Send Order-Ready Texts with Square for Restaurants

Text your customers when their order is ready with Square for Restaurants. You can capture a customer’s phone number at your Restaurants POS and text them when their meal is ready using the KDS.

If you text your customers about their order status, you can:

• Offer a relaxed dining experience because your customer will not miss their order

• Address customer’s time-sensitive questions about their orders

• Save on staffing costs without using pagers, running food to tables or printing an order number on a ticket

Note: if you use Square Loyalty the Loyalty Customer profile number will not save the phone number when your customer inputs a phone number for “Text when order is ready”. 

Before you get started

You will need:

• An active Square for Restaurants Plus subscription and a Square KDS expeditor device (Square KDS is included in the Square for Restaurants Plus subscription or as a standalone KDS subscription.)

• Check for app updates for the Square for Restaurants app on iPads and ensure your Square Register/Square Terminal software is fully up to date.

Enable KDS Settings

1. Sign in to your Square Dashboard and select Devices > Kitchen displays to ensure your KDS device is set as an Expeditor and not Prep. This feature is only supported in expeditor mode.

2. Next, select Order Settings > Select location and turn ON Automatically send order updates.

3. Click Save.

Enable POS Settings

1. Sign in from your Square Dashboard and select Devices > POS devices > Select device.

2. Scroll down to the Notify When Ready section and toggle ON Collect phone number upon tapping pay to always be prompted to collect a guest’s phone number after tapping pay.

3. Click Save.

Add “Notify when ready” tile to POS Item Grid

Create a function tile in the Restaurants app for more flexibility at checkout. To turn on the Notify Guest tile setting:

1. On your Restaurants POS, navigate to Menus > Edit POS Layout.

2. Create a new tile (+) and select Function > Notify when ready > Add.

3. Tap Save.

If you’re not seeing the new screen to collect a guest’s phone number or the Notify when ready function tile (if created), make sure your app/device is updated to the latest software version.

Note: Employees can access the Notify when ready tile on the POS even if they do not have permission enabled to add a customer to a sale (via Square Loyalty.)

Respond to Inquiries

Square Messages can help you create a single channel for all your communications with customers. You can send and reply to messages via text or email and respond to any feedback or replies to receipts. Learn more about getting started with Square Messages.

To access Square Messages from your Square for Restaurants POS app:

1. From the navigation bar, tap ≡ More.

2. Tap Messages to see any pending inquiries from customers. 

Note: Square Messages is only intended for sending one-to-one transactional texts to diners. Square Messages is not intended for text message marketing campaigns. Learn more about Square terms for more details.  

FAQ