50 cent Delivery fee?

[Wavemaker]

Can someone explain to me the 50 cent delivery fee that square chargers per order when delivery is selected? Starting July 1st?

Why does this exist? Delivery costs ME money. What's it to square if someone picks up their order or I deliver it for free?

[#2]

I wanted to take a minute to continue the conversation around this topic, answer some of the questions that have come up, and address some of your concerns.

Why are you charging a fee for deliveries?

Instead of charging a high fixed monthly fee or a large commission, we chose a business model where we are only successful when you are. Having a sustainable business model also enables us to continue to deeply invest in building out a competitive delivery and online ordering platform with all of the functionality that you need to be successful. 

What about scheduled deliveries? (or other needed features)

This is a new platform, and we hear your feedback that there is some missing functionality that you need. We have been working very quickly on releasing updates to the product (you can see the release notes for April and May). We are currently building scheduled delivery functionality and plan to launch it soon, and are eager to hear your feedback on what other features would be critical to help you operate more effectively. 

How can I afford these fees on top of others?

Anyone who has had to make the shift online over the last few months can attest that online selling is a different experience with its own unique challenges. Online orders typically come with a different set of fees, including different processing rates (read more about why here), and it is important to adjust to ensure that your margins remain sustainable. In addition to custom delivery fee settings, we also offer an optional service fee setting, which you can learn how to configure in our local delivery support article.

We appreciate your feedback and the opportunity to engage and discuss here. We are dedicated to building out a fully featured delivery and online ordering platform, and to be your partners in helping you build a direct channel to engage with your customers. We want to add value to your business by streamlining your operations, saving you and your employees’ time, and improving the delivery experience for your customers.

Please let us know what features you need, and what we could do to improve the platform -- we are very quickly releasing new functionality and are prioritizing what we build based on your feedback!

[Joe · Accepted solution]

Hi there, @Wavemaker - thanks for taking the time to reach out to us here on the Seller Community. We can help provide some clarity, here.

Due to Seller hardship resulting from COVID-19 related restrictions, we announced a fee waiver for 3 months (April, May, June). 

As of this week, we have begun contacting Sellers again to inform them that fees will resume. Sellers will be charged 50¢ per order for all local delivery orders occurring on and after July 1st. This fee will be subtracted along with current processing fees and will be visible in the seller Dashboard.

It's important to note that this fee is associated for Seller-powered deliveries only. Pickup orders have no charge and courier-powered delivery will have separate fees associated.

You can learn more about Square processing fees and pricing here. 

Let me know if you have any clarifying questions! We are here to help.

[hermetheuscoffe]

Yes, it's charged with the paid plans. And with 79 (and counting) responses in this thread, it's safe to say that's not likely to change soon. In a sense, Square HAS clearly answered why they charge this. That is, they refuse to answer, which leaves the obvious: they charge it because they can. It's frustrating, but it's also the truth. I could choose to go to Shopify, but I probably won't (because I don't have the time/resources to commit to a migration right now). So while I keep my small store with Square, I recommend Shopify to other businesses who ask for my recommendation.