How to change your preferred name in Team Communication? (Not Legal Name Change)

[pfraga1000]

Edit---- While changing names for employees is possible it shows a "contact square" notice when trying to change the name of the owner in the team roster.

Hello! Looking for help in something I had hoped was going to be a super simple fix. I'm trans, legally due to finances and all of the business/bank accounts/IRS stuff already being made - I am not planning on legally changing my name anytime soon.

BUT, I would love to use the Square Team communications portion of the website and I have found no way to change the name it lets me send messages from. I did notice that you can put in preferred names when adding team members though, thank you for any and all help!

[TheRealChipA]

Hi @pfraga1000.  I have employed a trans employee for the past couple of seasons.  When I first hired them, they were still going by the name they were given at birth.  But, last season, they informed me they had new preferred names.  All I had to do was go into the Square Team roster and change the name there.  Communication uses what is entered in the Team record, while all of the legal stuff is contained in the Payroll Roster, which only has a link to Team for time card and other internal purposes.  The employer must do this, however.  It is not something that is available to employees at this time.

[pfraga1000]

Thanks for the info -- sadly this seems to only be seamless for employees. When I do the same and try to change the name of the owner, it tells me I have to call square. When I called, they told me there was no workaround ----- even though it's available to employees!

[TheRealChipA]

This issue with owner name changes is very true.  And that is a bigger problem than even yours, trust me.  Square is aware that it causes problems on a few fronts.

But, you were informed incorrectly.  There is a work-around.  You can create your own Team record, as an hourly employee who makes $0 per hour and is not tip eligible.  This will put you into the Team Roster for scheduling and for communication purposes.  I know this works because I did it for four years until I changed it back this year.  

After you do this, you will show up in shift scheduling, but you don’t have to use that if you don’t want to.  Also, after you do this, you can quit using the owner Team record for communication and start new ones using the Team record with your preferred name. It’s only slightly clunky, but it does work.  Create your own Team record and try it out for yourself.

Also, keep in mind that past conversation threads will retain your birth name.  Nothing can change that.

[asterismllc]

I am also a trans business owner, and I am really irked that every time I log into Square I get "HELLO DEADNAME!" written in big bold letters across my screen. Under New York State Law, it is required to use a person's preferred name in communications unless the legal name is required by law. Unnecessarily using a person's legal name instead of their preferred name is considered harassment. I'm eager to see how Square would like to rectify this problem and allow us to enter preferred name of the account owner.