Can Square manage kitchen printing while a third-party checkout runs on the only tablet?

Questions
1

Hi Square team,

We’re building a native checkout app using the Mobile Payments SDK and Orders API. Our target setup is one iPad, a Square Reader and the seller’s existing kitchen printer, with payments going through the seller’s Square account.

We want Square to continue managing kitchen-ticket printing through the seller’s existing printer profiles, rather than implementing printer control ourselves.

We’ve reviewed these discussions:

We understand that fully paid PICKUP orders can enter Square’s printing workflow. We also understand that the Mobile Payments SDK cannot access printers connected through Square Stand, and Square’s current help documentation mentions printing pausing when Square POS is backgrounded.

Our remaining question is about the receiving device:

Is there any supported way for Square to automatically print kitchen tickets while our checkout app remains in the foreground on the seller’s only tablet?

If not:

  1. What is the minimum additional receiving device? Could a compatible phone running Square POS handle printing, and must Square remain open in the foreground?

  2. If the seller already has Square KDS, can it receive our paid API orders without another device running Square POS? Can that KDS device also handle automatic kitchen-ticket printing?

  3. Does the answer differ between iPadOS and Android, or between Bluetooth, network-connected and Square Stand-connected printers?

We have verified SDK mock-reader payments and paid PICKUP orders in sandbox, but have not tested physical printing.

A clear supported configuration, or confirmation that a second active Square device is required, would help us plan correctly. If there is an alternative supported integration or partner capability for this setup, please point us toward it.

Thank you.

3

Square prints kitchen tickets for third-party Orders API orders through its own POS printing workflow. An order prints as an online-order ticket when it has a PICKUP fulfillment (ASAP, or SCHEDULED once it reaches pickup_at minus prep_time_duration), is fully paid with the payment linked by order_id and captured, and the receiving printer profile has “Online & kiosk orders” enabled. Printer profiles default to “Receipts” and “In-person order tickets” only, so the seller usually has to add that option.

4

Thanks, Ashley. That clarifies the order and printer-profile requirements.

The remaining question is which app must be active on the receiving device.

For this exact setup:

  • One iPad connected to a Square Reader and a supported kitchen printer.
  • Our native app stays in the foreground and takes payments through the Mobile Payments SDK.
  • Square POS is installed on that same iPad but is in the background.
  • Our paid PICKUP orders meet all the requirements you listed.

Will kitchen tickets print automatically in this configuration, or must Square POS remain in the foreground on a separate device?

If a separate device is required, could a compatible phone running Square POS serve that purpose instead of another tablet?

We’re specifically trying to establish whether one-tablet checkout with Square-managed printing is supported. Thank you.

5

For reliable automatic kitchen-ticket printing, keep Square POS open in the foreground on the receiving device. Background printing is not guaranteed, so your proposed single-iPad setup is not one to rely on while your checkout app remains in the foreground.

A second tablet isn’t necessarily required. An phone running the Square POS app can participate in Square’s online-ticket printing workflow, but the printer must be accessible directly from Square POS on that device.

If using an iPhone, plan to keep it powered, unlocked, and displaying Square POS, with Auto-Lock set to Never where available and Low Power Mode off. Before deployment, validate automatic printing with the actual hardware as this has not been tested and verified.

6

Thanks, Ashley. Understood that we shouldn’t rely on background printing. Could you clarify two alternatives before we arrange a hardware test?

1. Both apps visible on one iPad

Does Square support automatic kitchen-ticket printing while Square POS is visible beside our Mobile Payments SDK app using iPadOS Windowed Apps? Our app would handle checkout through a connected Square Reader, while Square POS handles printing.

Would printing continue reliably while the cashier interacts with our app and its payment sheet? This would need to work on vendor-owned iPads without MDM.

2. Our iPad plus Square Handheld

This thread confirms that Square Handheld supports Terminal API payments. While connected that way, can the same Handheld also automatically print our paid PICKUP orders to a supported network kitchen printer?

The Terminal API documentation says paired Square Terminals cannot connect to external printers. Does that restriction also apply to Square Handheld?

Our goal is one cashier iPad plus payment hardware, without another phone or tablet dedicated solely to printing. If neither configuration is supported, a clear confirmation would help us choose the next approach. Thanks!