GET A CHANCE TO WIN A FREE CHARGING PAD! 🏆

[isabelle]

The Seller Community is excited to announce that we’re offering an opportunity for US-based Sellers to win a free, Square-branded charging phone pad from January 28th, 2022 - February 10th, 2022! 

Please review the contest terms below before you enter. 

How does it work? 

We’re asking sellers to reply to this post introducing yourselves and telling us what you’re looking for in the Seller Community and/or what brought you to the Seller Community. Feel free to include photos of your business or logo. 

Use the reply button below to share what you'd like to see from the Seller Community! 

Here’s an example of the kind of replies that help us understand how to better serve you:

Hi, I’m Isabelle, business owner of Cup of Candle in San Francisco, CA. I started the business 5 years ago, and have been using Square since we opened. 

I have joined the Seller Community hoping to learn more about Square for Retail by asking questions geared towards other retail-industry sellers. 

Other examples of what you may be looking for in the Community include: 

• A connection to product teams
• Peers who own a similar business 
• Events that help you learn more about Square products
• Answers to technical questions

No matter what it is you're interested in, we want to know! 😊

This is part of an effort to better understand what interests our sellers in the Seller Community and how we can improve!

How are winners selected? 

The Seller Community team will review the replies authored between January 28th, 2022 - February 10th, 2022, and select 120 winners. A winning reply will be thought-provoking, insightful, and offer genuine feedback or guidance for the Seller Community Team. 

The winners will be notified via private message, asking for a shipping address, and you should receive your free charging pad within 6 weeks of notification!

Terms attached.

[CarrieC]

Hi there! I'm Carrie and I'm the owner of The Gilded Bubble, an e-commerce shop with the occasional pop-up. I started my soap business in 2020, but this is my second business where I've used Square POS and my first with Square Online.

I really loved the ease of using Square for in-person sales, so when I began shopping for an e-commerce solution, I was excited to learn that Square offered an online platform that would sync with my in-person sales. I love that my inventory is correct across my POS app and my website. It prevents double-selling items and since my business is still pretty small, I can track inventory without forking out the extra cash for Plus. 

I joined the Seller Community to suggest and test features for Square Online and I stayed thanks to the ability to interact with other retailers and Square team members. 

[MudFire_Dex]

Hi - I'm Deanna from MudFire in Decatur GA. One day I hope the groups can evolve to have small niche groups that relate to the types of businesses we are running that are a bit smaller than the current groups (so - pottery studio owners, etc). I have been part of the Super Sellers group for a few months and struggle a bit to find the time to interact - I've been a bit of a lurker - but have chimed in a bit and sometimes in the LGBTQ+ group as well.

I find the groups to be helpful for searching for answers to problems and reading someone else's story. We haven't had many issues but am excited to see new feature requests and that real folx from Square often reach out and ask about something from these discussions like managed billing or appointment features. Talking to the developers is really a great thing!

[chefkan]

Hi there my name is Adam proprietor of myapapaya juicery + kitchen. Established in 2012 we opened up our humble eatablishment using Square and never looked back. In our 10+ year relationship there was a lot to learn on both sides, but here we are both of our companies going strong.

Hardware:

2 x square registers

2 x floating ipads

2 x reciept printer

2 x kitchen printers

3 x kds [square) 

In 2022 we have completely changed our structure with the online orders only for pickup and Q R codes at tables for inhouse dining. The online ordering has allowed us to eliminate phone calls to our business. We only take online orders/delivery and we only take emails to get a contact with us. That may be unheard of for a not so fast-casual 150 to 200 cover a day restaurant. But that's what we are all into now in these new changing times...doing the unheard of.

We eliminated a lot of the customer interaction and moved it to the QR codes and no phone orders to allow our employees to perform and be order makers not order takers. Food and drink comes out faster, orders more accurate, less customer interaction which seems to be a more modern way to approach customer service these days. 

That being said the inventory needs to be 100% accurate every time otherwise a customer loses trust in the online ordering system. We make everything from scratch and we are constantly updating our inventory and needed to be accurate all the time as it is not at times.

Currently mysite cant accept Apple pay for some reason even though its checked off correcly in checkout in online settings...waiting for a solve.

Our website works and is great but it needs enhancement not sure where to turn for that.

The QR codes for us was a game-changer as well as the online ordering so thank you for making it all in-house and easy for us under one platform.

,,

[LukeNieuw]

Hey, I'm Luke and I am a partner in 3 different businesses that are all using Square. I started using Square at the start of 2020 because I had been through 5 other POS Systems and multiple payment processors over the previous decade and was just fed up. I'm super happy I jumped all in with Square and I try and utilize EVERYTHING Square has to offer. 

I would love to see a "Best Practices" for all the different aspects of Square. I know this may be difficult with all types of different business but if it could happen in a general sense it would be a good jumping off point. It can even be built out with answers already provided in the seller community. 

ie. Square for Restaurants - Best practices for layout of Menu, for speed and visual look (clean & clear)......Square for retail - Best practices for adding inventory, tracking inventory, and reconciling inventory etc etc.

Just overall optimizing of the software. I know left to our own devices us business owners can make things pretty messy lol. Maybe a simple guide or threads on keeping things lean and mean would help. I know that would have helped me in my initial setup. 

[chefsian]

Please implement a way to view the entire shop/ menu/ store when customers use a product link like the one below to access my shop, This gives the customers an option to view additional products and merchant a way to potentially increase sales.

Sweet Spice (square.site)

[marymclane]

Hi! I’m Mary, I have been running my own esthetics business for two years, and have used Square since day one! One thing I have loved about the Seller Community is finding others in the same line of work, facing the same hardships, working together to offer support and advice and overall just connecting with others!

[LunaFeLLC]

Hi- My name is Traci and I am the owner of Luna Fe LLC. We started our gift and marketing business midway thru 2021 and have used the seller community to connect with other business owners, become familiar with the square community, and to learn and grow as a business. We hope to continue to learn and grow within this community as well as offer insight into how we have used the square community to enhance our business.

[xtraordinarybiz]

Hi, I'm Sabir, founder of Extraordinary Business Solutions operating out of Metro Jackson Mississippi www.YourEBS.biz

I focus on cost-effective desktop publishing, web development, IT needs and layout options for folks in my state and September makes 15 years in business! When i first started up, I remember (and still have) invoices I'd created on Word with my logo and letterhead, and when on the go, I had to stop, pull my computer out and prep estimates and invoices with terms for potential- and confirmed clients....then get on somebody's wifi to email 'em! 

Square's helped me turn a serious corner with Estimates and Invoices (especially when reminding!) and the Appointments app in 2020 definitely increased throughput by at least 35%.

My business has since looked less and less like a "side hustle" and more like my day-to-day...and i'm excited by it, and i couldn't have done it without Square. Preesh! 🙂

[madgurson]

It would be a great asset to my company love to win thanks

[MobileOm]

My name is Tony.

I am a massage therapist that provides both in-studio and mobile massage services.

Using Square to process credit card payments on my mobile device has been an invaluable part of my business since 2017.

I have been happy with Square and Square appointments, however, scheduled price changes to Square Appointments are forcing me to seek another option.   This is a very unfortunate situation.

Tony

[CPAlpacas]

Hi, I’m Alicia Holbrook.  I am owner and operator of Carolina Pride Pastures. We are an alpaca farm located in Pomaria, SC. I have been using Square over the past 8 years. Many of my products are over $100 each and I am super excited about the new afterpay feature. Many of my yarn lovers will spend over $200 and this is a great option for them as they work on projects. 

I have joined the Seller Community to help with technical issues that arise. I have helped my mom and another friend setup their square as well. They are both in totally different industries and there are times when issues arise that I us the Seller Community to find a resolution.

[ohanacoffee]

Hi Olive! I'm Lori, we are owners and founders of 'Ohana Coffee Company, a family business in Sequim, Washington. We had another POS system and had ongoing problems with the connectivity of the handheld bluetooth card swiper we purchased from that system when the pandemic began. We wanted to keep our baristas and customers safe and healthy and minimize the contact with credit cards. After 2 years now of back and forth with no permanent solutions for their hardware issues I finally made the leap to Square, hoping to have consistent use of the Terminal. I purchased a Stand, iPad and Terminal, and the set up questions were all answered with the wonderful help of the support staff! I look forward to finding tips and additional help from the Seller community to grow and improve my business. Mahalo!

[jcalvillo]

Hello SQUARE community!

My name is Jennifer C. and I first would like to thank square for always helping my small business grow And what I would like to see in the Square's Community is more LIVE involvement with the small businesses that are using their system. For example, have people come out and host meetings at our business or have a place where all small businesses can gather and learn new ways to take fully advantage of Square. Especially those in the E-Commerce, & Service business, which is the majority. with so many things always changing it's always nice to have a fresh of set eyes and help us with our business. Maybe even teach us new tricks, it doesn't have to be often, but every 6 months would be great! twice a year, or even maybe just do a LIVE ZOOM, I know that may be a lot to ask but I am sure that we could always use that one on one support with you all. Thank you again for the chance to speak and hope to add value to your business.

all the best,

Jennifer Calvillo

[cozycountryfarm]

link SNAP in so we can sell with it through Square

[repopgifts]

Hello! I'm Millie and I own Re-POP Gifts in Boise ID. My business has evolved from starting as an artist vendor at our local farmers market and events, to opening my own store/studio, to now being on year 7 of our brick & mortar store that features over 30 local/regional artists. 

I've been using square for over ten years in a variety of selling situations, and it has evolved along with my business.

I love being a part of the seller community because I can share my knowledge as well as learn things from other sellers.

I would love to have more networking opportunities with other similar businesses.

[mysticalcrystal]

I have been using square since last May. It has been a good experience. I value the community because I was able to get feedback on some things I needed more information on. I would like it if I were able to connect with other people in my same area of sales. I sell metaphysical stuff so if I could connect with others that sell the same stuff (crystals, tarot, books, incense, and etc) about how they log inventory since we don’t rebuy stuff but usually buy, input the info, sell and delete then that would be great! I struggle with inventory management. I also struggled with printing barcodes small enough for my products but through the community found help. 

[prestigesalon]

Hi, I’m Tayebeh (Tania), business owner of Prestige Salon & Spa in Anaheim Hills CA. I started the business 4 years ago, and have been using Square since we opened.

I have joined the Seller Community hoping to learn more about Square for Retail/Appointment and seeing new features and hopefully the ability to request new features. One thing I wished Square did was to listen to certain industries asking for features for sometime. I know things do take time to develop but some features are critical these days.

An example would be a feature to text clients and do text marketing. Another feature I think would be amazing, the ability to have inquiries directed to multiple people and so that it would streamline the process of making appointments to availible stylists (currently I have to ask each stylist if they have an opening since most stylists do not share an open appointment calender or they dont use square). With saying that, a way to integrate other calanders and the ability to import calenders from other companies/competitors like Vagaro, Clover etc. Also getting push notifications would be amazing as well on the appointment for both the admin and the hair stylists. Lastly, an easier and streamlined way to use/send forms that doesnt cost an arm and leg. In this day and age with Covid, we as business owners need to have clients sign waivers to protect ourselves.

Other examples of what I am looking for in the Community include:

An area to request features
More tutorial videos via youtube
Breaking down the forum into industries like salons, retail, etc
More FAQ's for frequent problems from others in same industry

Tania

[MALqueerhair]

Hi! I am Mateo and I operate a small hair studio suite business in Boulder, Colorado with my partner. We use Square to power Appointments (booking, payment, communication & eGiftcards) and Marketing (affiliate product emails).

I would love to see a Feature Request Voting system within Community where we could upvote the most meaningful functionality additions based on our real use cases for the Square Products we use. For example, if this was available, I would upvote a "Minimize Gaps" options for Square Appointments in which Square only offers Appt. times near the start of the day or by an already scheduled appt. Because Square doesn't offer this feature currently, we have gaps between scheduled Appts. eating into our day & costing us money so we've had to compensate by opening our studio for another day. By having this Feature Request feature, Square could have a clear indication on which feature requests would make the most MEANINGFUL impact to small businesses.

[MMastery16]

Hello! My name is Alberto and I am the founder/owner of Mental Mastery, P. A.. We are a unique business (Psychology Practice) that doesn't fit into the normal/average "small business template ready" products that I have found in my 20+ years. I like how Square has allowed me to modify and customize my dashboard for my business. I'm joining this community to connect with similar businesses and learn how to further customize my services, invoicing, and collections.

AG

[Gordo24]

Hi, I am Karla Gordon, owner of GGS place LLC Restaurant and have used square for almost 7 years now.  We have loved all the improvements over the years and really have starting using the online portion since the start of 2020.  This has really kept our business afloat.  I have also recently relayed how happy we have been with you to my sister that is starting her business and she plans to use square.  One thing I wish could change is inventory for when items are placed on a ticket it would reserve that item so that online qty. are correct along within the restaurant.  Currently it does not take out of inventory until the bill is paid and on restaurants that can be many open tickets at a time.  Thanks again.

[jasmineradi]

Hi, I’m Jasmine! business owner of Vitality Massage Studio in Fargo, North Dakota. I started our first business in the middle of the pandemic around fall of 2020, and have been using Square since we opened. 

I joined this community originally to seek answers and solutions from other owners and users of square products. I am looking for groups of others just like me who use square retail or appointments for the massage and spa industry to get to know how they use square and it's resources to make their lives easier.

As far as growth in the seller community--I also would love to see an update in regards to 'requests for features' in which we would be able to directly connect to the tech teams who work for square to see how we can collaborate to create better solutions or even products not only for square but also for other business owners like me. I would love to be able to connect with your teams that are working on square appointments and retail products and be able to have a part of the collaboration process overall. 

Additionally, I would love to see a board of feature requests with either a way to see if they were 'reviewed' 'in progress' 'denied with reason' type of section of this site so we have an idea of what is being worked on. This would be very exciting to watch and see owner requests for features get actively worked on. I think this would help a lot of owners, like myself, be apart of the process and feel less disconnected overall with square.

As most of us business owners would agree--connection with our clients and customers is the most important part of our businesses. Without our clients we wouldn't have a business or product to sell. I am very excited to see how square can increase this type of practice throughout the seller community.