How much data needed for Square?

[Fabriganics]

Hi,

Having no internet access where I sell (outdoor craft fair) I think of getting a mobile hotspot. Offline payments seem too risky to me.

Who does it this way and can tell me how much data is needed to run Square , maybe per transaction?

Your input would help me a great deal!

Thanks in advance! 🙂

[Sean · Accepted solution]

@Fabriganics - Not very much at all! A basic data plan should be enough to use Square on your mobile device, below is an example of Square’s data usage per transaction:

Signing in to Square Register ~ 8 kb of data
Declined payments ~ 4 kb of data
Completed payments ~ 10 kb of data
Issuing a refund ~ 4 kb of data
Resending a receipt ~ 4 kb of data

Just keep in mind that any data usage outside of the Square app (ie. web browsing, email, apps) may require you to sign up for a larger data plan.

PS) If my answer solved your problem, would you mind marking it as "Best Answer"? That'll help the rest of the community find what they're looking for. If not, just write back, and I'll continue to help. Thanks! 

[cyndi]

Excellent response. I had the same question, so thanks for asking! 

[Sean]

@cyndi - Glad it was helpful. 😊

@Fabriganics - Kudos for asking! 👍

[Fabriganics]

@Sean: thanks so much for your very detailed and helpful answer. THAT'S great customer service! 

[Nschober]

I have a cash only business. Does it still use 10 Kbps to complete a transaction? I would also use this to report total sales, track inventory and determine how much I paid tor the inventory sold in a month along with other reports. I would also like to know if the square stand will print to a standard print or only a receipt print?

thank you

[Sean]

@Nschober - These numbers were based on credit card transactions, but I imagine that Cash transactions will still require a bit of data since a receipt would still be sent. As I mentioned above, a receipt requires around 4 kb of data.

For your second question, it's best to create a separate thread when you have a question that isn't directly related. Having said that, you can find more details on recommended hardware for the Square Stand here. Short answer: the Square stand only works with specific receipt printer models only.   

[Wonderstruck]

Just want to clarify this post/response thread... I am able to process payments through mobile data (no internet connection and without using offline mode). I have an unlimited data plan, so I'm not worried about data usage. I am just trying to determine which is the best way to take payments, data or offline mode.

[VanKalkerFarms]

The best way is never in offline mode. There is a ton of risk in that. Whereas using your mobile data (which is an internet connection just using cellular data rather than landline) will approve or decline the credit cards instantly. The total data it will use in a month will be less than streaming 1 minute of a YouTube video. 

[Wonderstruck]

Thank you @VanKalkerFarms !

[SageAK]

My question pertains to ‘Speed’.

AT&T throttles down transfer rates to 128Kbps after 1 GB usage on my Unlimitee Plan.   Do you think that will have an effect on a transaction or is that (slow) speed sufficient ? Thank you.

[VanKalkerFarms]

speed throttling won't matter as it is still minute bits of data that will be there in milliseconds.  you could have 50 connections at the same time and still be fine.

unrelated, what kind of plan are you on that is "unlimited" and caps at 1 GB and throttles you to 128Kbps?  we also have att and at 16GB per line they can theoretically slow you if the tower is overloaded, but we've never seen a hit and we use 200GB plus on our plan a month.  they have a 16GB plan for $40 a month.

[SeaDragon]

I am using square app next week in a remote location. We will be using Satalite internet for data. The cost is about $7 per mb.

I have found this post but I think it is missang app usage data. If I add images to all my items does it cache these images the first time I open the app for all items or download them every time it looks for an item. The other thing is the logo I add to the app or the background image how and when are these images processed. 

I am just hoping for some more info/clarity here as I need to use the least ammount of data possable. 

Thanks

Data Use with General Square Actions

Action	Approximate Data Usage
Signing in to Square Point of Sale	~ 8 kb of data
Declined payments	~ 4 kb of data
Completed payments	~ 10 kb of data
Issuing a refund	~ 4 kb of data
Resending a receipt	~ 4 kb of data

https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/4963-data-plans-and-sms-policy

[jjgard]

Data usage is minimal.  

As far as the image caching, we frequently use one of our iPads in offline mode...and the images remain visible even without a data connection.

[SeaDragon]

Thanks for letting me know your expreance but knowing 100% how it would would be great 🙂

[Tom]

Hey @jjgard and @SeaDragon, thanks for bringing this up! I was able to take a deeper dive into this question and get some more clarification. 🙂

The app does cache images. Though, the image will only be loaded from the server if it needs to display the item in the grid or list. To ensure that all images are loaded, you'll need to go to the "All Items" library list and scroll through your entire list. This should trigger all images to load and be cached locally.

Hope this helps take care of your setup needs! If my answer solved your problem, would you mind marking it as "Best Answer"? That'll help the rest of the community find what they're looking for. If not, just write back, and I'll continue to help. Thanks!

[MichiganFarmsta]

The square registers automatically update.  They are often updating 2-4 times per month.  Each register uses 700 mB per update.  They are using enough data to consume an 4 GB data month,

[EJ_]

Hi @MichiganFarmsta

Edit: I just realized you're referring to the new Square Register. Sorry for my confusion there. We regularly make these updates to keep performance and stability in tip-top shape for everyone, and there isn't a way currently to turn auto-updates with Square Register. 

This is good feedback to send over to our Register team, so I'll pass it along. Hopefully we can figure something out to help with this. 

[kkvnm1]

The square register must be updating and using all my data, on my plan, is there a way to update manually or schedule these updates. There is no warning whatsoever. I have an unlimited plan, but if I ever leave, I have a limited data plan, that I turn on.. it works great until one of these updates comes along and eats all the data, and then we can’t process any credit cards or end the drawer online.. and offline is way to risky....

[nika]

Hi @kkvnm1! How do you have your Square Register set up? Are you using a hot spot for WiFi? The only reason I ask is because the Square Register doesn't use data to run and process transactions. It runs off of WiFi or can be hard wired to ethernet, so it shouldn't be using data unless you're using a hot spot.

Let me know!

[kkvnm1]

Well, since there is no internet service available here, except for cellular. The only option is to use my phone for internet access. The real question is, is why don’t I have control of when these updates run? Seems like it would be easy to schedule these updates?