Your website already has a backend

Most Minneapolis businesses already use Square. It handles payments, inventory, appointments, gift cards, and loyalty. That's not just a payment processor — it's a full backend with an API.

The problem: most websites ignore it. They bolt on a separate checkout, a separate booking tool, a separate inventory system. Now you're managing two of everything. Prices drift. Inventory doesn't match. Gift cards only work in-store.

Your website should connect to your POS, not replace it. North Blue Digital builds sites that pull directly from Square — one source of truth, no double entry, no sync issues.

What changes by tier

Square integration scales with your business. Each tier adds deeper connections to what you already have:

Starter — $225/month

Payment links and booking buttons. Your site links directly to Square Checkout or Square Appointments. Customers pay or book without leaving your brand — no third-party redirect pages.

Growth — $450/month

Menu sync, inventory badges, and hours pulled from your POS. Your website reflects what's actually available right now — items marked sold out in Square disappear from the site automatically. Store hours update in one place.

Sell — $750/month

Branded checkout, gift card sales, booking widget, and subscriptions. Customers complete the entire purchase on your site. Gift cards work online and in-store. Recurring orders and memberships run through Square Subscriptions.

Partner — $1,500+/month

Loyalty display, customer portal, and multi-location support. Your loyalty program shows up on the website — not just at the register. Customers check points, redeem rewards, and manage their account online. Multi-location businesses get location-aware inventory and booking.

The restaurant math

DoorDash and UberEats take 15-30% commission on every order. That's the cost of using someone else's checkout on someone else's platform.

• $10,000/month in delivery orders = $1,500-3,000 in commissions to third-party platforms
• Direct orders through your site routed to Square POS = $0 commission. You pay Square's standard processing rate, which you're already paying.
• The Sell tier at $750/month pays for itself 2-4x over compared to delivery platform commissions

This isn't theoretical. If even a fraction of your delivery orders shift to direct online ordering, the site covers its own cost and then some. The math works because the commissions you're avoiding are dramatically larger than the cost of a properly connected website.

What your site can do with Square

These aren't hypothetical features. They're direct integrations with APIs you already have access to:

• Inventory-aware pages — an item sold in-store disappears from your site. No manual updates, no "sorry, we're actually out of that" emails.
• Gift card sales 24/7 — customers buy gift cards online at 2am. They work at the register the next morning. One system.
• Loyalty on the website — your loyalty program isn't trapped behind the counter. Customers see their points, earn rewards on online purchases, and redeem from anywhere.
• Book + pay deposit in one flow — no "book here, then call to pay." One interaction, one confirmation, straight into your Square calendar.

You already pay for this

Square's API access is free. There are no additional platform fees, no per-transaction surcharges, no API call limits that matter at small business scale. If you have a Square account, you have API access.

You're already paying Square's processing fees on every card swipe. Online orders through your site use the same processing. There's no new payment provider, no new merchant account, no new fee structure.

North Blue Digital connects what you already have. The integration cost is the website itself — not a new platform, not a new subscription, not a percentage of your sales.

Common questions

Do I need to switch from Square?

No. The entire point is that you keep using Square exactly as you do now. Your website connects to it — nothing changes about your in-store workflow, your reports, or your hardware.

What Square plan do I need?

The free plan works for most integrations — payment links, inventory sync, gift cards, and online ordering. For full booking control, Square Appointments Plus ($49/month) unlocks custom availability and multi-staff calendars. Loyalty runs about $45/month through Square. These are Square's costs, not ours.

Can my in-store and online inventory sync?

Yes, automatically. When an item sells in-store, it updates on your site. When it sells online, it updates in Square. One inventory count, two sales channels, zero manual reconciliation.

What about Shopify?

Different tool for different needs. Square is built for POS-first businesses — restaurants, salons, retail shops, service providers who see customers in person and want a website that extends that. Shopify is built for e-commerce-first businesses that may add physical retail later. If your register runs Square, your website should talk to Square.