The basic loop
book by book fills in book details that Square doesn't have room for, then creates or updates the items in your Square catalog. Almost everything starts with an order: a batch of books you're adding to Square, whether they're on your shelf now or still on the way.
- Add books to an order. Scan barcodes, type or paste ISBNs, search by title, or import a distributor invoice or spreadsheet. See Build Order and Import an order file.
- Review the order. Check prices, costs, vendors and categories. book by book splits the books into ones that are new to your Square catalog and ones you already carry. See Review an order.
- Update Square. book by book creates the new items, with title, author, description, cover image and categories, and adds the copies to your inventory. The order is then Processed and read-only.
Your data stays in Square. book by book doesn't replace your point of sale; it fills your Square catalog.
Finding your way around
The bar along the bottom of the app has five buttons:
| Button | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Your home screen: start orders, open reports, see recent orders and catalog stats. |
| Orders | Every order you've made. Search, reopen, copy or delete them. |
| Build Order | Add books to the order you're working on. Shown as Build on small screens. |
| Review | Check the current order and send it to Square. Greyed out until you have an order open. |
| Help | Opens a chat window that comes straight to us. |
When an order is open, a bar above these buttons reads Working on: and the order name, or Reviewing: once the order is processed. Click it to rename, copy or delete the order.
Your store name at the top of the screen opens Settings (owners and admins only). The menu under your name has Settings (or Connected agents for members), Docs and Logout. The Guides menu on the Dashboard links to these docs too.
Built-in walkthroughs
The Guides menu on the Dashboard replays the interactive walkthroughs:
- Dashboard guide: a tour of the Dashboard and the bottom bar.
- Walk through an order: adds books to a real order with you, step by step, through to Update Square.
- Settings guide: the settings most stores change first (owners and admins only).
What's new next to it lists recent changes to book by book.