Set up Square for Restaurants
Before you begin
Make sure you have an active Square for Restaurants subscription. If you don’t have an active Square for Restaurants subscription, sign up for Square for Restaurants.
The steps in this guide are the basic setup instructions for Square for Restaurants. If you already completed one of the steps, you can skip to the next one. If you already completed the setup, you can skip to the Next Steps section to learn more about how to optimize your Square for Restaurants setup. You can also complete all of these steps in your Square Dashboard with the Square for Restaurants setup guide.
Step 1: Create a menu
With Square for Restaurants, a menu is a specific set of display groups and items that will appear on your POS for a certain period of the day or a certain shift. Your menus should correspond with the physical menus in your restaurant. If you have multiple menus you use throughout the day, you should have multiple menus in your Square for Restaurants account.
You have three options for item creation with Square for Restaurants:
From your menu editor in Square Dashboard
From the Square Restaurants POS app on an iPad
From Square Restaurants POS on Square Register or Square Terminal
Learn how to create a menu.
Step 2: Select your point of sale hardware
If you already selected and received Square hardware, you can skip to the next step.
If you haven’t selected any Square hardware yet, you can purchase individual hardware and accessories or select a complete POS kit from Square Shop.
Step 3: Link your bank account
Select a transfer schedule and link your bank account to begin receiving funds from your sales. You need your bank account and routing numbers for this step. Learn how to link your bank account.
Step 4: Set up your point of sale
Once you receive your Square hardware, you can set up your point of sale with Square for Restaurants. You need access to your Square Dashboard to select your point of sale and create your device code. Learn how to set up your point of sale with Square for Restaurants.
Next steps
Once you complete the initial setup for Square for Restaurants, you can explore other Square for Restaurants features to help run and optimize your business from one of these Support Centre articles:
Close a check and take a payment with Square for Restaurants
Connect hardware and accessories with Square for Restaurants
Customize close of day procedures with Square for Restaurants