Brand New, not sure how to proceed.

[DayCamp]

Hello All! I'm brand new to Square. I am the Business Manager for a local 4-day Girl Scout Day Camp. Our council said we could use Square to accept electronic payments. I have a card reader on the way. 

We have one walk-in registration night where I could use the reader to collect payments. If they don't come to walk-in registration, then they can mail or drop off their forms. So, I also want to put a QR code in the registration packet that leads the parents to an on-line store front hosted by Square. I understand the store front is free if I just use the basic version. 

We have "items" like Base Camper fee, optional overnight, Toddler Unit, Boys Unit, Extra Shirts. None of these items have an inventory as such. AND the parents STILL have to fill out a registration & health form, so I don't need options like the t-shirt size because it's on the form. . 

Here is my ever-growing list of questions:

I have to use the app and the reader to accept payments in person, correct? Does the app pull the same items that I set up online, or do I need to do something additional?

I assume it's okay to have no stock? the parents can still "purchase" the item? Or, should I set the inventory ridiculously high? Do the parents see the inventory? I don't want to to think we don't have anymore room (if the inventory is zero) or that we are expecting 500 girls when the biggest year we've had is 240 girls.

Is there a way to set a "personalization" for the item? That way, they could enter their Girl Scout's name so we can match payments with forms. 

I assume they can buy two of an item ... two daughters to send to camp. If personalization is possible, is there enough room to list both campers? (I see character limits on personalization for items in catalogs and on sites like Etsy. I always assumed the limit is due to the space on the item. I don't need to have a limit on the number of characters for me, but is there one for Square?)

I don't really have a location, I just entered my address as the Business Manager. Does the location matter at all?

I see mention of sending an invoice to someone. We have a discount for the fees IF the parent is on the administration team. We don't have this on the forms and we don't "advertise" it. So, if the director is paying using Square, I want to be able to give her the discount. Can I create an invoice for her and send it to her, adding in the discount? Then she can pay from that? How quickly does that happen? Like, if she's standing in line, can I use the app to send the invoice and she gets it right away and can pay it right there?

Can the fee discount be an item, but hidden from the "customers"?

Can a partial payment be accepted? We offer financial aid, but it has to be approved by the council. I rarely know how much that will be when the parent signs up. We ask everyone to pay at least $15.00. So Camp + Overnight = $110. Can the parent pay just the $15? 

And, I know it's possible to split the ticket for restaurants. On occasion, we have divorced parents each paying half of the camp fees. Is that possible with Square? 

I ask the above two questions because I KNOW I'll get asked those questions! it's okay if the answer is "no, Square can't do that" because I'll just tell those folks they'll have to pay with cash or check, like in previous years.

I'm told that I can set up both the app and the Square store front to charge the parents the processing fees. Where do I find that?

And, a final question (for now!), I see in the app there are customer options as far as adding customers. I don't want to type in information for each parent ... I have the registration forms for that. Does Square at least automatically record the name of the customer from the credit card?

I know, I know, it's LONG ... but THANK YOU for being willing to help me!

Are there tutorial or videos on how to set up a Square store front?

Thanks again!

Susie

Kansas

[JJ_]

Taking a look at your thread will be answering it shortly!

Welcome to the Seller Community ✨

[JJ_]

Hey there @DayCamp!

I am glad to be helping today. Before answering your questions I would like to share these resources with you that will help you get started with Square. 

Getting Started with Square Online and Setup Online Shopping are two resources that I've found useful for Sellers like you. 

Now onto your questions:

1) Items do sync from Square Point of Sale into Square Online so no need to create those twice.

2) You may setup items as digital goods so they wouldn't need any stock to be available. (this one also answers the inventory visibility question) 

3)In regards to item personalization you may create a Text Modifier with every single piece of information Parents would need to enter when purchasing. There is no limit on the personalization field.

4)Yes they would be able to check out more than one item (registration) so this would be possible as well.

5) Your address or location are used for Tax purposes and any options you would like to include later on like shipping, delivery, or pick up (these are all optional).

6)Yes, you may send an invoice that is due instantly or at a later date and you are able to include discounts on them.

7)At this time Items cannot have negative value so there wouldn't be a way to create an item that discounts an amount. You could create coupon codes instead.

😎 In this case you would need to create an item that has the partial fee amount as the customer is unable to change the price of a product.

9)You are able to split payments on Square Point of Sale but not in Square Online.

10) Online Sales will capture customer data but Square Point of Sale will not do so automatically. 

I hope this information is helpful!