How do I split items onto a new check with Square for Restaurants?

[cbenson]

The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Split items onto New Check doesn't work in Square for Restaurants?

So I have a Quick Service place and finished my 2nd day live with Square for Restaurants in the first of what may be 6 locations.  A problem I have run into is when I get a phone order we save the check with the customer name and phone number.  The check is then saved and when the customer comes in we pull the check by name.  Well, we get times when someone has called in multiple items but when the people come in they want to pay separately and/or add items (drinks, chips) to their part of the order.  When you pull and item out and click "Add to new check" you don't get any options to actually start a new check.  You can add to a check you have already started, but this adds a very time-consuming step AND completely defeats the purpose of the "new check" button.

Is this a bug?  Is there something I haven't setup correctly?  Other than that my "hack" of using a blank "section" as the place to put phone orders in the background works swimmingly.  Figuring this out would really be great.  As it is it holds up a line big time.

[#2]

It seems that you're looking for a way to split checks by items?

If so, Square for Restaurants does offer that feature with the Check Management option.

In order to split a check once the check is opened you would have to tap on Actions > Split Check > Select items that need to be split and then proceed with processing the payment as needed.

Let me know if I misunderstood your request or if this information is helpful. If you still need a hand with how to use this feature, I would recommend reaching out to our team via phone here.

Welcome to the Seller Community @gsimsek!

[Tom]

Hi @cbenson, thanks for taking the time to bring this up. I don't have any other suggestions on hand at the moment, but I did reach out to our Restaurants Team for more insight. We'll be back with any other details as soon as possible—thanks for your patience.

[cbenson]

Thanks, @Tom.  I have "Table Management" turned on, but "Seating", "Coursing" and "Floor Plans" are all off.  I use a "section" for Phone Orders as they have to be sent to the Kitchen Printer, but need to be saved as they are not ready to be paid.  I don't know if that helps, but thought I'd throw it out there.

Once this system is a bit more mature it's going to be incredible.

[Tom]

Thanks for circling back with that information, @cbenson. I wanted to see if I could get some more details on the issues you're encountering when splitting a check. Which part of the process is preventing you from being efficient with the check, and/or what would the ideal workflow look like for your staff? Thanks again for your patience as we continue to look into this.

In addition, you may want to touch base with a team member directly over phone in case you'd like to work through any examples in real time. I'll keep watch for your reply.

[cbenson]

No problem @Tom.  Essentially, when you select an item (or items) from an existing check and then Edit->Move to...->New Check you can't do anything with the items.  You should be able to select New Check and actually create a new check that you are moving the items to.  In my use case this is for Phone Orders that have been called in, but need to be paid separately when they come in (and have additional items added to the split checks).  I imagine in a sit-down, full service use-case one would need to split the items from a check onto new checks.  You have to first make a new check, give it a name (and "Add note" if needed) and then Edit->Move to...->Existing Check and find the check you just made.  It's an extra, unnecessary step.

As it stands right now, at least as my setup is configured Edit->Move to...->New Check doesn't let you do anything.  Every option is greyed out or unavailable.

"New Check" needs to do just that.  Create a new check and move the selected item(s) onto it.

Thanks for taking the time.

[Tom]

Got it. Thanks for this information—I see what you mean. I don't have an additional solution or workaround for this on hand right now, though I will share your experience with our Restaurants Team. We'll be back with any other insight or developments that may help streamline this process. Appreciate your patience.

[cbenson · Accepted solution]

@Tom I have found a workaround (that or this is new functionality).  To split a check in "Square for Restaurants" you press "Actions" then "Split" while having the check/items you want to split active.  You can then select the items and quickly split them out.  The screen gives you room to create several checks (it appends them with a number, "Steve" becomes "Steve - 1").  You can then edit the name of the check.  Add items to the check.  Etc.

Thought I would post this here to help anyone having the same problem I was.

(This post was edited by Community Moderator Kassi_ to add updated information. )

[senecalakebrewi]

[This post was merged from the original thread titled: "How to ring in menu items then create a check in square restaurant??"]

I am using square restaurants for my business (brewery).

Generally we ring in the menu items that a customer is purchasing and then create a Tab or check for them. versus creating a check for them first and then ringing in the menu items they are purchasing.

how do i set it up so that we can ring in the items they are purchasing and then create a tab or check from that.. 

When i add items and click the actions button i dont see a button there to "create check" or anything.

thanks and appreciate the help

Bradley

[Tom]

Hey @senecalakebrewi, thanks for checking in on this. It looks like a few other sellers ran into this issue and came up with a workaround in this thread: Split items onto New Check doesn't work in Square for Restaurants?

Hope that helps for now—please don't hesitate to let us know if any questions remain.

[Rp3]

Square for restaurants still doesn't allow you to create new checks on the fly, even though it gives you the option to, you simply can't.

We have also made workarounds, (although the split check functionality is not good on square for restaurants), it still fools EVERY trainee and even confuses veterans who haven't worked for awhile. 

Move to....New Check....nothing.   Seems like this could be fixed after 2 years since this thread started.

[AdamB]

Thanks for your feedback about this, @Rp3. I realize that it's been a bit since the original post on this thread, but posting about it helps our Restaurants team know that this is still concern for people.

[gsimsek]

Do you guys have any plans on adding "split by item" feature to your software anytime soon?

[gsimsek]

We often have large groups of military personnel dining in and paying separately at our restaurant so it would be very difficult for us to deal with them without the "split by item" feature when we take payments.

Lack of "split by item" feature is a deal breaker for me. You can let your software department know that you lost a customer because of that and the "split by item" feature is essential for restaurants.

Please let me know when you guys have it, then I might switch to Square if your rates are also favorable.

It's been more than two years someone already requested that feature on your support forums so Square doesn't seem to take restaurants seriously.

[JJ_]

It seems that you're looking for a way to split checks by items?

If so, Square for Restaurants does offer that feature with the Check Management option.

In order to split a check once the check is opened you would have to tap on Actions > Split Check > Select items that need to be split and then proceed with processing the payment as needed.

Let me know if I misunderstood your request or if this information is helpful. If you still need a hand with how to use this feature, I would recommend reaching out to our team via phone here.

Welcome to the Seller Community @gsimsek!

[VanKalkerFarms]

Very good, I thought that option but didn't want to post since I don't have Square for restaurants.

https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/6429-check-management-with-square-for-restaurants

[ROSELILY]

We use square for restaurants and it’s on a daily basis that tables split a bottle of wine or split a small plate amongst the table. My servers have to delete the original item and add back open ring charges to split this, sometimes 8 ways. Or split off the items and are forced to run a customers card twice. It’s so inefficient to the point that I’ve reached out to other POS systems to switch. The lack of this feature is the number one reason for us wanting to leave square. There’s some other minor faults with square for restaurants that I’m willing to deal but to not have one of the most basic restaurant POS functions is leaving me baffled. Am I missing something? Is this feature planning on being added? I’d rather not deal with the headache of switching POS but this needs to be fixed. 

[Kassi_]

Hey there, @ROSELILY - 

I'd like to welcome you to the Community! 

Splitting items is possible while using the Square for Restaurants app, which will make it easier on your servers. 

I moved your post to the thread where other sellers have discussed this. Take a look at the Best Answer by JJ to get some more information on how to implement this. 

[lisajohnson]

I have an issue where when my servers split a ticket by items, and after the customers have paid all tabs, some of the items will “pop” back up at the table again. What could be causing this?

[Laurie_]

Hi @lisajohnson, thanks for reaching out with your question!

Duplicate checks can sometimes occur when a check is open on multiple devices simultaneously and is then updated or closed on one of them. For instance, if an employee opens a check on one device, forgets to log out, and then closes the check on another device, the check on the first device may remain open and therefore create a duplicate.
 

In order to prevent this issue, first, check your router and wifi connectivity. A poor network connection can cause slower syncing across your devices.
 

You’ll also want to make sure your employees log out of the app after each use to prevent checks from remaining open on multiple devices at once.

If the issue persists after trying the above, please reach out directly to our Support Team who will be able to troubleshoot this with you in greater detail.

If you'd like to speak with our Support Team by phone, you can give us a call at 1-855-700-6000 between 6 am - 6 pm Pacific Time Monday - Friday. If you call outside of these hours, you will be required to enter your Customer Code to validate your account.

You can also get in touch with our Messaging and Email Support Teams here: squ.re/contactsqsupport

[lisajohnson]

Thank you for that. It makes sense. We will try this.