Commerce Solutions Overview

Square commerce solutions allow sellers to process orders, manage catalogs, track inventory, book reservations, and customize Square Online. The Square Developer Platform provides APIs for you to integrate these features directly into your application.

The following APIs are available:

• Orders API - Adds functionality to payments, such as itemizing payments using custom line items or catalog objects, sending orders to point of sale (POS) devices, and attaching a customer to a payment.
• Order Custom Attributes API - Defines custom properties and associates them with individual Order objects.
• Catalog API - Lets you create and manage a catalog of products and services, including items, variations, categories, discounts, taxes, modifiers, and more.
• Inventory API - Manages inventory counts and inventory changes of products and services.
• Bookings API - Creates, gets, updates, and cancels appointments. When used with the Locations, Team, Catalog, and Customers APIs, the Bookings API lets you create online-booking applications for customers to book services with Square sellers.
• Booking Custom Attributes API - Stores properties or metadata (which can be added to the Booking objects to support custom business logic) that aren't available in the Square-defined Booking object.
• Vendors API - Allows applications to create, retrieve, and update vendors as suppliers to a seller.
• Square Online - Sellers use Square Online to build an online store where they can accept and manage orders, track inventory, and more. The following APIs integrate with Square Online:
  • Sites API - Retrieves basic information about Square Online sites, such as the site ID, title, and domain.
  • Snippets API - Injects code snippets into head elements on pages on Square Online sites to add custom functionality.
• Cash Drawer Shifts API - Tracks cash drawer shifts and cash drawer events on a shift, per location. Use this API to monitor and audit cash transactions for a business location.

In addition to in-house development, developers can create applications and offer them for a fee to Square sellers in the App Marketplace. For commerce-related solutions available on the App Marketplace, see eCommerce, Points of Sale, Delivery & Orders, Items & Inventory, and Invoicing & Services.

The following Square products allow sellers to sell online, in-app, and in-person:

• Square hardware - These products are the backbone of Square's in-store solutions and include:

  • Square Terminal - An all-in-one credit card terminal for orders, payments, and receipts.
  • Square Reader - A device that reads contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and chip cards.
  • Square Stand - An iPad stand with a built-in card reader for tap, dip, and swipe scans.
  • Square Register - A fully integrated POS register for any type of business.

• Square products - These products include general and industry-specific products that Square sellers use. Examples include:

  • Seller Dashboard - A dashboard on which sellers can manage their inventory, create customer promotions, book appointments, generate reports, and more.
  • Square Point of Sale - An application of customizable tools that supports a seller's business needs, such as payments, sales, locations, inventory, analytics, eCommerce, and CRMs.
  • Virtual Terminal - An application that turns a seller's computer into a credit card terminal.
  • Square Invoices - Enables sellers to request or automatically collect payments from customers. Sellers can send and manage invoices from the Seller Dashboard, Square Point of Sale, or Square Invoices application.
  • Square Online Store - An application that lets you create an eCommerce experience to accept and manage orders online, through social networks, and on a buyer's mobile device. The integration between Square Online and your Square POS lets you manage your catalog and inventory in one place and sell across all your eCommerce channels.
  • Square Online Checkout - An application that lets you customize a basic checkout page with desired payment format options, track payments, and fulfill orders including shipping and pickup.
  • Square Online Ordering - A restaurant ordering platform that lets your customers place and pay for orders from their mobile devices. Orders can be managed on your Square POS or your kitchen display system or printed in the kitchen.
  • Square Appointments - A POS application for service businesses that provides online appointment booking, in-person and invoice payments, catalog and inventory management, and shipping.
  • Square Subscriptions - An application that lets you create a customized billing model, checkout links for subscription signup, and subscription plan management.
  • Restaurants POS - A restaurant POS system that includes an in-store and mobile POS, kitchen display system, online ordering, and POS hardware.
  • Kitchen Display System - A hardware product that enables back-of-house staff to organize and fulfill orders placed anywhere from in house, to mobile, to online.
  • Square for Retail - An application that provides full POS services on any of your mobile devices. You can manage inventory, build customer relationships, sell in-store or online, and run all of your other business functions.