How do you set reorder points in Square?

Square's version of a reorder point is the low stock alert. In Square Dashboard, go to Items & services, then Items, tick the items, choose Actions, then Update low stock alert, enter the threshold and click Update. Items whose stock falls below it get a yellow circle in the Stock column, and Square emails a low-stock alert after each location closes.

What do you need before setting low stock alerts?

You need items in your item library with inventory tracking turned on. Square's help says alerts can only be created from Square Dashboard, not the point of sale app, and that the person setting them needs general items permissions. The low stock alert article does not list a plan requirement.

To track stock on an item, open it from Items & services, then Items, then Item library, turn on Track stock under Inventory and enter the current count. For items with variations, such as sizes or colours, Square says to turn on Advanced Stock Tracking for each variation in the Variations section so each one keeps its own count.

How do you set a low stock alert?

For one location, Square's current help article gives these steps:

1. Sign in to Square Dashboard and go to Items & services, then Items.
2. Tick every item you want an alert for.
3. Click Actions at the bottom right, then Update low stock alert.
4. Enter the alert amount in the Update stock alert window.
5. Click Update.

With several locations, tick the items, click Edit items, then Update low stock alert. In the Bulk edit items window, click Attributes, tick Low stock alert, and enter an amount for each location in its Low stock alert column before clicking Update.

To change one item later, go to Items & services, then Inventory management, then Stock overview, click the (…) on the item's line and choose Edit low stock alert.

Is the alert set per item, per variation or per location?

Per variation, per location. Square's developer reference stores the alert threshold on each item variation, and notes that the variation-wide alert setting is deprecated because it was never global; thresholds are kept as per-location overrides. That matches the Dashboard, where the bulk editor has one alert column per location.

In practice, a T-shirt in three sizes sold at two stores can carry six different thresholds. Set them where the stock really sits: a busy store needs a higher number than a quiet one.

How do you see which items are running low?

In the item list, an item with an alert on and low stock shows a yellow circle in the Stock column. Square also sends low-stock alert emails 90 minutes after each location's closing time, one email per location, based on the business hours you have already set. Square says no settings change is needed to receive them.

Items without an alert never show as low, however few are left, so the list is only as complete as the thresholds you have entered.

How do you choose the threshold?

Square does not calculate it; the number is yours. A common rule is daily sales times the days you wait for stock, plus a few days of cushion. Here is an example with made-up data: Brightline Supply sells about 3 units a day of a ceramic mug from Ironwell Goods.

• Ironwell Goods takes about 8 days to deliver.
• Brightline wants 4 days of cushion for slow deliveries or a busy weekend.
• Threshold = 3 × (8 + 4) = 36 units.

Brightline enters 36. When the mug falls below that, it gets the yellow circle and appears in the evening email. If sales double to 6 a day, 36 is now too low until someone changes it. Our forecasting guide shows how to work out the daily rate from Square sales history.

How do you reorder the low items?

On Square for Retail Plus or Premium, or Square Plus or Premium with advanced inventory added, Square's purchase order article says you can start a purchase order from the Item Library or the sell-through view: select the items, open the actions menu and choose Create purchase order, or Choose existing PO to add them to an order you have started. Square also mentions daily stock alert emails as the cue to prepare a purchase order in time. See our Square purchase order guide for the full process.

Without those plans, place the order with your vendor directly and update stock when it arrives.

Can something work out the reorder quantities for you?

Yes. ReorderOwl reads your Square item library and item sales exports in ChatGPT, forecasts each item from its sales, and returns a workbook of what to order and how much. Claude setup is coming shortly. When you ask, it builds the purchase order for you to send to your vendor; it works from your exports, so nothing is written to Square and your alert thresholds are not changed. See ReorderOwl for Square.