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Using Tips Feature for Donations

I'm a volunteer at entirely volunteer-run thrift shop, and we were hoping to use the tips feature to accept donations (since there is not a donate feature on the POS).  Has anyone done this?  Would you recommend/not recommend it?  

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Square Community Moderator

Hi there, @SecondChance 👋 Thanks for once again reaching out to us here on the Seller Community! Good to hear from you.

 

While I don't have any direct experience using the tip option through Point of Sale as donations, the only discrepancy I could potentially see is from a reporting side - although as long as you internally designate tips as donations when viewing tip reporting, then you should be good to go!

 

In hopes to generate some more input from some of your peers, I am going to leave this post up here. Hopefully we can get you some helpful feedback!

Joe
Community Moderator, Square
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It would be nice if you could edit "tips" to "Donation".  It's kind of weird for a nonprofit to solicit tips.

 

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Square Community Moderator

Welcome to the Community, @PetRescueNetwrk

 

Thank you for your feedback on tipping from the nonprofit seller viewpoint! 

 

I will get this over to our Product Team as a suggestion for the future of Tipping. 

 

 

Kassi
Community Moderator, Square
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Square is really dragging their feet on this, it could be a major win win situation for both nonprofits and Square.....let's get going on something that should be very easy to implement!

 

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Square Champion

@PetRescueNetwrk @SecondChance @WhirliDogs There is one big issue here with taking tips on the credit cards for a non-profit.  Those would actually be income to the people they go to and would trigger a payroll with taxes due.  Unfortunately, I don't think legally (check with your tax professional or attorney) a tip would be a donation.  It would be up to the organization to do the proper reporting to ensure that the entity maintains the non-profit status.

 

That being said, you could create an open key item that has no taxes and call it additional donation or donation or something to that affect and just ask the customer if they would like to leave a donation and key it in that way to add it to a sale/donation.

 

Tip law is very different and I would be very cautious and this might not be something square could ever do exactly the way it looks.  Tips are at all times considered property of the employees by the NLRB.  But best bet would be to check with your legal counsel.

Donnie
Multi-Unit Manager
Order Up Cafe/Tombras Cafe/Riverview Cafe/City County Cafe
Roddy Vending Company, Inc.
www.OrderUpCafe.com

Using Square since July, 2017
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Has anyone worked on the changing tip texts to donations? I saw that it was originally asked in 2016. Definately needed for nonprofits. Several answers about "taking it to development team" but I do not see where it has been addressed yet. Thanks, such a need for nonprofits!

 

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Square is really dragging their feet on this, it could be a win win for both nonprofits and square, and should be something very easy to implement! 

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