Feature Request: Donation Option

[CSzRichmond]

We are a nonprofit theater that uses Square Register for our box office and concessions sales. We would love to give our customers the option to donate to our nonprofit through a question at the end of the transaction, very similar to how tipping works. It's better than asking all cashiers to ask every customer directly if they'd like to donate, and could give the customer the option to maybe round up to the nearest dollar or donate larger amounts very simply. I'm sure this would be an option that many other companies could use - even if you're not nonprofit, you could support a nonprofit with something like this.

A similar approach could be for us to set up donations as a sales item, and that this feature would be a feature that allows you to ask the customer if they'd like to also purchase X in addition to what they just bought, where X could be ANY item you'd like to try to place extra effort on selling.

Anyone else think these would be great options to have in the Square Register software?

[Chad]

Hello @CSzRichmond! 

I've gone ahead and moved your thread to the feature request board so other sellers and our Product Managers can view it! 

If you have any questions please feel free to reach out. 

[CSzRichmond]

Thanks Chad!!!

[hicksm13]

Yes! This would be ideal. I'd like to set up a fund to help low-income patients and would simply like to be able to have an option when customers sign, like a tip feature, that allows them to add a variable amount to their payment that could go towards the fund. It would need to be easily accounted for and attributed at the end of the month. Please please! 

[Fearless]

Agreed, please incorporate a donate button for registered 501(c)(3) organizations.  Thank you, Fearless Kitty Rescue

[Littoral]

Yes-as an owner-operator, I would like to feature various non-profits as a tip 'alternative' (preferably something that can be toggled based on whether an employee is working). In addition, a way to 'hover' over the organization with link to site, or a brief explanation of what its goals are. Is that something that could be direct linked as well? That is, the tip goes straight to the listed non-profit.

Thank you.

[EJ_]

Thanks for voicing your thoughts on this @Littoral

While I don't have anything new to report around this, hopefully we can get this prioritized in the future since it seems to be garnering more and more interest among sellers. 

[CSzRichmond]

Thanks EJ! Eagerly awaiting any progress that can be made in considering this feature. I appreciate the check-in!

[NBIokc]

Yes, as a nonprofit, we would love to see the ability for a customer at a business to be able to donate to us, if given the opportunity at checkout/paying the bill. I already have a merchant who is asking to do that very thing.

[Strangebrew]

As I operate a not for profit as well as a small business it would be most usefull. I would rather do it through square than paypal

[kusanya]

We 💯support this feature/post and I love how the orginal poster framed it: the option to feature ANY item as part of the checkout flow once the screen is flipped to the customer.  That could be "would you like to add a pop to your order [.50]?" (something we actually already offer but people forget about) or "would you like to make a donation [variable amount]".  

Alternatively, it seems like a more straightforward solution would be to allow Tipping Screen text to be fully customized, then maybe we could collect donations there and inform the customer clearly.

I also think that other small businesses would love to collect donations for a selected period through an alternative tipping screen and donate them to us or to other small nonprofits, for Earth Day or Black History Month or that kind of thing.  Square gets some fees/sales volume and non-profits get a boost.  I think it would be a win-win!!

This is also - honestly, as a non-profit - a feature I would be willing to pay a reasonable one-time or annual fee (or something) to enable, if that supports the development of the feature at all.

[kusanya]

@ShapeCleveland @wasteshed tagging you both over here in case you want to post comments of support for the official "Feature Request".  Best of luck to all of us on this one 👊🏽

[sashakanno]

This would be amazing. We currently use Paypal for donations (after leaving Network for Good) and it would be great to have it all in one place. We often have to invoice people for a donation request to be filled and its confusing to have to go back and track donations vs. sales for taxes. 

I would happliy replace my Donate button on my site with a Square link too. Swipe at events for auction items and donations. 

Thanks for hopefully adding this feature!

[clarehcsv]

We are a non profit foundation who operate retail brewery, food stands and stores.  We would like to offer a variable donation option at the end of the transaction.  The tip feature should remain in place as this provides compensation for our staff.  

Please consider incorporating this feature as non profits are fast growing and not always able to purchase hardware and POS systems.  Square offers a reasonable solution with little start up costs.

Thank you for your consideration.

[ashc]

Hi @clarehcsv! Welcome to the Community.

Thank you for taking the time to explain how your business runs so we have more of an understanding on how this would be a useful feature for you.

We'll let the Product team know that you're another seller looking for this. 

[isabelle · Accepted solution]

Hey @CSzRichmond and the rest of the thread! 💡

We're still working on the POS donation feature. I'll make sure to post in this thread if I hear any updates on it's development.

I'm updating this thread to tell you about an alternative that I think could work. You can collect donations using Square Online Checkout links. I was thinking as a workaround, you could create a QR code that links to a place where your customers/donors could use it to go to a website (the checkout link) where they could leave a donation. You could print the QR code out so it's right next to your POS. 

Thanks for your patience! 

[Updated by Moderator on October 15th, 2020]

[PlatformTattoo]

It would be outstanding to see an option for donations in place of, or in addition to tips during checkout.  Square could also keep record of these for tax purposes.  Please consider this feature for future updates.  Thank you.

[straycatbrew]

Also, specifically, a “donate the change” or “tip the change” option. Add a suggested tip amount for purchases under, say, $5, the option to round up to the nearest dollar. And/or a donate the change option for any amount. 

[TBHospitalityNY]

An adjustable prompt for last minute add-on sales would be a great feature. Whether for a donation/tote bag/upgrade offer. Let us upload an image and offer a button layout for "yes" and "no",

This would especially be attractive for the Register's customer display. 

[IdealWellness]

Just posting here to bring it back to the foreground. Now more than ever we need this option in office. We are brick and mortar so only having the donation option online isn't what we need. Square could really step up by adding this feature quickly before the holiday season. Please add the option for a client to make a donation to whatever charity the business is advertising. Thanks for your consideration!

[hicksm13]

Yes agreed! This is especially needed during the pandemic and wildfire season/hurricanes.