Creating invoices when traveling outside of country where I set up Square

[Bridget24]

OK....I got off the phone with a customer service rep. and asked if I would be able to send invoices when I travel abroad.  My business is a vacation rental so all of my payment processing will be basically me emailing invoices to the customer right after I receive a new booking. I am in the U.S. and just set up an account.  

The rep. said I would not be able to create an invoice on my computer if I am located outside of the U.S.  So my question is this...can my partner log into my account while he is located in the U.S. and generate the invoice from there?  Sorry, but I am having difficulty wrapping my head around the fact that I can't log into my computer and send an invoice if I am traveling outside of the U.S.  Which means I will need to use another credit card processor while traveling, or I need to make someone else an authorized user on my account and they will need to be physically located in the U.S. while I am out of the country.  

[ACAcatering]

That seems strange to me too.  I will have to check that out this summer.  I'm curious.  Are you comfortable with giving your login information to your partner?  He can log in on the dashboard and create invoices from the dashboard.

[Bridget24]

@ACAcatering  - as far as trusting my partner to have access to that info, yes.  Everything actually runs through his bank account so not concerned about fraud, etc.

However, I run 100% of the business and I would not like him to generate invoices esp. since I am the one who handles all of that.  I really prefer not to have someone else in the account who is "testing" on a real customer for the first time.  So, if there is no other option, I would just revert to using PayPal.  Actually, I have never asked PayPal if this is an issue...maybe it is?  It just never crossed my mind.  And also, I am pretty sure my partner would prefer not to be learning how to send an invoice without me right there.  No matter how easy/simple it is.  

[ACAcatering]

I'll be on a missions trip out of the country in June.  I'll give it a try and see what happens.

[puka · Accepted solution]

Hey all - It is true that cross-border payments, including Invoices, are not supported at this time. You must be physically located in the region where you activated your account and your location is tracked by GPS for the app and IP address for Dashboard.

Adding your partner as an Authorized Representative to create the Invoice is definitely an option, but if you're not comfortable with that, we encourage you to use the tools that work best for your business even if that involves a party outside of Square.

I hope you enjoy your trip!

[Bridget24]

Hi @puka -

Thank you for the reply.  I now have a new question.  I am using Square as my payment method for accepting reservations on Houfy.com.  No funds go through the Houfy platform at all.  The payment goes directly from the guest to my bank account.  Each of us vacation rental owners with our own Square account can connect the booking process through Houfy and it's API.  But Houfy does not have anything to do with the funds at all.

This is how it works:  The traveler goes to the site.  They want to book my property for some dates.  They enter their card info, and send a pending "booking request."  I have 24 hours to click confirm/accept.  The card is not actually charged until I click confirm.  So..my question is - do I also have to be located in the U.S. at the moment I click confirm? - since that is where I activated my account.  Example:  If I am outside of the country at the time I try to accept the booking request, will it automatically decline since it will be charging the traveler card at that moment?  I hope all of this makes sense.  

[puka]

I checked in with our API team and they confirmed that you shouldn't run into any issues with this since the payment is initiated from the cardholder. 👍

[Bridget24]

Thanks so much!

[Bridget24]

Hi @puka

I was wondering if you can help me to understand if the Square dashboard where you invoice is or isn't connected to the transactions using the Square app on your tablet/phone.  Here is an article released a couple of days ago about the new Square invoicing app and it says there is no more need to mail invoices, etc.  Does that mean that people using the app, don't have access to sending invoices on their laptop through the dashboard?  

Also, does this new feature at all eliminate the need to physically be located in the same country where you activated your account?  The first sentence says "send invoices from anywhere"..  https://www.pymnts.com/news/mobile-payments/2019/square-invoices-app-smb-cash-flow/?fbclid=IwAR2-XUi...

[VanKalkerFarms]

Honestly Square has issues with marketing and phrasing that aggravates me all the time.  Everything is so vague and open sounding.

The new app is a standalone app you can use, or you can use the invoices part of the POS app, or you can send from the invoices page of your dashboard on the computer but are all the same invoicing system.

as for where you are I still am not sure how or why sending an invoice would matter as the transaction is taking place not where it is being sent from anyway.  And with VPNs, you could look like you were in the US anyway.

[Tom]

Hey @Bridget24 and @VanKalkerFarms, Tom stepping in for Puka today.

For your first question—good news—all payments on your account are connected to the same set of reports! You'll be able to review all of the payments you've processed from the online Square Dashboard. Learn more about the reporting features here: Summaries and Reports from the Online Dashboard.

Also, thank you for pointing out the wording in that article. Even with the debut of the new Invoices app, regulations require that you must be located in the country where you activated your account to be able to process payments and send invoices. I'll be sure to surface this with the proper team members.

Really sorry for the disappointment—we'll definitely announce any developments as they become available.

[VanKalkerFarms]

I'd be interested to know this as well as I have always wondered about using invoices outside the country.  I don't see how it would be limited as computers aren't using GPS.  Yes, they have IP based region tracking but that is irrelevant when using a VPN which you should be doing if you are traveling anyway for security.

[curlgurl2007]

This reply was created by merging the thread "Square Invoices in Canada?"

I have a US account and will be in Canada. I understand I can’t process cards in Canada. Can I use Square Invoices in Canada to work around this? 

[Chad]

Hello @curlgurl2007! 

I went ahead and merged your thread with this existing one, since this question has been asked before. I recommend checking out the best answer on the first page of the thread. 

[knarfL]

[This post was merged from a thread originally titled: Invoicing in the UK.]

While I am conducting business in the United Kingdom, can I invoice customers via email, and have them pay the invoice?

[Tom]

Hey @knarfL, welcome to the Seller Community!

I went to check on this and it looks like another seller brought up a similar question in this thread: Creating invoices when traveling outside of country where I set up Square.

Have a look at Puka's reply for more details. Hope this helps make things more clear. Keep in touch as we're working to expand our payment options!