How are others that price by a decimal quantities working their charges?

[FarmMom]

We sell our farm's meat and poultry at farmer's markets, on farm and by delivery, and price mostly by the pound.  I'd love to have the ability to set the quantity to a decimal input, so I can enter the weight on the package meat and be able to have a set price on the item, but that is still not available.  So most of our items are just "variable" pricing, and I have to have a calculator in one hand, or go to back and forth from the calculator app on my phone to Square, to calculate the price on all our beef and pork.  The only other option I've been told is to set a price for .01 or .001 lb, and enter the decimal amount in as a whole number.  So if a Pork Shoulder Roast is $8.00/lb, and weights are in tenths, like 2.78 lbs, I'd have to set the price for the item as $.08 and input the quantity as 278, since it only takes whole numbers.  This seems like an expensive accident just waiting to happen.  And trying to explain why I have to do this to customers, and how it would show up on their receipts, just doesn't seem worth it, even if it would save time not having to calulate everything while inputing.  Are their any other farmers, butchers, or others who price by decimal quantities doing it this way successfully?  If so, do customers care?

[randyesq]

Have a link to Cashier? I am interested.

[ICS-Sean]

PayPal has a FAR superior Invoicing app, and they know what the decimal is used for.  I can't switch to that one because they don't support recurring invoices (yet), and the Square interface is nicer to look at, but PayPal is definitely worth a look.

[AlanA]

I just wish they would fix this bug. If they do not want to call it a bug then call it a very big oversight and they are not willing to admit they have made a mistake. 

[VanKalkerFarms]

@FarmMom, I have read some pretty substantial rumors about EBT coming.  of course, the rumors can be false, but I'm holding out hope.

[AlanA]

Has anyone heard of Clearent. They contacted me on Facebook today because they have been watching Square site. I am going to talk to them on Friday to see what they have to offer. They told me that they only charge .75%. There has to be fees but I can run numbers and see if it’s cheaper or not. The only reason I still put up with square is because with my sales profile I have found nothing that would be cheaper at this time. But I continue to look just because they refuse to fix issue like this. If anyone has any info about Clearent please let us all know. 

[ICS-Sean]

Sorry to tell you this, but users have been asking for this for a long time and Square just isn't interested in correcting this issue.  It is the single barrier to my business moving to them for all of my invoicing.  Fortunately, this thread has some other places to look.  My suggestion (unless you need recurring invoices) is PayPal.  They have an excellent invoicing app.

[MulliganCreek]

I find it hard to believe that this thread was started over 2 years ago.  This is ridiculous and unacceptable.  I do farmers markets and my best solution that I have found is to calculate variable priced  and sized items (ie. 1.4 lbs of chicken breasts) on a calculator and then go back and enter the price into  Square.  How is this user friendly?  I have also tried the set up of tenths of a pound and full pound items and the receipts look horrible.  Customers also at first glance think that they are being overcharged. 

I am at a point where I am frustrated and disappointed with Square between this issue and the Apple intergration with the Stand reader, there are no viable solutions in sight.  This is unfortunate,  I used to really like Square.  

[vancesmillfarms]

Someone mentioned that PayPal May have a solution. I’m going to check it out as I do farmers markets as well. I love Square until I have to go and charge the customer using some crazy method or just adding it up like you do. 

[ashamun]

To @katieand, @EJ_, @Kpay, @Chad, @lior, @Sean, @Tom, @Spenser, and any other Square employees and moderators who have contributed to this thread over the past two years,

All BS aside, what's taking so long? Do you have an ETA? I'm not trying to be a pain but if we're cutting the BS, let's talk about this like normal people. No threats to leave or badmouthing Square, just normal conversation so please don't give me a canned answer. Let's just talk.

Why has this taken so long? Is it not a priority or are you guys having trouble integrating it? A little insight would be helpful and would certainly put everyone's mind at ease. Do you guys have a rough ETA or something we can all look forward to? Just help us out a bit.

[hipsterforhire]

16 PAGES of comments. No movement. Best 'response' from the team was last year:

"

lior

Posted 06-05-2017 11:40:06 AM

Verified Answer

Hello! I am a product manager at Square working on our inventory features. I don't have a timeline to share about when this feature will be available, but we've definitely heard you and know how important this is. This thread has helped us better understand how you will use this feature so I also want to thank you for taking the time to share the details! I'll be using your feedback to dig into this feature further with the team and will update this thread as soon as we have more details to share."

I use Dubsado for my invoicing now and it integrates with Square so it's the perfect workaround. The team at Dubsado communicates with their commuity regularly about system updates, improvements, and new tech they're bringing all for a super low monthly cost.

I left Square in terms of actually physically using their product but I LOVE to keep an eye on this thread to see how long a "reputable" company takes to implement something that should have been a given at the point of launch.

Makes me feel a lot better about my own advancements as a business of one all the time.

[hipsterforhire]

Hello! I am a product manager at Square working on our inventory features. I don't have a timeline to share about when this feature will be available, but we've definitely heard you and know how important this is. This thread has helped us better understand how you will use this feature so I also want to thank you for taking the time to share the details! I'll be using your feedback to dig into this feature further with the team and will update this thread as soon as we have more details to share."

I use Dubsado for my invoicing now and it integrates with Square so it's the perfect workaround. The team at Dubsado communicates with their commuity regularly about system updates, improvements, and new tech they're bringing all for a super low monthly cost.

I left Square in terms of actually physically using their product but I LOVE to keep an eye on this thread to see how long a "reputable" company takes to implement something that should have been a given at the point of launch.

Makes me feel a lot better about my own advancements as a business of one all the time.

[katieand]

Hi @ashamun - Thanks for asking about this. I'm working with some of our product team, including Lior, to get you all an update on this. Just want to make sure you know that we're actively looking into this! 

[TSargent]

I can't imagine this is a tough fix.   Adding a couple of decimal places within what basically amounts to a database?

And I have to admit that I have been reviewing some questions on here that I thought would help me.   I have seen a lot of people with legitimate concerns and questions and the standard (paraphrased) answer is "Thank you.   We hear you.   It's not on our timeline."    From someone who has owned Square for a couple of months, that is not what I want to read/hear from a company trying to help me.    I don't think I have read one time that "We hear you.    We solved the problem."    At least not for any of the issues that I have been having.

Tom

[lior]

Hi all,

I completely understand your frustration about the lack of movement on this. I understand how vital decimal pricing is to your businesses. I want to be upfront and transparent with you all and share that, unfortunately, we don’t have plans to launch fractional sales this year. Launching fractional sales requires changes across Square’s ecosystem including inventory, loyalty, and invoices (among others). Ongoing discussions on how we align the priorities of all of these teams to make fractional sales a reality are occurring on a regular basis which gives me the confidence to tell you it’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.  

I hope knowing that it is not likely to happen this year helps some of you plan for your business. We want to help make your business easier to run and know that for some of you this is a dealbreaker. If you’ve commented on this thread or subscribed (link at the top), then you’ll get updates when we post them here.

Thank you for all who have written in to share your thoughts and I sincerely apologize to those of you who might be disappointed by this timeline. Please continue to post here and we’ll do the same.

[randyesq]

@lior - First, I would like to thank you for your update on this and for your transparency in communicating realistic expectations.

I am a new user to Square and am currently building the entirety of my new farm business, both point of sale and online around this platform. I am super impressed with how simple it was to setup on my phone and my employees phones, integration with MailChimp and WooCommerce for my Wordpress site, and the appointments and text reminders are awesome.

In fact, I just began selling my farm products, and my customers were blown away at how simple it all was -- except for one thing. Nearly every one of them said something to the effect of "I just purchased a 4 lb chicken, why does my receipt say I purchased 40 of them?". In reality, I was using the hack described here for selling my chicken by the tenth of a pound.

The fact that I am starting a new business, and my customers are questioning my ability to handle their money properly is no bueno. I am in the position where I must earn their trust, or close up shop.

With all of the good things that Square is providing for me, I can focus on growing the best possible products for my customers and worry a lot less about the mechanics of selling -- with the exception of this one anti-feature in the Square platform.

So I would like to say I love Square and its ecosystem. However, I would also like to say (and others will probably agree with me), that Square's response to delay any enhancement to the platform with decimal quantities is simply not good enough. I work with a network of small farmers who all struggle in the area of profitability while still meeting their customers needs for the convenience that Square provides. Many of them have seen the system I have setup and want to know more. I reluctantly have to tell them about this one bad thing about it all, and they immediately turn it down. I would love to share Square with them and give them the recommendation that it deserves, but I just can't do that since all of these other farmers will be in the same boat as me (selling product by the pound), and they aren't willing to put their existing customers through that confusion and possible loss of trust.

Please reconsider adding this feature to the top of the list. I can almost guarantee that it will bring a swarm of loyal customers (farmers especially are INTENSELY loyal to tools that work for them. Just ask them what kind of truck or tractor they prefer).

[vancesmillfarms]

Obviously you don't understand our struggles.  This post has been going on for years!  Your lack of commitment has just made me look for a new processor.

[theglasgos]

I just can't imagine that you and your team get this situation at all. Your priorities?  What priorites are greater than the most common request amongst all of your current users?  I'd love to see your priorites list.  

I was a big fan of Weebly.  Until Square bought them.   Now based on your handling of this ongoing 3 year request from your users I'm considering switching from Weebly as well just because Square bought them!

You clearly don't get your users and now I'm the next to move on just as my sales are finally starting to occur.  You could and would have the most successful selling platform, but your own arrogances and ego prevent you from focusing on what matters most to your users.  Prove me otherwise and post your so-called priority list. 

Sincerely,

David Glasgo

[EJ_]

Hi @theglasgos @randyesq @vancesmillfarms 

Thanks for chiming in and sharing your thoughts on this. I know it's not the most ideal response, but we do value your feedback when it comes to these things. 

I really wish there were a better answer I can provide, and unfortunately we won't be sharing our priority list or our road map, as we don't publicly discuss that information. 

However, as Lior mentioned, this feature isn't a matter of if, it's a matter of when. 

Unfortunately, the only specific timeline we can provide is that it won't be happening this year. While we hope that you'll stick with us, we absolutely understand that you as a business owner must do what's best for your business. 

@TSargent While we'd love to reply back with "We've solved the problem", that's simply not the case at this time. Hopefully we can reply back with that answer sooner rather than later, as we know how heavily requested this feature is. 

[psolberg]

So, I am inclined to cancel and move off SquareUp due to the fact that ALL OF MY SALES come from per/lb. pricing.   I give invoices with your suggestion on fractional costs and I have to explain the decimal place (only 2), the discount (as I have to adjust the cost down using discount) and the fact that it is a total hack.    PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE implement a true solution for price/weight.   Either AdHoc, or put in larger decimals.    Should I charge per oz. when my pricing is per lb.?  Explain that to a customer... 

Come ON SquareUp.   Get with the times.... you know like 800 BC when they charged using rocks, metal discs, and a balance scale!

[Tom]

Hey @psolberg, thank you for checking in here and I apologize for the frustration. We know that this feature is important to many types of businesses and we want to provide the most seamless experience as we can. Our product teams are continuing to work together on this functionality. We will reach out as soon as any useful developments come through. 

[EntWebDS]

@Tom, I would like to say that deserves a "like" but it has been 2 1/2 YEARS since this thread was initiated.  I no longer use Square for invoicing because it simply cannot do what I need it to. As a software/database developer myself, I understand the complexities involved in changing table column data types and associated code, but the time frame for completing such a project should not anywhere close to approach the time elapsed in this case. I would hope that it is climbing the ladder of priorities and supercedes new bells and whistles because none of them matter to those of us who cannot use Square at all because of this persistent and largely ignored issue.

[QQM]

In response to this answer, I have to say this is the best answer I've seen after browsing the forums for an hour about this issue. I appreciate the sincerity in this reply instead of a lot of the Square representatives saying "We hear you! We'll update you when it happens!",  then leave it at that and some of us end up waiting and left hanging a few years for this update, only to hear the same message. (This part is more of a customer service issue than a software issue. Polite upbeat answers are one thing. Left hanging in the dark for years is another thing.)

To reply to the issue mentioned about changing the Square's ecosystem that already exist, I get that making that change might be a concern for the merchants who already have their inventory set up a certain way to accomodate the current way of doing things.

But if one, the merchants set up in a way that works that doesn't need decimals, a quantity of 1.000000 is still just a quantity of 1, so it wouldn't change anything for the inventory.

Two, if a merchant had set up his system using the current "solution" for lack-of-decimal inputs, such as 216 quantity for a $0.03/lb price listing (and even then, that's only for whole dollars. There are merchants like myself that sells at $0.49/ lb. Tell me how to accomodate that), that merchant most likely have already gone through this forum and was already wishing for a decimal point for the quantity amount. Additionally! if the merchant had set up the complicated pricing system for weighing, if he did not know there was a update for the decimal and continue to use the old system, the math should still work and there should not no unexpected changes in the end result of the final price. 

There was also mention of loyalty, and you spoke how you understood this can be a dealbreaker for some. I appreciate the honesty in this, but what about all the merchants who charges through weight that has been a loyal customer with Square? Their loyalty doesn't matter?

So thank you, for actually providing something to discuss in the forums instead of leaving us hanging. But no, I don't see how the listed problems would be actually problems if just a decimal is added.