How to Send a Square Invoice in 9 Steps
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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