A practical overview for restaurant managers and teams 

 

1) What the integration does  

The ResDiary × Square integration connects your bookings, tables, and payments in real time, so your team can manage service smoothly without double entry. 

At a glance, it: 

  • Seats bookings into Square: When you update a booking to Fully Seat in ResDiary, a corresponding Square check opens (or attaches) on the mapped table at your Square location. 
  • Shows live spend in ResDiary: As items are added in Square, the running spend automatically updates in ResDiary — near real-time visibility for hosts and managers. 
  • Tracks course progression (optional): If you use coursing in Square for Restaurants, ResDiary displays which course your guests are on (drinks, starters, mains, desserts). 
  • Syncs check closure: When you take payment or close the check in Square, ResDiary marks the booking Closed and shows the final total. 
  • Handles walk-ins: Creating a walk-in in ResDiary automatically opens a check in Square on the matching table. 
  • Maps deposits: Deposits taken in ResDiary are automatically applied to the related check in Square. 
  • Supports table moves (Square → ResDiary): If a check is moved to another table in Square, ResDiary automatically updates and moves the booking to the new table. (Note: this currently only works one way — from Square to ResDiary, not vice versa.) 
  • Match Booking Buffer Time: Allows ResDiary to automatically match early or late arrivals in Square to their booking. The buffer is configurable per diary (e.g. ±10 minutes). 
  • Unmapped areas: You can designate an area in the backend as unmapped, so it doesn’t sync with Square. 

Important: Square POS focuses on today’s service. Future bookings don’t appear in Square — use ResDiary to view and manage upcoming reservations. 

 

2) What it does not do 

  • Square won’t show future bookings (e.g. tomorrow or next week). 
  • Marketing data and customer lists remain in ResDiary or your CRM. 
  • It’s not designed to export customer or marketing information. 
  • Square will not display upcoming bookings – only tables that are seated will show in Square. 

 

3) Square plans & requirements 

Minimum plan: Square for Restaurants Plus. 
 (The integration won’t work with the Free plan.) 

Devices:  

  • iPad running the latest iOS and Square for Restaurants app (auto-updates recommended).  
  • Square handheld POS device 

4) How the sync works 

A. Before service (one-time setup) 

(Covered in your setup documentation in more detail) 

  1. Ensure you’re signed in to the correct Square Location on your iPad running Square for Restaurants. 
  2. In ResDiary → Settings → Integrations → Square, connect your Square account using secure login and choose your location. 
  3. Map your areas and tables: 
    1. Your areas in ResDiary must exactly match your sections in Square — same spelling and spacing. 
    2. Your table names or numbers must also exactly match across both platforms. Any typos, spaces, or differences will prevent syncing. 
  4. Turn on “Seated Status” in Square: 
    1. This must be enabled to ensure bookings and walk-ins map correctly when seated. 
    2. To enable: go to Settings → Restaurant Settings → Service Settings → Seated Status, and toggle it on for your venue. 
  5. Enable coursing (optional): 
    1. Enables ResDiary to display which course your customers are on. 
    2. To enable: go to Settings → Service Settings → Courses. 
    3. Course names must exactly match between Square and ResDiary (e.g. Starters, Mains, Desserts). 

 

B. During service 

  1. Seat a booking in ResDiary → the mapped table opens a check in Square (or attaches to an existing one). 
  2. Add items in Square → ResDiary shows live spend (and course status if coursing is enabled). 
  3. Process payments in Square → the spend automatically updates in the booking view in ResDiary. 
  4. Close the check in Square → ResDiary marks the booking as Closed and retains the final total. 
  5. Update timing: Changes appear between 10–30 seconds. If internet drops, updates resume once reconnected. 

 

5) Troubleshooting checklist 

Booking seated but no check in Square 

  • Confirm Seated Status is turned on in Square (Settings → Restaurant Settings → Service Settings → Seated Status). 
  • Check your integration is connected in ResDiary (Settings → Integrations → Square). 
    • If not connected: disconnect, reconnect, and toggle Seated Status back on in Square. 
  • Ensure the iPad is signed into the correct Square Location. 
  • Confirm areas and tables match exactly between systems. 
  • Verify you’re using Square for Restaurants Plus, not generic Square POS. 

Spend not updating in ResDiary 

  • Confirm the check is open and items are added to a mapped table in Square. 
  • Ensure your iPad is online and running the latest Square for Restaurants update. 
  • If updates have stopped completely, contact us — we can check your Square webhook status. 

Table move not reflected 

  • Confirm both tables are mapped in ResDiary. 
  • Remember: table moves only sync from Square to ResDiary, not the other way around. 

 

6) Getting set up (quick steps for managers) 

  1. In ResDiary → Settings → Integrations → Square, connect your Square account. 
  2. Choose your Square Location. 
  3. Map your ResDiary areas and tables to match Square exactly. 
  4. (Optional) Enable coursing in Square for Restaurants. 
  5. Run a quick 5-minute test: 
    1. Seat a test booking → check that the check appears in Square. 
    2. Add an item → confirm live spend appears in ResDiary. 
    3. Close the check → confirm ResDiary shows the Closed status and final total. 

7) Support 

If you need help, contact Customer Support Services (CSS) with: 

  • Your ResDiary venue ID  
  • A short description of the issue 
  • The time and table involved 
  • We’ll review your configuration, webhook status, and recent events to get you back up and running quickly.