Build your customer’s cart
About building your customer's cart
Begin the checkout process by building your customer's cart with items. Depending on your preferred workflow, you can build your customer's cart in multiple ways from the Square Point of Sale app — choose from keyword search, scrolling through your item categories, scanning an item barcode, or using your item grid.
Before you begin
You can build your customer's cart from the Square Point of Sale app on iOS and Android devices, Square Register, Square Terminal, and Square Handheld. You can also complete customer checkout from the Square Dashboard using Virtual Terminal.
To add an item to your customer's cart by scanning a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), you need a compatible barcode scanner connected or an iOS device with a camera connected to the Square Point of Sale app. If you use full service, quick service, or bar mode, orders are created from your floor plan or menu. Learn how to Set up your restaurants point of sale.
Add items to basket
These are the various ways you can add an item to your basket: tapping from item grid, adding from category navigation, scanning a barcode, or searching.
To search for an item:
- Open Retail POS app > Checkout.
- Tap the search bar.
- Type a keyword, UPC, or SKU number for the item you’re searching for.
- Next, tap the item you would like to add to the basket > Add to Basket.
Once you create item categories, you add categories as a quick tile on their own page at the checkout screen.
Once a GTIN is associated with an item, you can add the item to your customer’s basket by scanning the barcode with a compatible barcode scanner or your device’s camera.
Scan from the Square Dashboard
- Log in to your Square Dashboard and click Virtual Terminal.
- Click Take a payment > Itemised sale.
- Click the barcode scanner icon.
- Tap Charge.
Scan from Square Point of Sale:
- Open Square POS.
- Tap Checkout.
- Scan the barcode using a connected barcode scanner.
- Tap Done on the pop-up notification.
- Tap Checkout > Charge.
From the Square Retail POS app
- Open the Retail POS app.
- Tap Checkout.
- Tap the scan barcode icon.
- Scan the barcode using a connected barcode scanner or the camera on your device.
- Tap Done on the pop-up notification.
- Tap Checkout > Charge.
Configure items in your basket
When you add an item that has variations or modifiers — or tap an item already in your cart — the item details screen opens. From here, you can select variations, choose modifiers, adjust the quantity, add notes, and modify the price.
- Tap the item from your basket view.
- From the item details page, toggle on Item note. Add any additional information in the notes field.
- Tap Save > Save changes.
Notes will appear on your customer’s receipt and in your sales reports.
- Tap the item from your basket view.
- Adjust the quantity of the item using the -/+, or tap the number field.
- Tap Save Changes.
- Tap the item from your basket view.
- On the item details page, toggle on Price adjustment > enter new price > tap the checkmark.
- Enter the new price > Done.
- Once you’re all set, make sure to tap Save Changes.
If you want to return the item’s original price for the current transaction, toggle off Price adjustment > Save changes.
Remove items from your basket
If you accidentally add an item to your basket, you can remove it at any time before the sale is complete.
Save your customer’s basket for later
If your customer wants to look at more items before checking out, you can save the current cart to keep your line moving until they're ready to pay. When your customer returns, you can pick up right where you left off.
- If you have items added to your basket, tap Save Basket.
- Enter the basket name or swipe your customer’s card to add their name — you can also add an additional note to help you and your employees locate a saved basket. When you add a customer to the basket, the basket name will default to the customer’s name.
- Tap Create.
If you override the item price and then save a basket, the item will revert back to the default sale price. In order to charge your customer the adjusted price, you’ll need to manually update from the basket view before completing the transaction.
Once your customer is ready to check out, tap Saved Baskets to view your saved basket list. Saved Baskets can be customised as a checkout page or added as a tile to any created page. Baskets left open longer than 180 days will be removed from your account.
- Tap Saved baskets > Edit.
- Select multiple baskets > Merge.
- Select the basket to merge baskets into > Merge.
Merging multiple baskets means you’re choosing to transfer information from one basket to another. For example: If you have customers added to Basket A and Basket B, when you merge Basket A to Basket B, the name and information for Basket A will be overridden by Basket B — only the customer from Basket B will be included in the sale.