Live Q&A: Ask us anything about our new POS, Square Register

[katieand]

Hi Sellers,

On March 9 from 10am-11am PST, we hosted a Live Q&A all about Square Register! We had three leaders from the Square Register product team here to answer your questions.

Meet the people who brought you Square Register and who were here live on March 9 to reply to your comments and answer your questions:

Evan Doyle, Square Register - Software Product Manager
Evan @evandoyle is the Product Manager for Point of Sale software on Square Devices. Prior to that, he worked on the Square Point of Sale quality team and before that, on the Support team at Square. Before Square, he designed and directed educational outdoor programs for middle and high school students, and initially heard about (and fell in love with) Square from his college buddy who started a ski tuning business using one of the original Square Readers.

Laura Jones, Square Register - Product Marketing Manager
@lauraj is the Product Marketing Manager for the Square Register and led go-to-market strategy for the product. Prior to Square, she was a management consultant and worked in international development helping small businesses in Eastern Europe get plugged into the EU supply chain. She was also a regular point-of-sale user as a waitress in college.

Sara Sanchez, Square Register - Hardware Product Manager
@SaraSanchez is the Product Manager for Square Register. Previous to Square, she worked as Mobility Product Manager, Presales Technical Lead and SW Quality manager. Passionate about delivering great solutions to Square merchants and help them reach their goals!

A couple of example questions:

• What should I consider when making the switch from Square Stand to Square Register?
• What is the ideal set up for Square Register?
• What are the advantages of the customer display?

*Please note the date and time change, updated on 2/23. 

[MichiganFarmsta]

This is obviously a multi year investment.  Does square offer some type of screen protector to stave off wear and tear.  When I install the register in the retail environment it will run hundreds of transactions per day.  I feel this is a needed accessory especially on the customer side. 

 Has anyone done this, can you point me to where you purchased it, and how it works.

I did a quick scan on amazon and came up with this. Its available in mat and clear.

https://www.amazon.com/Register-Protector-BoxWave-ClearTouch-Crystal/dp/B077SJ3P6Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF...

[square_marc]

Yes, @MichiganFarmsta I am wondering the same thing. We do a lot of volume and a bit concerned how the hardware will hold up.

If you do get that screen protector, please report back. 

[SaraSanchez]

Hi @MichiganFarmsta - Super interesting question! We currently don’t have a screen protector that’s created by Square (some regulatory agencies disapprove that POS vendors provide screen protectors due to the risk of someone replacing the screen protector with something that could skim signatures or PINs) however, I would like to share that we did numerous reliability tests to ensure that the buyer display hardware would last and behave correctly in environment with a lot of transactions and traffic. These type of test often involve using abrasive materials like steel wool or performing thousands and thousands of touches on the displays.

If you do end up purchasing that one from Amazon, we’d love to hear how it works out though. Same for you @square_marc! 👍

[800A]

I agree 100%!!!!!!! I can’t believe there is no passcode lock or screen protector. This is ridiculous for $1000 + tax item.

@Square are you planning on adding this? You won’t make a screen protector for fear of skimming but you won’t put a passcode lock. Crazy!

[TheSavvyDog]

Right now, I'd like to know about "glitches" with the hardware.  We received the hardware and it worked beautifully...for all of one day.  Now, it will not work at all - even with a factory reset.  It keeps looping us back to setup and then the app quits and resets again.  Calling support left us with a referral to engineers - and no "end date" in sight, and the offer of $1000 in free processing.  At this point, you have a pretty upset client....one that has been with Square for nearly a decade.

[Kpay]

@TheSavvyDog, this definitely sounds strange, I'm sorry you've had to deal with such a disruptive bug. I saw that @puka just replied to your other post about this issue too. I'll send you a private message shortly with some more info and what you can expect from our team next. 

[WiltonPizzeria]

That's cute. $1,000 in free processing equates to about $30... They did the same thing for me when I complained about something on the new register.

[bigcountrytaver]

I have this same issue - system times out while customers trying to sign up for loyalty program - very unprofessional and makes me look bad cause i dont know how to get them their stars after it times out 

[MartysAppliance]

@TheSavvyDog Installed 2 in our store a couple weeks ago and one of them just stopped  reading cards, dipped or swiped.  Even with a dedicated customer service rep i can't get a reply to any of the issues i have had since i have received the  registers.  Very unhappy customer #2.

[katieand]

Hi @MartysAppliance - That's not good to hear! Can you share some of the troubleshooting tips your rep might have already shared? If you send me a PM, I can have someone from our team reach out to you to get this resolved. 

Sorry again about this experience and hope we can get you back up and running. 

[MartysAppliance]

@katieand kudos to you, you are lighning fast to respond... you should be in charge !

[MichiganFarmsta]

Lock Screen?

I am shocked that the square register don't offer this basic level of security.  Every Ipad and Android device has this.

During slow periods emplyees should be able to walk away (to take care of other task) and secure the register with minimal effort.  And then be able to turn the screen on with a pin or password.

A pin to unlock the screen would be nice, but support of a USB fingerprint would be even better.

[square_marc]

I thought under employee management you can enable the lock screen after X mins or after each sale. Then you need a pin to unlock it. 

[MichiganFarmsta]

I dont need to manage employees.  I have a seperate time clock.  What I am asking for is Basic security!  This should not be an add-on product. 

This is the most basic level of security.  When I put my smartphone in my pocket I hit the power button.  Everything is locked and secure until I punch the code in again. 

Furthermore, haveing to punch in a pin for every transaction is a waste of time. This would waste valuable seconds.

As a side note, I feel ripped off if I have to pay $5 per employee just to set a role less than adminstrator.  This is a sneaky hidden cost.  Every cash register on the market has a master key and employee key.  Yet square feels like this is a add-on feature.  I dont see how this can be PCI compliant, you are allowing employees access to everything unless you pay for employee management.

[pessosices]

@MichiganFarmsta

I understand the frustration - and I do agree that the $5 per employee per month is a little steep just to do this and in general for employee management.

In terms of an Admin Key and and Employee key, we use the Guest permissions which is free and doesn't give the employees access to anything you don't want them to access - so PCI compliance is maintained.

Again, although I disagree with the $5 fee in premise, if someone is very worried about security, $5 a month to secure a $1000 Register might be worth it to some people.

Just to clarify and for a little more information:

You don't need to use Square as a timeclock or even actually mange your employees with the Register to use the lockout feature.

Just enable the feature called Employee Management and set up one dummy employee with a pin code and you're good.

And you don't need to put in the pin for for every transaction (although that is an option)\.

When someone steps away and needs to secure the register, you can just click the "Log Out" button in the top left corner which locks things out - so you only have to enter in a pin when you come back, and not after every transaction.

This works even with the Free Guest mode.

Hope this helps!

Pesso

[MichiganFarmsta]

Thanks for the reply.  I setup the guest mode. It works great for restricting employee access, while still allowing trusted managers to have access.  However there still should be a way to secure the register (and cash drawer), so only retail employees have access.  Guest mode does not secure the register.

My current method is a the cash drawer keys are on a bracelet than an employee slips on, anytime they will be out of sight.  I am shocked that somthing as simple as a lock screen is not standard.

[pessosices]

So great to hear that that's working for you at least partially-

With Guest Mode, if you press the Log Out button in the Top Left corner would bring the register to the PIN code page.

While we know that someone can override by just hitting the "Guest" Button - to the average person it looks secured and locked out.

With the employee management you can do all of that - restricting only retail employees to be able to access and open the drawer so you don't have to carry keys. I definitely agree that it's too expensive though.

[WagBend]

Yes $5 an employee when you have 15 of them is expensive just to access the register. 

[SaraSanchez]

Hi again @MichiganFarmsta - Like @pessosices said, guest mode is the best workaround without paying $5 a month for an employee role that would provide this feature. I’ll share your feedback with my product counterparts on the employee management team about the cost though. They’re always looking for ways to improve the product, and I’m sure will appreciate hearing your thoughts. 😀

[MichiganFarmsta]

This is 2018! Every tablet or smartphone can be secured with a password.  This is not a feature to be charged for, this is standard on everything but a square register!