processed through the Square mobile app, Checkfront utilizes the Custom Amount feature in Square. Within the Sales Taxes section of your Square Dashboard, it is possible to add taxes to Custom Amounts. However, if you add taxes to Custom Amounts in Square, then Square adds those amounts on top of whatever value Checkfront sends for the transaction. For example, if the item in Square has a 15% tax applied, and you try to collect the $100 outstanding balance from a booking. The payment amount is set as $100 in Checkfront, but the transaction amount is $115 in Square! To avoid this conflict, please make sure no taxes have been applied to the Custom Amount item in Square.

 

---

What is the minimum amount for Square payments?
The minimum payment amount for Square (1.00) applies to test as well as live transactions. Please check with Square for more information.

 

Can I use Square and Stripe at the same time?

Yes, if both are enabled, Stripe will be the default provider for your web-based payments, and Square can then be used at the same time for in-person payments via our mobile app.

The Square integration may also be used as both your eCommerce and mobile payments solution.

How far back in the past am I able to process refunds with Square?

Square allows rebilling and refunds. These processes are done using tokenized payment information.

The length of time that refunds are allowed to be processed after the original payment date can be found on the Square website. After this window, you need to refund your Customer outside of Square.

Once you have refunded your Customer outside of Checkfront and Square, be sure to log the refund on the Customer's Checkfront booking Transactions tab, as in our example above using a POS transaction type.

 

Does Checkfront support Square gift cards as payment?

Square gift cards are only supported as payment through our mobile apps, as the mobile apps redirect to the Square Point of Sale app. See the Paying through mobile apps section above for more information.