Learn more about Square, including understanding supported features, setting up in Checkfront, managing add-on setup, configuring your Square location, enabling and requiring country fields, including billing information for Address Verification, connecting to Square in sandbox mode, card swiping via mobile apps, understanding the mobile app booking flow, and finding answers frequently asked questions.
Accessing the features mentioned in this article
Where can I find this feature using the top menu?
- Manage > Ecommerce Setup > Payment
What more do I need to use this feature?
- Admin permissions are required to manage Payment Providers.
- Location configured within Square.
About Square
Square is a very popular Payment Provider, 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 available through Checkfront in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and Ireland.
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Google reCAPTCHA is now supported by Checkfront with Square. Learn more here: |
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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: |
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Square is the supported Payment Provider for our mobile apps. Learn more about our Android and iOS apps here: |
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Learn more about the benefits of the Checkfront and Square integration here: |
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Check the status of Square's services here: |
Supported Features
Back to topThe following is a list of standard Payment Provider features. Those available with the Square and Checkfront integration are marked as supported (✓).
| Feature | Supported | More Info |
| Live Payments | ✓ | The ability to process payments in real time. |
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Rebilling |
✓ | The ability to re-charge using previously provided payment information (tokens). |
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Refunds |
✓ | The ability to return a paid amount directly to the original payment method. |
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Integrated Checkout |
X |
Customers remain on the Checkfront domain to input details. These details are sent to the provider to process the transaction without redirecting the Customer. |
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Redirect Checkout |
✓ |
Customers are redirected to the Payment Provider’s domain to input details and process the transaction. |
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Staff-side Payments |
✓ |
Staff can take payment through the Booking Details page using new payment information. |
| Terminals |
X |
Square Terminal is not available to Operators at this time. You can connect via mobile browsers to the Square POS app, which would let you use compatible Square terminal devices. |
| Hold Payments |
X |
The provider holds the payment for a specific time without charging the card.
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| Test Mode | ✓ |
The ability to process test payments using your Checkfront account and Square before going live.
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| Multiple Currencies | X |
The ability to offer payments in more than one currency.
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| PSD2 Compliant / 3DSecure |
✓ |
Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2) compliant, including Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). Our integration is PSD2 compliant and uses 3DSecure security. |
| Can be a secondary Provider? | ✓ |
The ability to configure a primary provider for online payments and a secondary provider for Staff-side payments through the Booking Details page.
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| Additional payment methods | X |
The following additional payment methods are only supported through Checkfront Payments and Stripe.
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| Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Flex Pay (formerly Uplift) | X |
Buy Now, Pay Later powered by Flex Pay (formerly Uplift) is an additional payment method exclusively supported by Checkfront Payments. |
| Capture and Send Zip / Postal Code and Address for Address Verification (AVS) | ✓ |
Capture Zip / Postal Code and Address to send to Square for Address Verification (AVS) to help prevent disputes and fraud. |
| Google reCAPTCHA | ✓ |
Google reCAPTCHA is an add-on which helps protect your business against fraudulent activity. See the Google reCAPTCHA article for the full list of supported Payment Providers. |
| Supported Countries | ✓ |
Square is available to Operators in the following business locations:
The list of countries with card payment acceptance support through Square can be found here: *Spain is not currently supported in Checkfront. |
| Minimum Transaction Payment Amount | ✓ |
The minimum payment amount for Square (1.00) applies to test and live transactions. Please check with Square for more information. |
Setup in Checkfront
Back to topTo 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.
Connecting to Square
Back to topFrom the Add-on Setup modal, click the option to Connect to Square.
This starts the authorization process, where you authorize Square to connect your Checkfront account for payment processing.
Logging into Square
Back to topIf you are not already logged in to your Square account, a login screen appears for authentication. Enter your Email Address and Password, then click Sign In.
Managing Add-on Setup
Back to topOnce 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.
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The example in the screenshot above uses 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.
Configuring your Square Location
Back to topFrom 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 selection.
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This step requires that a business location be set up within Square. Learn more about Location Management in Square here: |
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Each Checkfront account supports only one Square Location. |
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No Locations Found Resolve this issue by disabling and then re-activating the Square Integration within Checkfront. |
Enabling and requiring country fields
Back to topEnsure the Country field is enabled and required in the booking form (Manage > Layout > Booking Form) when using Square. Otherwise, payments may fail.
Including billing information for Address Verification (AVS)
Back to topThe 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 Customer-facing (Payment page) and Staff-side (add payment form) payments.
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Ensure 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 payment page's billing address and postal / zip code fields 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. |
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Learn more about Address Verification (AVS) with Square here... |
Connecting in Sandbox Mode (Test Mode)
Back to topWe 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, 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.
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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! |
Card Swiping via Mobile Apps
Back to topSquare provides its 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 FlowThe payment flow for Square in our iOS and Android mobile apps is as follows: 1. Ensure you have the Checkfront and Square Point of Sale apps installed on your device. Only gift cards purchased through Square can be redeemed through the Square Point of Sale app, not Gift Certificates purchased through Checkfront. You should select this option to pay via tap instead of swiping. If you don't select this option, the tap option still works, but the payment is not recorded in Checkfront. You must 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. |
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To facilitate payments processed through the Square mobile app, Checkfront uses the custom amount feature in Square. It is possible to add taxes to custom amounts within the Sales Taxes section of your Square Dashboard. However, if you add taxes to custom amounts in Square, 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, you try to collect the $100 outstanding balance from a booking. The payment amount is $100 in Checkfront, but the transaction amount is $115 in Square! To avoid this conflict, please ensure no taxes have been applied to the custom amount item in Square. |
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Staff can also create payments through mobile browsers using the Square Point of Sale app. Find out more here: |
Frequently Asked Questions
Back to topCan I use Square and Stripe at the same time?
Yes, if both are enabled, Stripe is the default provider for your web-based payments, and Square can then be used simultaneously for in-person payments via our mobile app.
The Square integration may also be your eCommerce and mobile payments solution.
How far back in the past can I process refunds with Square?
Square allows rebilling and refunds. These processes are done using tokenized payment information.
The 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, log the refund on the Customer's Checkfront booking Transactions tab using a POS transaction type, as in our example above.
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.
What Square hardware can I use for in-person bookings?
We recommend the Square Stand (iPad-based) device for in-person bookings/rentals through Checkfront.
The Square Register is not recommended, as the Register only allows Square programs to run.
Does Square accept debit cards for payment, including Visa/MasterCard debit and Interac Debit?
Both Visa/MasterCard debit and Interac Debit are accepted with our Square integration. A chip and pin device from Square is required, such as the Square Contactless and Chip Reader or Square Terminal. Learn more here.