What is Square Online Checkout?

We may receive a portion of sales if you purchase a product through a link in this article at no cost to you, though all opinions are our own. For more information, please read our ethics statement. Please note that pricing and availability are subject to change.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic increase in online shopping, small businesses must learn to adapt to selling online.

Therefore, finding a decent platform to do so is more necessary than ever. To ensure their online business succeeds, they need a platform like Square Online Checkout with a simple and successful E-commerce system.

For a small business E-commerce, larger systems may be too difficult or expensive. On the other hand, Square has figured out how to establish a simple but extremely functional system.

So let’s get started with What is Square Online Checkout? And what is meant for businesses or online shopping?

What is Square Online Checkout?

Square Online Checkout is a simple solution created by Square to help small businesses reach their customers more simply. It’s as easy as making a payment link, button, QR code, or embeddable buy button with customization like a name and price tag, and button color, sharing it by social media or direct and waiting for the buyer to complete the transaction. There is no requirement for a website, and users do not need an account or an app to make a payment.

The major advantage is that neither the owner nor the client pays a monthly fee for the Square Online Checkout service. The service has only one cost a 2.9% + 30¢ service fee for each transaction. This allows business owners to save money by avoiding the high cost of a full-service E-commerce platform.

Small businesses and online customers can use Square Online Checkout. Square’s new technology enables small businesses with a limited online presence, such as a website, to simply generate transactions from their customer base, all online and without the use of a sophisticated E-commerce infrastructure. These technologies are also useful for sellers who want to promote their products through social media, blog posts, e-mail marketing, or even as a simpler E-commerce tool on their website.

To create a checkout link, follow the below steps:

First, log in to your Square Dashboard
Then click Create checkout link in the Online Checkout section
Next to the Purpose of the link, choose either Collect payments, Sell items or Accept Donations
Enter a name for your link
If prompted, enter the amount you want to charge
Add an image by selecting Add Image > Download. Select either an image from your files or your existing item library
Add a description (if needed). (only 400 character limit)
Click Save
Select Copy, and share the link anywhere

Accepting notes from your customers:

First, log in to Square Dashboard
From the main menu, select Online Checkout
Navigate to Settings > General
Scroll down to Note from Customer and toggle ON
Click Save

Customers who pay using a checkout link will see a box where they can leave an optional note. Each transaction’s order data will include any information given by your customer in the note box during checkout. To see your customer note, go to your Online Checkout dashboard, select Transactions, and click on any payment. This information is also available in Order Manager.

If you have Square Online set up, you’ll have this option listed under your Online settings rather than your Online Checkout settings.

To enable customer notes through Square Online, follow these simple steps:

From your online Square Dashboard, go to Square Online > Settings > Checkout > Advanced Settings
Check the box next to Allow customer to leave a note to the seller

Enable Tipping

When you’re creating a Checkout link, you can easily allow for tips from your customers.

To enable tipping, follow these steps:

Click Create a checkout link in the Online Checkout section
Next to the Purpose of the link, choose Collect payments
Select Enable Tipping
Enter a name for your link and the amount you want to charge
Click Create Link then select Copy and share the link anywhere
Your customers will now automatically see tipping settings of 15%, 20%, and 25% on their payment link, with a default tip percentage of 15%

Note: Tipping is currently not available for links with subscriptions or recurring payments.

Checkout Link QR Codes

You can download and print a custom QR code to direct your customers to Online Checkout links, offering a simple contactless payment solution that will allow your customers to self-serve.

To create a QR code for an Item from your online Square Dashboard:

Log in to your online Square Dashboard
Select Online Checkout
Select the item you want to generate a QR code for
Under the section for Share your link, find the QR code option and click Create
Download QR Code to your device to print it for use in your business

Using Checkout Buttons

When you create checkout links, Square creates complementary Checkout Buttons that direct your customers to a checkout page for anything you want to accept payments for.

Checkout Buttons help you add items for sale to a website or blog post without creating a new online store. The Checkout Button can show specific information such as the product image title and price. You can even adjust the color of your button to match the look and feel of your website.

Follow simple steps to get the checkout button:

Go to the Home page of your online Square Dashboard
Click Create a checkout link in the Online Checkout section
Select the checkout link you want to share
Under the section for Share your link, find the Website button code option and click Copy
Paste the code into any website or blog

You are also able to customize the Checkout Button style and text. This allows you to reflect the branding of your website when embedding Checkout Buttons.

To customize your Checkout Button style, follow the steps:

Go to the Settings tab of the Online Checkout home
Under the Settings tab, click Button Style
Within the Online Checkout Settings tab, select a Button style
Choose your Content and Button color
Press Save

Keep in mind that the Button Style settings apply to all Checkout Buttons.

To customize your Checkout Button text:

Go to the Online Checkout home
Select the Online Checkout item you want to edit
Select Edit button text in the Checkout Button section of the item detail sheet
Enter the new button text and press Save

Create a Marketing Campaign with Checkout Links

You can also promote your items by reaching your customers with a Square Marketing campaign.

To include the Square Online Checkout link in your campaign:

Head to the Home page of your online Square Dashboard
Select Create a checkout link in the Online Checkout section
Copy any link by clicking the blue chain-link icon
Create your campaign by heading to the Marketing tab of your online Square Dashboard. Depending on the campaign type, you can paste the checkout link directly in the body text
Once you send your marketing campaign, customers can click on the checkout link to purchase items on the spot

Deactivate Checkout Links

You can deactivate and delete a checkout link at any time. If you’ve previously shared the link with your customers, they will no longer be able to purchase the item via the link once you disable it.

To disable a checkout link:

Go to the Online Checkout home page
Select the Online Checkout item you want to deactivate or delete
Click Deactivate or Delete at the bottom of the item details page

Subscriptions with Checkout Links

Subscription checkout links can be used to accept weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual payments from multiple customers with a single checkout link.

Buyer Entered Payments

Additionally, you can set the price for your Square Checkout Links, you also have the option to allow your customers to set the price at checkout. This setting is accessible from both the Square Dashboard and Square Point of Sale app.