App subscriptions (between a developer and a Square seller) are billed in the same manner as subscriptions between a Square seller and buyer.
When creating your app subscription plans, you choose whether your product's subscription is free, in which case no payment is required from the seller, or billed at a monthly or annual cadence. You can optionally set a custom-length free trial period for monthly or annual subscriptions. Free trials only apply to paid plans and can only be applied once for a given seller.
If a plan has a free trial, a payment method is required when signing up. The seller is billed at the expiration of the free trial period and every 30 (monthly) or 365 (yearly) days until the subscription is canceled. For plans with no free trial, the seller is billed immediately when the subscription starts.
When a seller has an active paid subscription and chooses to change or upgrade to a different subscription, the seller is refunded a prorated amount for the remaining days of the current billing period and immediately billed for the first period of their new subscription. For example:
- A seller on a yearly subscription that upgrades to another subscription tier (billed yearly) is refunded based on the remaining days for the current billing period: (yearly base price / 365) × (days remaining in the billing period). The seller is immediately charged the new yearly subscription price and every 365 days from the date of the upgrade.
- A seller starting on a monthly subscription is refunded based on the remaining days for their current billing period: (monthly base price / 30) × (days remaining in the billing period).
If a plan is changed during a free trial, the free trial immediately expires and the seller is billed based on the price and cadence set in the new plan.
Sellers can cancel their subscription through the App Subscriptions UI, or you can cancel subscriptions programmatically with the Subscriptions API. Free plans and subscriptions currently in a free trial period are canceled within 24 hours and no payment is collected. For paid subscriptions that are currently active, the subscription is canceled at the end of the current billing period and the seller is no longer billed.
Square doesn't automatically cancel a subscription when a payment fails. If Square is unable to process a payment, the seller receives an invoice with a link to pay their bill online or update their payment information. You also receive an email notifying you of the failed payment. At any time, subscribers can change their payment methods with the App Subscriptions UI in the same way they make changes to their plans. You can use the Square Dashboard to review transactions and identify past due invoices.
In the case of a chargeback, see Square’s policy about how chargebacks are managed.
In certain cases, account changes can result in a subscription being deactivated. If a seller chooses to no longer be a Square customer, you should reach out to them directly to provide a new subscription method to your app.
To refund a subscription payment, go to the Subscribers page of the Developer Console and find the customer you want to refund.
- Select the customer.
- Select the visit the Square Dashboard link in the Invoices and refunds section to see all invoices for that customer.
- Select the invoice you want to refund.
- In the left pane, choose the More button.
- Choose Issue refund.
- Choose whether to refund the full subscription charge or a custom amount.
- Choose a reason for the refund and then choose Issue Refund.
Issuing refunds doesn't impact the status of the subscription. It continues to bill as specified by the plan's cadence until the subscription is canceled.
The Reports page of the Square Dashboard allows you to see an overview of subscription sales for your app. This page is also useful to see money collected for taxes and money withheld for processing fees and for exporting your sales data.
Taxes on subscription payments are assessed by Square and passed on to you. You can view a report on the taxes collected in the Square Dashboard.
You can view the fees collected by Square on invoice and sales summary emails from Square, as well as on the Reports page in the Square Dashboard.
Square assesses a payment processing fee for subscription payments. Credit card payments incur a 2.9% + $.30 fee per transaction. ACH bank transfer payments are charged at 1% with a minimum fee of $1 per transaction.
Sellers subscribing to your app through App Subscriptions are subject to a 20% revenue share fee as part of the App Marketplace terms and conditions. You aren't charged any revenue share fee for the first year after launching App Subscriptions in your app, after which a 20% revenue share fee is automatically applied on subscription payments.
Subscription charges for your app are available in your Square Balance. To transfer to your external bank account, you first want to link your bank account to Square. You can then set up automatic transfers, which typically arrive in your bank the next business day. Instant transfers are also available for a fee.
The Balance page of the Square Dashboard allows you to view your current Square balance and initiate transfers or manage automatic transfers to your external bank account. You can also link and manage access to your external bank account from this page.