Hey everyone!   The beginning of February also means it's a great time to celebrate and amplify the incredible contributions of the Black community and celebrate the start of Black History Month.    We want to continue to spotlight amazing Black-owned businesses in the Square Community — similar to last year — but we need your help!    If you are a Black-owned business owner or entrepreneur, we'd love to feature you in an article celerating Black History Month. If you are interested, all you have to do is fill out the form below.   [FORM IS NOW CLOSED]   We also want to give a shout out to all of our amazing Sellers who are a part of the Uplifted Voices group, a space for Black Entrepreneurs and business owners to find connection, advice, and community.    Happy (early) Black History Month! 🖤 ... View more

I run a small pet food and supplies store, we focus on local delivery and 95% of our customers are repeat customers. I am exploring the idea of additional revenue through the random traffic we get of non customers by adding google ads to the site.   I wanted to know others thoughts and experiences? ... View more

Hey everyone 👋!   As you start conversation and connect with fellow business owners in the Community, you will start receiving notifications and emails alerting you of what’s happening. It can be overwhelming especially when you’re busy running a business. In this article, we’re going to share a few tips and walk through how you can manage your Community notifications and email preferences so it works for you.      How to access your community notification settings To access your community notification settings, first click your username on the top right-hand corner of any community page, then click My settings.      Next, select Subscriptions & Bookmarks > Notification Settings.     Or, just click here to be taken directly to that page!     Adjust how you would like to be notified At the top of the Notification Settings page, you can adjust how you’d like to be notified. There are a couple of different ways that notifications can appear: Only when you are logged in to the Community — these would be push and real-time pop-up notifications Only by email   You can choose to receive notifications through both channels, or none at all — it depends on what works best for you.    Below this, you’ll see the options of changing what you should be notified of. Here are the different ways you can subscribe to receive notifications: When you post a new topic or reply (“Notify me when I post, reply, submit a review, or comment”) When you participate in a topic (“Automatically subscribe me to all topics or reviews I participate in”) When a new topic is published in a group you are involved in (“Automatically subscribe me to all group hubs that I join”) When a board (e.g. Square Restaurants, Community Corner, etc.) you subscribed to has a new post or topic (“For my forum subscriptions”)   One thing to keep in mind, by default, you will always be notify when the following happens: When someone replies to a topic you started When you are mentioned in a post or a topic When a topic you comment on or start has a solution marked   💡 TIP: The “Automatically subscribe me to all topics or reviews I participate in” is great for keeping tabs on what’s happening in discussions you have participated in, but if you find your notifications are starting to pile up, you might want to try disabling it. You can still manually follow any discussions and/or topics of your choosing.     Adjust how often you would like to be notified In addition to what content you want to be notified of, you can also control how often you receive email notifications. You can hear about things as soon as they occur (“Immediately”), or disable any of them entirely by selecting “Never”.        How to manage individual subscriptions If you no longer wish to receive email notification and have disabled all your settings, but are still seeing emails coming through, you can delete previous subscriptions. Under Subscriptions & Bookmarks, click My Subscriptions.     You can either manually check and delete any subscription you no longer want to follow, or you can check and delete them in bulk by selecting Email Subscriptions Options > Check All > Delete Selected Subscriptions.       How to subscribe to a thread, topic or board In addition to threads you have started or contributed to, you can also manually opt-in to receive notifications for any other threads, topics or boards you are interested in and want to follow along.    To subscribe to thread At the top of every thread, you’ll see the blue button to Subscribe.     To subscribe to a topic If there’s a topic you are interested in, such as updates for Square Appointments, for example, you can navigate to the Product Update, select the label on the right-hand side and click the “Subscribe” option that appears in the green box.     To subscribe to a board Alternatively, if you want to be notified whenever a new topic is published on a particular board or a group, you can simply click the Options box at the top right-hand side on the page > select “Subscribe” in the drop-down.     That's it! Now you're all set to manage your Community notifications like a pro 🎉. Remember, you can always come back and tweak these settings as your needs change. ... View more

Hey there!   We’re glad to have you here in the community! The Square Community is dedicated to creating an enjoyable, valuable, and supportive space for all users of Square's products. This post serves as your comprehensive guide to getting started in the Square Community, offering a one-stop shop for all of your needs.   Read on below to learn more about how to get started in the Square Community!   What is the Square Community? The Square Community is the peer-to-peer network for Square sellers to connect with one another and with Square. In the Community, you can learn how other businesses use Square, get help from sellers facing similar challenges, and provide support to fellow entrepreneurs on their journey.   Please be sure to read and follow our Community Code of Conduct as these are important ground rules meant to ensure the conversations are productive and valuable for all. By joining our community, you agree and accept these guidelines and our Admin Team reserves the right to remove any and all content or members who display abusive conduct or breach the above guidelines. Though we aim to give notice of any policy changes, community guidelines may change at any time at our discretion.   How to: join the Square Community Join us to learn how to use Square to run and grow your business, be the first to hear about new features, and collaborate and connect with your fellow sellers.   The Square Community is free to everyone with a Square account. When you create a Community profile you can: Start a new thread or reply to an existing thread ✏ Kudo a post 💚 Subscribe to a thread for updates 📰 Join a group 🙌   You can join the Square Community in these three easy steps:   Step 1:  Sign up for your Square Point of Sale account at squareup.com or download the Square app to your mobile device. Already using Square? Skip to step 2!    Step 2:  Visit community.squareup.com  and click Sign In. You’ll be prompted to enter an email address and password — enter the email address and password that is tied to your Square account.   Step 3:  You’ll be prompted to set a username and you’ll be assigned an avatar (this is your profile image!). Keep in mind your username will be visible to everyone!  And that’s it. When you’ve followed these steps you can sign in to Start a thread or reply to a thread to join a conversation. How to start a new thread in the Square Community    Search first! 🔍 The first thing to check is whether or not your question has already been answered. You can do this by searching in the search box on the homepage. As you start typing, threads will appear below the text box.       If one of the search results matches your question you can click on the title to open the thread. Otherwise, you can click on the Start Thread button to make a new post.        Start a new thread! ✍️ If you start typing and threads don't pop up for you or the results don't answer your question you can start a new thread! You can do this right from the homepage or from the top of any board.   From the homepage search first and if you can’t find the post click Ask the Community underneath the search box.      From the top of any board, click Start Thread to create a new thread with your question!       💡TIP: When you are starting a new thread, use a full question or even the error message you are seeing for your title instead of single words. This can make it easier for other members to understand what's being discussed and help you quicker!   For example:             Please also keep in mind which board you are posting to in order to get the most efficient support. For example, posting POS questions to the Point of Sale board.   And that’s it! Happy posting!   How to Mark a Post as Best Answer If you've asked a question, you'll have the option to mark any reply as the Best Answer. Marking something as Best Answer gives the question a green checkmark to show others the question has been solved.      Best Answers also help the author of the answer to rank up in the community. They're a nice way to say "Thanks" to the person who took the time to post. 😄   To mark a post as Best Answer, just scroll to the right of a post and click Mark as Best Answer. That's it!         How to use the Square Community Startup Guide   The Startup Guide was created to help Community members discover all of the useful areas of Square Community and connect with one another.  How to complete the guide: Each drop down includes a Startup Guide task that contributes to the overall "% Set Up" bar at the top of the guide. To move your progress closer to 100%, you must complete the listed task items. Complete all of the tasks and you will have a 100% complete guide! The bonus of a completed guide is that you have explored a ton of amazing features of the Community 👍   Example: When you click the downward arrow on the "Introduce yourself and your business" task, the prompt reads "Share your name, where you're located, and a little about your business." with a link to the Community Welcome board. Once you have posted to this board, the Startup Guide bar will gain % of completion.        Join a Seller Group to connect, learn, and share with other business owners 🤝 Did you know that Square Community is home to several different business-related groups? Joining a group is free, and any member of the Square Community can join an open group or request to join a private group.   Check out the Seller Groups home page for the current group lineup. Become a member of the group to be notified of all new activity by clicking on ‘Join Group Hub’ as shown in the example below.   Learn More about the Square Community Thanks again for being a part of the Square Community and for taking the time to read this guide! We hope it helps you get acquainted with the Community. If you're up for it, feel free to introduce yourself to other sellers!   While this guide covers a lot of helpful information, please be sure to check out our Community Resources for additional resources and more ways to get involved! See you in the Community! ... View more

Hey everyone!   Since we ask you all to introduce yourselves, we thought it would be a good idea to introduce ourselves as well 🙂    We’re a helpful bunch of Community Managers who are always looking for ways to make the Square Community a vibrant place to be.    Take a look below to read more about our team. We’re excited to meet you and please always feel free to reach out. We’re here to help!     Square Community Core Team     @LeahK - Leah is the Global Community Lead at Square, bringing over a decade of expertise in crafting impactful community programs since joining the team in early 2023. She believes that connecting with people and building relationships leads to better work.   Fun fact: Leah finds joy in the company of dogs, loves immersing herself the latest reality TV, indulging in home design, and whipping up delightful treats in the kitchen.   @Helen - Helen is the editor of the Square Community Blog where she writes about small business, and the owners & entrepreneurs that are a part of the Community.   Fun Fact: After 9 years in California she now lives in Ireland with her family where she can get as much rain as she likes!      @tranguyen - Tra is a Community Engagement Program Manager. She is most often found in the Question of the Week board, popping up during celebration events or behind the scenes of the Mentorship Program.    Fun fact: Tra appeared in a fun trivia contest on Vietnam National Television and won, because she's competitive even as a kid.         @katie - Katie is a Senior Community Engagement Program Manager and joined the team in 2024. She has spent the past decade growing and leading community programs, and her career north star is to build community for people who are more than their jobs.   Fun fact: Katie is slowly renovating her 1970's bungalow in Austin, TX with her partner (while her dog Jungebug supervises).     @nika - Nika is a Beta Community Manager at Square. She helps build relationships between sellers and Product teams and makes sure sellers are supported throughout their beta journey.   Fun fact: Nika can keep small humans alive at home but not small house plants.   @isabelle - Isabelle is the manager of the Square Champions program. She's been a member of the Square Community team for 3 years, at Square for 6, and when not engaged in Square Champions program activities, she can be found supporting other programs within the Community, and being an active member of the Question of the Week board, and the TogetHER group!    Fun fact: Isabelle has seen all 218 episodes of the X-Files.       @kristen - Kristen is the manager of Product Engagement programs in the Square Community. This means she helps Square Product teams broadcast updates to sellers and receive all of the product feedback sellers contribute here in the community.    Fun fact: Kristen loves poetry, especially a cute lil haiku.    @Hailey - Hailey, a results-oriented marketing leader (10+ years), leverages her agency experience to drive traffic, awareness, and engagement as PMM for the Square Community. She wields the power of community to shape the platform for success, influencing product development and more.   Fun Fact:  Hailey is a born and raised Canadian with the most precious golden retriever, Luke.     Square Community Moderators   We can’t forget to show support to all of the amazing community moderators who help support this community! To spot a moderator, you will see a ‘Square Community Moderator’ title in their community profile. Make sure to send them some kudos for all of their hard work! 💚 ... View more