How to Send a Square Invoice in 9 Steps
Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows. She is Fit Small Business’s authority on retail and ecommerce.
Anna’s experience in business and finance led her to work for a US risk mitigation company in Singapore. She has contributed to POS and payments topics in the Retail section across Fit Small Business.
This article is part of a larger series on Payments.
Invoicing is one of the many ways to get paid using Square, which has a helpful invoice generator—you just need to fill in the prompted information. Sending an invoice is free and allows your customer to pay immediately. This article will walk you through how to use Square’s invoicing app, an especially great feature for any business that invoices clients or vendors.
If you don’t have a Square account, you can create one for free. The sign-up process takes just a few minutes, requiring no application or approval process.
Step 1: Log in at Squareup.com
First, go to Squareup.com and log in to your Square dashboard. Click “Sign In” at the top right of the page, enter your username and password, and hit “Sign In.”
Step 2: Go to the “Invoices” Page
Once you’re logged in, head to your main dashboard page. There are two ways to access the “Invoices” tab. You’ll find an “Invoice” option if you scroll down the left menu panel, which takes you to the Invoice dashboard. There’s also a “Send an Invoice” button on the upper right hand section of the main dashboard.
Square Main Dashboard
Click on the Invoice option from the left menu panel and then click on the “Send an Invoice” option
Square Invoices Dashboard
Click on the “Send an Invoice” shortcut at the upper right hand section of the main dashboard
Step 3: Add Customer Information
Add your customer’s information by typing in the name. The system will then show you a list of customers on record from a dropdown box to choose from. If you’re sending an invoice to a new customer, choose the “Create new customer” option from the dropdown.
The new invoice page starts off with a customer information field that gives you access to your customer database.
Fill in your new customer’s information in the popup window. It will ask for an email address and phone number, which you will need in order to send the invoice.
Step 4: Fill in the Invoice Details
Once the customer information is added, you can proceed with entering your invoice details. You can input a unique name for this invoice and include a custom message for your customer. The date of service refers to when the product/service order is fulfilled. An invoice ID number is automatically generated, but you can always customize this.
Invoice Details Section
Under the “Frequency” section you get an option between “One-time” and “Recurring” frequencies. Choosing the latter will prompt you to provide more sending details.
Set “One-time” as frequency for single invoice transactions. This will let you set when the invoice will be sent and when it is due. The calendar enables you to schedule based on a number of days from the day the invoice is sent or specify a custom date.
Set “Recurring” as frequency for recurring invoice transactions. This will change the sending details settings to give you an option to specify the start date via a calendar similar to the single invoice option. The “Repeat every” field lets you indicate the interval between invoices, expressed in number and week, month, or year.
The “End date” field provides you with three different options:
- If you choose “On date,” the system will ask you for a specific date.
- If you choose “After,” the system will prompt you to specify the number of invoices you are to send for this subscription.
- If you choose “Never,” the system will continue to send the invoice until you manually cancel the subscription.
Square will then prompt you to set when invoices are due. Finally, click on the box if you want to provide your customer an option to enroll for automatic payments through the invoice.
Step 5: Add Items to the Invoice
This section is the same for both single and recurring invoices. You can add multiple products or services and specify the quantity. If the product or service is not yet listed in your library, you can create a new product and customize it right on the invoice page. If you make a mistake, the “x” at the end of each row will remove the line item.
Once you have listed all the products, you can proceed with adding line adjustments. Square’s invoice lets you add multiple discounts and charges in a single transaction. As with the products/services, you can also enter new ones as you go.
Choose a discount type from the dropdown or create a new discount. This will prompt you to specify the dollar amount or percentage for the new option. Once you click “Add,” the discount will be added to your invoice. The new discount type will be available in the dropdown for future invoices.
Similar to discounts, you can add multiple add-on charges from a dropdown and create a new add-on charge type if needed.
Step 6: Add Payment Methods
When adding a payment method, Square Invoices lets you choose credit card data from your file (for existing customers) or add new credit card details for new customers.
- If you are creating an invoice for an existing customer with their card information available in the dropdown, make sure to check the credit card authorization form you have on file.
- For new customers, you need to download a copy of a blank credit card authorization form and ask the customer to sign it before proceeding with the transaction. This should be then securely stored in your customer profile.
You can specify the payment method options that you want available in the invoice. You also have the option to allow customers to add tips and request to have their card information stored for future automatic settlement of transactions.
Step 7: Update Your Invoice Delivery Settings
The next step is to update your invoice delivery settings, which lets you specify how you want the invoice delivered to your customers. It also gives you the ability to add, update, and customize invoice reminders.
Three options are available for sending invoices:
- Send your customer invoice via email along with an option to add more recipients upon the request of customers.
- Send your customer invoice via text messaging wherein your invoice link will be sent to your customer’s registered phone number.
- A manual invoice delivery setting gives you the option to send invoices via email, share the link created for the invoice, or both.
Finally, choose to add any extras like attachments and custom fields. This is ideal for adding contracts, estimates, order specs, and other documents related to the customer’s purchase.
Step 8: Review & Send/Schedule
Once you’ve filled everything out, review the invoice by clicking “Preview” at the top and make sure your information is correct. You can hit the “Save as Draft” button at any time and return to it later, or proceed with sending the invoice.
Click on the “Preview” button to see how the invoice looks from the client’s point of view.
Click on the “Schedule” button to send out recurring invoices.
Click on the “Create” button to either send the invoice via email or copy the link generated for the invoice, which can be shared via text messaging or on other platforms.
Once you have sent out or scheduled an invoice, this will be listed and viewed on your invoice dashboard. You can view and track the status and trigger reminders or make quick edits to the invoice from this page.
Step 9: (Optional) Send a Square Invoice From Your Mobile Device
If your business takes you on the go a lot, you may want to send an invoice through your mobile device. You can follow the same steps above to send a Square invoice through its mobile POS app.
Scroll through the images below to see how:
To get started, download the Square mobile POS app on your mobile device and sign in to your account. Once you’re logged in, click “Invoices” in the dropdown menu on the left. Here you’ll see a prompt to create your first invoice—click “Create Invoice.”
Next, fill out the information in the template to create your invoice. Just like invoicing through your Dashboard, you can manually enter an item name and amount or choose from your inventory library—though you won’t have the option to add a discount on the mobile app.
You can also customize the payment schedule, choose accepted payment methods, and make the invoice recurring. After you’ve filled out the invoice information, click “Continue” to select communication preferences.
You can send the invoice via email or manually by sharing a URL link. You can also set up payment reminders here. Next, click “Create Invoice;” if you’ve chosen to share a URL, a screen will pop up; copy the link to share with your customer. Emailed invoices are sent automatically.
Bottom Line
That’s all there is to it. Square’s invoice fee is 2.9% + 30 cents, which is charged to your account once your customer pays the invoice using their credit or debit card. If they pay by ACH, there is a 1% fee. Card-on-file payments come with a slightly higher fee of 3.5% + 15 cents. There’s no cost to manually send an invoice to a customer—and they are never charged no matter how they pay.
You May Also Like…
- Learn how to use Square’s credit card processing tools and read our full Square Payments review
- Read about merchant accounts and how they benefit your business
