Retail
Square's retail tools ring up bottles by barcode, prompt staff to check age on restricted items and flag what's running low before you order from your distributors. Payaroo walks you through the setup.
Square, made easier with Payaroo.
What your wine and liquor store needs
A wine and liquor store carries a separate SKU for every producer, vintage and bottle size. Most of them arrive with a barcode already printed. Friday evening brings a line out the door, a stack of IDs to check and someone asking if there's another 1.75-liter bottle of their usual in the back.
Square's Retail mode is built for that: scan each bottle into the sale, get an age prompt on restricted items, track stock bottle by bottle and reorder from what the counts say instead of from memory.
Everyone stops in after work at once, and looking bottles up by name slows every sale.
How Square helps Scan barcodes at Square Register with a USB scanner, and open a second line with Square Handheld, which has a scanner built in.
A busy clerk can forget to check ID when the line is ten deep.
How Square helps Mark items as age-restricted and checkout prompts staff to confirm age. On a paid plan, they can also enter a date of birth or scan a driver's license barcode.
Reorders go out when someone notices a gap on the shelf, and deliveries rarely match the order exactly.
How Square helps Low-stock alerts flag bottles under your threshold. On a paid plan, email purchase orders to vendors and receive each delivery in full or in part as the cases come in.
Customers want to order ahead, but what you can deliver or ship depends on your state and your license.
How Square helps A Square website with in-store or curbside pickup, with local delivery and shipping switched on only where your state and local rules allow.
Recommended setup
The Square tools that matter most for a wine and liquor store — and why each one earns its place.
Retail mode is where age prompts, barcode checkout and vendor orders live, with stock tracked for every bottle at each location.
Bottles usually arrive barcoded, so a scanner at the counter rings them up without anyone searching the item list.
A prompt on every age-restricted item. Entering a date of birth or scanning an ID needs a paid plan.
Keep distributor contacts and unit costs on file, email orders and receive cases against them when the truck arrives.
A second checkout for the Friday line and a scanner for counting the aisles on a quiet Tuesday.
Take orders for in-store pickup, and add delivery or shipping only where your license and state law allow it.
Points for weekly regulars, earned by spend or on the bottles you want to move.
How Payaroo helps
Tell us how your business works. We'll help you understand the Square tools that fit.
Core capabilities
Connect a USB or Bluetooth scanner and each scan drops the bottle into the sale. Square Handheld has a scanner built in, and Android devices can scan barcodes with their camera.
Set an age limit on an item, such as 21 and over, and checkout prompts staff to confirm age. On a paid plan they can instead enter a date of birth or scan a US or Canadian driver's license or state ID with a 2D scanner or an iPhone or iPad camera.
Keep vendor records with contacts, vendor codes and unit costs, email a purchase order and receive the delivery in full or in part so counts stay right when a case is short. You'll need a paid Square plan for purchase orders.
Set a low-stock threshold for each bottle at each location, and anything under it gets flagged and emailed after close. The alert is your cue to build the next order to your distributor.
Your Square website can take orders for in-store or curbside pickup. It also supports local delivery and shipping, but alcohol rules vary by state and town, so confirm what your license allows before you turn them on.
Enter what each bottle costs you and cost of goods reports show profit and margin, while aging inventory flags the bottles that have sat too long. Expect to need Square Plus or Premium for these reports.
Hardware options
You don't need every device. Start with what matches where you take payments — and add more later.
A countertop point of sale with two touchscreens: one for your team and one that faces the customer.
Two screens at the counter, with a USB scanner, receipt printer and cash drawer connected for the evening rush.
USB and Bluetooth scanners for ringing up items by barcode (Square Handheld has one built in).
A 2D scanner rings up bottles and, on a paid plan, can read the barcode on a driver's license for age checks.
A pocket-sized point of sale with a built-in barcode scanner and camera.
Scans bottles and takes tap and chip payments anywhere in the aisles, then turns into a counting tool after close.
Compatible cash drawers that open automatically through a receipt printer or USB.
For cash sales, a compatible drawer opens through the receipt printer or by USB, depending on the drawer and the device.
Software and tools
Barcode checkout, age-restricted items, vendors and stock for every bottle.
Online orders for pickup, with delivery or shipping only where your license allows.
Purchase history and notes on what each regular likes to drink.
Points and rewards for the weekly regulars.
Tasting and new-arrival emails, plus opt-in text campaigns.
How it works
One realistic day at a wine and liquor store, with the setup above doing the work.
Setup finder
Answer a few quick questions about your wine and liquor store. We'll stop as soon as we can point you to a useful starting setup.
Tell Buckaroo how your business works and he'll help you figure out which Square tools make sense.
FAQs
A common counter is Square Register with a USB barcode scanner, a receipt printer and a cash drawer. Choose a 2D scanner if you want to scan licenses for age checks, which needs a paid plan. Square Handheld adds a second checkout and stock counts, and Square Stand works if you'd rather run the counter on an iPad.
Yes, in Retail mode. You mark items as age-restricted, such as 21 and over, and checkout prompts staff to confirm the customer's age. On a paid plan, staff can also enter a date of birth or scan the barcode on a US or Canadian driver's license or state ID. The prompt supports your store's carding policy rather than replacing it, and your state's rules still apply.
Square Websites supports in-store and curbside pickup, local delivery and shipping. Whether you can deliver or ship alcohol depends on your state and local laws and on your license. Payaroo can't give legal advice, so check with your state's alcohol regulator or an attorney first. In-store pickup is a straightforward place to start.
Square's inventory help describes low-stock alerts rather than automatic orders. You set a threshold for each bottle at each location, and anything under it is flagged and emailed after close. On a paid plan, you turn that list into a purchase order to your distributor and receive the delivery against it.
A liquor store can open on Square Free, which has no monthly subscription; you pay the processing fees Square sets. The features that usually push a bottle shop to Square Plus or Premium are date-of-birth entry and ID scanning, purchase orders, cost and margin reports, loyalty and marketing. Check Square's pricing page for current plans, and we'll help you weigh which of those your store would actually use.
Tell us roughly how many products you carry and whether you want online pickup. Approval is Square's call: it reviews each application and confirms your identity and business first, and Payaroo can't speed that up or promise a yes. Once you're approved, we help with setup, like importing your catalog with barcodes and marking the right items as age-restricted.
Related businesses
Tell us how your store runs, from the counter to the stockroom, and we'll help you map out a Square setup that fits it.
Square reviews and approves every account. Call Payaroo at 972-431-0439.
Square is a product of Block, Inc. Square, the Square logo and related marks are trademarks of Block, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. Payaroo is an independent company. Payaroo is not Square or Block, and nothing on this page describes a partnership, reseller relationship, certification or endorsement.
Square product details on this page were checked against Square's website on September 25, 2026. Square sets its own features, plans, pricing, fees, eligibility and hardware availability, and these can change. Confirm current details on Square's website before you sign up. Square pricing · Square fees
Square reviews every account application, including identity and business verification, and decides whether to approve it. Payaroo can't guarantee approval, pricing, processing terms or the availability of any feature.
Products and services displayed by Payaroo may be provided by independent third-party companies. Product availability, pricing, features, eligibility, underwriting requirements, funding amounts, insurance benefits, payment-processing terms, and other conditions vary by provider and customer. Payaroo is not a bank, lender, insurer, or healthcare provider unless expressly stated otherwise. Review the applicable provider agreements and disclosures before enrolling in or accepting any product or service. See our Disclosures, Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Clear this conversation and start over?
Buckaroo is an AI assistant — confirm important details with Payaroo or the provider. Please don't share card or Social Security numbers here. AI disclosure
