📣 Calling all sellers—submit suggestions for the POS-sible Hackathon!

[Tom]

Hey there, Seller Community!

We’re pleased to announce that the Square: Build What’s POS-sible Hackathon is now live. Developers will be able to utilize one or more of our customer point-of-sale APIs to build useful tools that help sellers scale and grow their businesses. Customer point-of-sale APIs include: Customers API, Gift Cards API, Invoices API, Loyalty API, Team API, and Labor API.

Plus, participants are also free to use a wide array of the APIs available within the Square developer platform to build more robust apps and integrations–as long they’re building with at least one of our customer point-of-sale APIs to be eligible for the hackathon. Build what’s possible for a chance to claim your part of $100k in prizes–including a $20k grand prize.

We would love your help to get started. There are two ways to participate:

Option One: Share a challenge prompt for participants to solve

If you're a Square Seller, please tell us about the types of use cases you’d like to see solved to improve your day-to-day workflows. Reply to this post below with your suggestions through November 10 and we'll make sure they're represented in this event.

Option Two: Participate in the Hackathon

If you're a developer and interested in participating, submit your entry by 4:59pm EDT November 22, 2021: Square: Build What’s POS-sible.

Excited to hear from you!

[PIVO_Brewery · Accepted solution]

TEAM: we would love to be able to request time off by the hour, not a whole day. If workers could request time off by the hour we would use the scheduling functionality of team/timecards.

[shybear · Accepted solution]

EDITING THE MENU GRID / ADDING ITEMS on RESTAURANTS POS (with admin or managerial rights)

Not sure why this can't be done as it seems like a very necessary option for people on the fly.

GIFT CARD ISSUE when comping a gift card using the Actions Tab -> Comp Check

The gift card retains no value when doing this.  The only way you can comp a gift card and still have it retain value is by clicking on the item and then selecting "comp" in the drop down.

RESTAURANTS KDS to be more consistent - too many refires/repeat tickets or missing tickets vs other KDS platforms.

[Kellykc · Accepted solution]

The ability to do an exchange (1 transaction) instead of having to refund an item, then reselling another (2 separate transactions).

[homesteadsb]

Just got this request from staff too. Like Can I do the 10:30am shift not the 9am. But they have to request the whole day and then send me a note. 

[Volition]

1)Having an option after check out that may copy over the person who is checking out info to book a future appointment. Maybe it pops up with a rebook option and you can click the calendar or preset weeks etc but have it so you don’t have to enter the info. Or even if not their info just something that brings you ahead 4/6/8 weeks. 

2) Ability to remove certain items from the tip total. When customers buy retail it adds it into the total sale therefore creating a higher tip on the tip screen. It feels sneaky to me and always have to explain the tip includes the retail cost so they can adjust and do custom. 

[northernfires]

For restaurants using the POS and Online Ordering System: a way to toggle on/off ordering per hour. Also the ability to limit order quantity by the hour instead of overall. 

[northernfires]

Cross implementing 'walk-up' POS orders with Square Online Orders. This would help with order limitations set on order amounts through Square Online. Also this would help with the fact that there isn't an easy way to find an order by name if ordered through the POS. For restaurants using Square this would be a game changer. 

[oldherald]

QR code payment link for restaurants receipts to allow contactless table side payments (with tipping) from phone 

iPhone/android based live sales app (including open tickets) dashboard with notification options for unexpected trends or low inventory, etc. that works with square for restaurants

Some type of menu-board integration for promoting specials, etc

[Bizy1bee]

Let's start with Square REDUCING processing fees. Then, refine. 

[GourmetOnWheels]

89% of my items are sold by weight. As I am adding and fixing my items to start with Square online.

I will also add the cost price and the weight I got in stock from my supplier. If I sell a whole chicken at 12.98 that is 6.50/LB I would love the POS system to know what weight to deduct from the inventory., This would also help me find weight discrepancies from my supplier and get credit from them.

René

[HoldMyKnots1]

Would love a caller ID feature so when a repeat customer calls there info pops up on the screen and all we would have to do is take their new order and add the verification code on the back of their credit card. Would help tremendously with taking orders for delivery if we already have their address.

[ElmStreetToys]

Loyalty works amazingly well on the free retail software but not so much when using the $60 a month retail plus software on the Square Register. Those of us that use both on the Square Register would absolutely love for it to work better on the plus software, please make it so the customer can check in and use their points via the customer facing screen/payment pad just like they can while using the free retail software.  

[oldherald]

We desperately need a hack that allows third party printed gift cards!

[LegendsGolf]

on the Scheduling platform, As a golf course we are trying to somehow use it as a booking sheet for our course and it would be awesome if we could have set tee times in 10 minutes increments and a way to book with payment. currently we are just looking at this function.

[bxa312]

Challenge:  I use Square at my hardware store and use the invoice function so contractors can run a month long tab with my store. For instance, the local plumber can send his guys to pick up materials and I put each transaction "on account."

The issue is this: those contractors write me one check per month to pay off multiple (sometimes 20 plus) open invoices. I would like to be able to select multiple open invoices to be tendered in one transaction.

[gallery55art]

Design a detailed email report of the day's sales that includes the Notes for each sale. Instead of getting a summary sales report each day, be able to specify a detail report.

[gallery55art]

I would like more control over the Square POS interface. In particular, disallow the Custom Amount item. Our workers accidentally enter an item this way, but the item has no title or description to help us know what was sold.

[LegendsGolf]

Yes, disabling or giving a note or manager password when using custom amount would help a ton.

[brimitten]

Can we please get a cha-ching sound for new orders

[teeze]

Being able to save customer cards without requiring a physical card for tabs using Square Terminal. 

Ability to open and save tabs with Square Online.

[teeze]

I don't know if this is a hack-a-thon thing or not, but the Square Terminal screen is extremely glitchy. Deleting items via swiping is difficult, and the reaction time of the system is really clunky. I'd love to see an overhaul of how the Square Terminal functions and reacts to touch. 

[JaeS]

For food trucks that change locations regularly: Have Square online "locations and hours" tab and "fulfillment" tabs sync with a google calendar (or native calendar) and switch automatically. Everyday I have to go in and manually change the location and hours. Additionally this would tell people when they pre-order that we are not going to be there. For example, someone sees us at a brewery on Saturday. We were really busy and the person would like to pre-order for a certain time they are going to be there with friends, the following Saturday, and not have to wait too long. Unfortunately, we are at a different event the following Saturday so when they pre-order and pay their food is made and ready for them across town. 

[CottageOven]

POS: Without having to use the full invoicing side of things, please add the ability for a customer to pay a deposit toward an order that will be fulfilled later.  For example, I recently had a $28 order for which the customer wanted to pay $17 up front and then pay the remaining $11 the next week, upon pick up.

It was possible for me to create an open ticket and even possible to take a partial payment, but the only way the app would allow me to do it was not to accept a certain dollar amount, but to charge for a certain number of items.  The order was for seven $4 items, but there's no way for that to add up to the $17 that the customer wanted to deposit.  Yes, $16 would have been possible if I were to collect a partial payment based upon four of the seven items, but that's not what was needed.

Instead, I wound up entering a cash amount via the keypad and giving it a note saying that it was for a deposit toward that order.  Then, the next week, when the customer was picking up the order and paying the remaining $11, I had to create a "discount" to take the $17 deposit off of the order so that the transaction would show the correct number of items sold and still allow me to accept the remaining $11.

The would have been SO much easier had it been possible to create the ticket, apply a $17 deposit, then reopen the ticket the next week for pick up and final payment.

[CottageOven]

POS: When accepting cash for payment, the app currently gives a few options that are appropriate to the amount of the sale (e.g. the sale is $7 and the app will give the options of $7, $10 and $20).  It would also be handy to have options such as $12 and $22 for when the customer pays with such an amount to get back an even $5 or $10 rather than a bunch of ones.  The way the app works right now, it is necessary to enter the $12 or $22 as a "custom" amount.