--- title: Connecting Square and pairing your Square Terminal slug: connecting-square-and-pairing-a-terminal category: Payments & Billing url: https://alaga.io/help/article/connecting-square-and-pairing-a-terminal audiences: business_owner updated: 2026-10-20 source: Alaga Help Center --- # Connecting Square and pairing your Square Terminal Sidebar: **Business Settings → Payment Settings**, on the **Payment Settings** tab. Use this if you already take cards with Square and want to keep doing that. You do not need to set up Alaga Payments as well; Square is enough on its own. ## What you need - **A Square account** that you can sign in to. - **A Square Terminal.** That's the handheld Square device with its own screen and a built-in receipt printer. A Square Reader (the small square you plug into or pair with a phone) or a Square Stand can't take payments from Alaga. - **The Terminal on Wi-Fi or Ethernet.** - **About five minutes.** You will need the Terminal in your hand for the last step. You must be the business owner to connect Square. ## 1. Connect your Square account 1. Go to **Business Settings → Payment Settings** and open the **Payment Settings** tab. 2. Open **Already have a card processor?** and choose **Square**. 3. Click **Connect with Square**. 4. Square opens. Sign in with your Square login and approve Alaga. 5. You come straight back to Alaga, and it says **Square is connected**. Alaga only gets permission to take payments on your Square Terminal and to issue refunds. It never sees your Square password. Once you are connected, the Square card shows which Square business and location you are connected to. **You do not need any codes or tokens from the Square Dashboard.** Signing in with Square is the whole setup. If you have codes from Square's website, ignore them here. ## 2. Pair your Terminal Right after you connect, a **Pair your Square Terminal** window opens with a pairing code ready. 1. If your Square account has more than one location, pick the location this Terminal is at, then click **Get pairing code**. 2. On the Terminal, if it is signed in, open **Settings** and **sign out**. 3. On the Terminal's sign-in screen, tap **Use a device code**. 4. Type in the code Alaga is showing. 5. Wait a few seconds. Alaga says **Your Terminal is paired**. The code lasts **5 minutes**. If it runs out, click **Get a new code** and enter the new one. If you aren't near the Terminal, click **I'll do this later**. When you are ready, go back to the Square card on Payment Settings and click **Pair a Terminal**. Have more than one Terminal? Pair each one the same way. Give each a clear name, like "Front desk," because staff pick the Terminal by name at checkout. **While a Terminal is paired to Alaga, it takes the payments Alaga sends it.** To use it on its own with Square's app again, sign out of it on the Terminal and sign in with your Square login. ## 3. Take a payment 1. Check out as normal and press **Pay**. 2. Choose **Card**. 3. On **Add a Tip**, choose which staff member gets the tip. 4. Pick the Terminal. 5. The customer taps, inserts or swipes their card on the Terminal. 6. Alaga shows **Payment Successful!** when Square approves it. The customer adds their **tip on the Terminal**, not on your screen. If the customer hands over a cash tip as well, record it on the **Add a Tip** step. Alaga records the payment for you. That includes the amount, the tip and the Square payment, and the invoice or appointment is marked paid. If the screen is closed early or the internet drops, Alaga still picks up the finished payment from Square within a few minutes. **Do not charge the card a second time.** Need to stop a payment that's waiting on the Terminal? Click **Cancel Payment**. ## Refunds 1. Go to **Reports → Payments & Transactions**. 2. Find the payment and click **Refund**. 3. Choose **Card (refund to the card via Square)**, enter the amount and click **Refund on Square**. The money goes back to the customer's card, usually within a few business days. You can refund all of it or part of it, but never more than what is left on that payment. ## Payouts and fees Square still handles your money, just like before. Square sends payouts to your bank and takes its processing fees. Check payouts and fees in your **Square Dashboard**, not in Alaga. Alaga's reports show what the customer paid. ## Disconnecting On the Square card, open **Advanced** and click **Disconnect Square**. Alaga stops taking payments through Square and your paired Terminals are removed. Past payments stay in your records. You can reconnect any time. If Alaga ever shows **Square needs to be reconnected**, Square has stopped accepting the connection. This can happen if someone removed Alaga from the Square Dashboard. Click **Reconnect** and sign in again. ## If something is not working - **"Use a device code" isn't on the Terminal.** The Terminal is still signed in. Sign out from the Terminal's **Settings** first. - **The code didn't work.** It may have expired. Click **Get a new code**. Also make sure you are typing the code from Alaga, not one from the Square Dashboard. - **Alaga is stuck on "Waiting for your Terminal."** Check the Terminal is on Wi-Fi or Ethernet. - **You have a Square Reader, not a Terminal.** Readers can't take payments from Alaga. Leave Square disconnected and keep charging on Square's own app. At checkout in Alaga, record those payments as **Card (terminal)** so your reports stay right. Or contact us to talk through options. - **The Card button is missing at checkout.** Square isn't fully set up. Check that Payment Settings says Square is connected and shows a paired Terminal. - **"No active location."** Add a location in your Square Dashboard, then come back and click **Pair a Terminal**. Still stuck? Contact support with your business name and what the screen says. A screenshot helps.