Can we have sub-categories?

[TradMusicTrust]

We note from the community that this feature has been requested Several times, but appears to have been ignored?

Can you give us an eta on this?

Hopefully we won’t be ignored.

Thank you

Trad Music Trust

[Sam_400º]

Bit argumentative/aggressive when you post @TradMusicTrust. 

As one seller to another can I just point out that the way things are read by others could be totally different to how you've intended to write them. On the couple of posts I've seen from you it seems that because something doesn't work the way you want it too it's terrible, shocking & 'something needs to be done right now!'. Unfortunately this isn't how the world works. 

Coming back round to your question, I had a search though the seller community & couldn't find any other requests for sub categories. 

They've recently (or maybe I've only recently found/used them) been introduced on the online side - so maybe they're in the works. 

You'll probably find this post helpful about feature requests. I don't think any of them are ignored, however the global need/availability & even complexity of each would have to be taken into account when they're put into the never-ending wish list. 

[TradMusicTrust]

400, I can only apologise if you feel that our posts are “aggressive” or “argumentative”.  They are certainly not intended to be.

The Internet, email and text messaging Is often misconstrued, and many people fall into the trap of reading far too much into the written word, often so much so that it can distract them into focusing on that more than the message/request/sentiment that’s actually being attempted to be conveyed.

There is nothing, outwith issues like poverty, abuse, war and inequality, for example, that we find “terrible, shocking & 'something needs to be done right now!'.“ on so it’s odd that you should choose such strong terms in relation to this  enquiry about sub-categories.  I’ll read back through our question, above, to double check that though and, like I say, I will apologise if there is any section of it that could be regarded or viewed in such strong terms.  You have clearly been offended by it.

Checking through the seller community this morning I am alarmed to see that the post “Categories and sub-categories”, one of the posts we found last night when searching for help with issues, appears to have vanished, it detailing the frustration Square customers felt about this facility not being available in Square. A couple of the phrases that stood out, in multiple posts on this matter, was “Can’t  believe you don’t have sub-categories” and “sub-categories are a standard  for e-commerce”.

We’ll never know, now, what the start date was for these threads on the matter but if it is a feature that is now available online, perhaps you’d be so good as to direct us to a help article on it so that we can get it set up?  Thank you.

Regarding feature request being ignored, I would draw your attention to this thread which dates back 4 years now...

https://www.sellercommunity.com/t5/Feature-Requests/Can-you-apply-pictures-for-categories/m-p/199289...

Has this  feature been implemented? Apologies if we’ve simply missed it.

Perhaps the global need/availability and complexity is such on this request that it is still being worked on....having pictures for the categories on the Home screen to support/assist less experienced members of staff.

I honestly wouldn’t waste any more time reading too much into people’s forum  post sentiments. Certainly not in the digital environment, considering that it’s virtual and often difficult to decipher correctly, even when you know someone personally.

Hopefully we’ll hear back, oh and thanks for letting us know how the world works! Whodafunkit? 🙂

[tranguyen]

Hi @TradMusicTrust and @Sam_400º, thank you for addressing this! 

Feature requests can take time to built out. At the moment, the Square Point of Sale app does not support sub-categories. I can definitely see how this would be useful especially since the feature is available on the Square Online site, so I've lodged a new request with the team to address your feedback.

It's hard to give a timeline for feature requests but I'll be sure to keep you update when I hear more from the team!

[TradMusicTrust]

Hi @tranguyen ,

Thank you for your reply.  As other users had posted, the lack of support for a sub-categories option does seem to be quite odd in an e-commerce application...

Mens > Shoes
Ladies > Shoes

...and that's as far as you can go?

Will setting the feature up, in the Square Online site, update the POS app?

Do you have a reference for the lodged request so that we can chase this up with the team, if required?  This feature does appear to have been requested several times previously although, as I pointed out to @Sam_400º , the post we were reading last night does appear to have vanished today.

What about the use of images on the category tiles on the home screen?  I'd provided a link to a thread on that which appears to be 4 years in the running, which is staggering in terms of a response from Square, don't you think?

Understandably, a little scepticism is bound to creep in with regard to how quickly we feel it will take the sub-category issue to be dealt with.

We've invested in Square for our very new business but it's hugely disheartening to see to very basic feature requests not being actioned.  It is making organising/finding our items incredibly time consuming as our staff are having to do a search for items as opposed to just clicking a series of easy to follow category images.

Hoping that this thread won't roll into years!  :S
Thank you.

[tranguyen]

Hi @TradMusicTrust, at the moment, categories do not sync between Square and the Online site so potentially, supporting sub-categories on Square will help to bring this into alignments and help facilitate the sync more seamlessly. That's part of the use case I've made to the team. They have actually let me know that subcategories are in the work but we just don't have a release date we can share right now.

Sometimes certain features take longer than others to develop and this can be influenced by a number of factors, but our team always try to make sure we are addressing sellers' needs to the best of our abilities. Once I have a more concrete update on the subcategories, I'll follow up on this thread.

With regards to having category image, the feature request is still being tracked but unfortunately there hasn't been any further update. However, you should still be able to edit the colour of the category buttons on the Square app to help with efficiency. You can find out more about this here. 

If you are using the Square app on a tablet, you can also set up Items Grid for quicker access to frequently used items and category. 

[TradMusicTrust]

Hi @tranguyen ,

Any update on this?

What about this thread too...
https://www.sellercommunity.com/t5/Feature-Requests/Can-you-apply-pictures-for-categories/td-p/392/p...

Thank you.
TMT

[tranguyen]

Hi @TradMusicTrust, from the last update I had, it is in the work but I still don't have an exact release date to share right now. 

[TradMusicTrust]

@tranguyen is there any update on this feature request yet?

Thank you.
TMT

[nella]

Hi @tranguyen 

Just to add our voice here to say we would value sub-categories in Square for Retail as it would help with our reporting. Thanks!

P.S. here is a related thread: https://www.sellercommunity.com/t5/Square-for-Retail-Group/Are-you-able-to-create-sub-categories/td-... 

[tranguyen]

Thanks for reaching back out @TradMusicTrust! I've checked in with the team and I still don't have more to share right now. 

[TradMusicTrust]

And on this feature request, running since 2016....
https://www.sellercommunity.com/t5/Feature-Requests/Can-you-apply-pictures-for-categories/td-p/392/p...

Any update there at all?

Are we any closer to admitting that Square don't respect, and certainly don't respond, to feature requests from customers?

[Sam_400º]

---

@TradMusicTrust wrote:

Are we any closer to admitting that Square don't respect, and certainly don't respond, to feature requests from customers?

---

As a seller that interacts with some of the Square team I’ve just got to call you out on this as it’s (again....) argumentative at best if not just plain rude. 

Take a look at the amount of upgrades & features that have been pushed out over the last few months that support & help businesses that have had massive restrictions on when & how they can trade. 

All features sourced from the community here, developed within or from closer seller relationships have to be prioritised for many factors. Not only requests here but also development time & how value across the board. Within the hospitality trade we’re all very grateful for what’s been launched recently.

Now on a personal level I have a different take on this. We as users have access to a full list of the features & how the system works. It’s free to try out & see if it works for you. What’s the point of deciding to use a system that works in the way it does & then moan every week that they’ve not yet implemented a change that you want?

There are much more productive ways to go about things. 


 

[TradMusicTrust]

@Sam_400º  it is no surprise, to us, that it is you that has immediately responded here, despite you being very quiet after our response to your last intervention.

You do seem rather bashful, and very easily offended by other people's conversations.  As I advised in our previous reply to one of your posts, I honestly wouldn't take things too personally, and perhaps it's time to get out of the office a bit and take in some fresh air?

Do you honestly believe that the businesses who have been contacting Square since 2016 in this thread (https://www.sellercommunity.com/t5/Feature-Requests/Can-you-apply-pictures-for-categories/td-p/392/p...) feel the same as you though?

Your continued efforts to make a request for sub-categories sound as if we've asked Square to completely scrap their entire UI is baffling, but it's a subject that you're clearly very passionate about and you are also, clearly, very protective of Square which I'm sure they appreciate.

I don't recall moaning every week, but again that's clearly how you feel about it so I bow to your assessment of these proceedings.

If you've a suggestion on how we can be more productive in how we approach these requests, we're all ears.

Thank you.
TMT

[TradMusicTrust]

@tranguyen @Sam_400º   Any update on this request?
Just back with my weekly moan.  😉

[alansh]

I'm not sure if it is relevant, but with my online web store, I was able to create sub categories. So for example I have:

Badges -> Staged Activity Badges -> Air Activities.

Is that what you are after or have I missed something?

Alan

[TradMusicTrust]

It's relating to the POS app, not the online web store.

[alansh]

@TradMusicTrust - apologies - I saw that after I'd posted and wasn't sure how to delete my post.

[tranguyen]

Hi @TradMusicTrust, thanks for following up on this! I've checked in with the team and right now, I don't have a concrete update for this yet I'm afraid. 

[UnM49]

Hi,

Any update on this please?

We moved from another POS to Square last year because it appeared to be more user friendly in relation to our business, not realising that a simple feature of sub categories won't be present!

To be honest its very surprising because that's a necessary element in ecommerce and I'm struggling to understand why it was skipped in the first place and now being ignored? 

Surely it can't be that difficult to incorporate?

Also it's a bit baffling that category tiles can't have pictures?? Can I please check why, and if it is in the pipeline at all??

Both features are absolutely basic for an ecommerce system and normally come as standard! 

Thanks

[VaultArtsCentre]

Good luck getting a response on this. No wonder people are leaving Square in their droves.  If you don't listen and, worse, don't respond to your customers then you're sunk.

Have been asking about this feature for almost two years now.