Earlier this month, the Square platform experienced an outage and stopped working for almost a whole day. This wasn’t because someone tried to hack it; it was an issue with their own systems. You don’t need to be an expert in what a DNS issue is- you just need to know the systems went down.
Tech problems happen to everyone, no matter who the tech provider is. Nobody’s perfect all the time, and that includes technology companies. Square is used by many small businesses, especially at places like farmers’ markets and craft fairs. So, when Square had its outage, it affected many people.
Now, let’s talk about what we can do as business owners who use Square. Should we freak out and give up? Of course not! We should put on our business hats and figure out how to deal with this kind of situation. What would you do if this happened to you?
I use Square for my artisan food business, and luckily, I wasn’t affected. But I understand that it was a big headache for those who were affected. However, some of them could have avoided the problem if they set up their systems the right way. This part is crucial, and it’s easy to overlook. So, it’s a good time to double-check your Square settings.
What should I check?
Offline Mode: Square has a cool feature called offline mode. Do you have it turned on? It lets you take payments even when Square’s own systems are offline. It also helps you manage connectivity on your end in case you are having trouble with your internet connection. You can take payments in offline model. If you get back online within 24 hours, those payments will go through. Businesses who had this feature enabled on their devices didn’t face the issue.
Update Your Hardware: If your hardware is too old to use offline mode, it might be time for an upgrade. No tech company can support ancient hardware forever. Square even offers a free magstripe reader if you need one as a backup. Note: much of their hardware already supports these settings, and they are expanding the hardware that supports offline mode. Only the older hardware might have a problem. Square support can help if you have questions about your hardware.
Check Your Email: Make sure the email address linked to your Square account is real and one you actually use. If you’re not getting their emails, you’re missing out on important updates.
Bookmark This Page: IsSquareUp (https://www.issquareup.com/) is where Square share their current systems status. This is super useful if you’re troubleshooting issues with your Square reader. It helps you see if Square’s side is causing the problem.
We hope Square won’t have another bad day like this, but let’s be real, technology can be fickle. So, let’s be smart and set up our Square systems right. It’s the best way to avoid headaches down the road.
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