How to connect Square and WooCommerce

Square runs the till in the shop: the card reader, the point-of-sale app and the item library with stock counts. WooCommerce runs the online store on WordPress. Many small retailers use both, and sooner or later they need the two to talk to each other. This guide explains what can be connected, the three common ways to do it, and how to set each one up.

What "connecting Square and WooCommerce" means

There are three separate things people mean when they say they want Square and WooCommerce connected:

• Payments. Taking card payments on the website through Square, so in-store and online money lands in one Square account.
• Product data. Names, prices, descriptions, images and categories kept the same in both systems.
• Stock levels. One count for each product, so a sale at the counter lowers the online stock and an online order lowers the stock in Square.

The third one is what prevents overselling, and it is the part that causes most of the trouble. A tool can be good at one of these and weak at another, so it helps to decide which ones the shop actually needs before installing anything.

Three ways to connect

1. The official WooCommerce Square extension. Free, made by WooCommerce. Adds Square as a payment method and syncs products and stock in one direction at a time, from a chosen "system of record".
2. StockEven. Syncs stock levels only, in both directions, within seconds. Product names, prices and images are left alone. Free up to 50 products.
3. Both together. The official extension for payments, StockEven for stock. This is a common setup for shops that want Square payments online and a reliable two-way count.

Side by side

Before you start

Whichever option is used, the same groundwork saves hours later:

• Give every product a SKU, the same in both systems. SKUs are how products are matched. A product without a SKU, or with a SKU used twice, cannot be matched reliably.
• Track stock on both sides. In WooCommerce, tick Manage stock on each product, and on each variation for variable products. In Square, turn on stock tracking for the item variations.
• Know which Square location sells online. Square keeps stock per location. Online orders should take stock from one location, usually the shop that ships parcels.
• Count once. Before linking, decide which system has the true count today. If both are out of date, do a quick recount in Square first.
• Back up the WordPress site. Sync tools write to the product database. A backup makes any mistake reversible.

Option 1: the official WooCommerce Square extension

The extension is listed on WordPress.org as "WooCommerce Square" and is maintained by WooCommerce. Setup in short:

1. In WordPress, go to Plugins → Add New Plugin, search for WooCommerce Square, install and activate it.
2. Open the extension's settings under WooCommerce → Settings → Square and click Connect with Square. Sign in to Square and allow access.
3. Choose the Square business location the store should use.
4. Choose the sync setting. With WooCommerce as the system of record, product updates made in WooCommerce push to Square. With Square, product updates made in Square pull into WooCommerce.
5. Decide whether to turn on Sync inventory between WooCommerce and Square, and set the sync interval.
6. Turn on Square as a payment method in the WooCommerce payment settings.

This option fits shops that keep their catalog in one place and mainly need Square payments online. It is the default choice, used on over 80,000 sites according to WordPress.org.

Option 2: StockEven for two-way stock sync

StockEven is built for one job: the same stock number in Square and WooCommerce, all the time, whichever side the sale happens on.

1. Install the StockEven plugin and activate it. WooCommerce must be active.
2. Open WooCommerce → StockEven and click Connect Square. Square shows the access requested: items, inventory and orders.
3. Pick the Square location that holds the online stock.
4. StockEven matches products by SKU. Products with the same stock on both sides start syncing right away.
5. For products where the numbers differ, choose the correct side: Square or WooCommerce. Nothing changes until a choice is made.
6. Products that can't sync are listed with the reason and the fix, for example stock tracking switched off on a variation.

From then on, a sale, refund, delivery or recount on either side reaches the other side within seconds. If either side is unreachable, changes wait in a queue. An hourly check compares both sides and corrects any drift. Full setup details are in the docs.

Option 3: both together

Shops that want Square payments on the website and two-way stock can run both plugins. The only rule: stock must be synced by one tool, not two, or every change is applied twice.

1. Set up the official extension for payments as in option 1.
2. In its sync settings, turn off Sync inventory between WooCommerce and Square.
3. Set up StockEven as in option 2.

Product names and prices can then still be synced by the official extension if wanted, while stock is handled by StockEven.

Questions

Does Square integrate with WooCommerce?

Yes. Square does not build the WordPress side itself, but the official WooCommerce Square extension connects payments and products, and other plugins such as StockEven connect stock.

Is connecting Square and WooCommerce free?

The official extension is free; Square charges its usual card processing fees. StockEven is free for up to 50 synced products, with paid plans for larger catalogs.

Does it work in the UK, Canada and Australia?

Both tools work with Square accounts in the countries where Square offers inventory, including the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, Japan, France and Spain.

Do I need the same products in both systems first?

Products are matched by SKU, so the product must exist on both sides with the same SKU. The official extension can import a Square catalog into WooCommerce; see importing Square products.