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Encode a vendor on Square

BoothSettle builds one statement per vendor by reading how each booth is coded in Square. You only need one consistent convention. This guide lists the ones we support and which to pick.

How attribution works

For every sale line we try the conventions below in order and stop at the first one that resolves a vendor. So a custom attribute always wins over a category, a category over a SKU prefix, and so on. A line that none of them resolve becomes an Unassigned row you can fix by hand. Pick one convention and apply it consistently and attribution is automatic.

Convention	How to set it in Square	Example	Best for
Custom attribute	Add a catalog custom attribute (Retail Plus "vendor information") with the vendor code on each item.	`Item "Blue mug" -> vendor_information = B03`	Most robust
Category	Put each vendor’s items in their own Square reporting category, named with the vendor code.	`Category = B03 for every item of booth B03`	Simplest reliable option
SKU prefix	Prefix the SKU with the vendor code and a dash. We read everything before the first dash.	`SKU "B03-001" -> B03`	Good if you already use SKUs
Item per booth (name)	Name the item so it starts with "Booth" and the code, or use the whole item name as the vendor.	`Item "Booth B05" -> B05`	For a few fixed booths
Note	Type the vendor code in the sale’s note at checkout. Used as a fallback, and the only option for custom-amount sales.	`Note "B07" on a custom amount -> B07`	Fallback / custom amounts

Which one should I use?

Best: custom attribute

If you are on Square Retail Plus, a catalog custom attribute for the vendor is the most robust option: it lives on the item itself, is snapshotted when we ingest, and survives renaming an item or moving it between categories. Set the vendor code once per item and you are done.

Simplest reliable option: category

No Retail Plus? Give each vendor their own reporting category named with the vendor code. It is quick to set up in standard Square and easy to audit. Leave the category unset only if you genuinely have no vendor for an item ("None" counts as no category).

Already using SKUs: SKU prefix

If your SKUs already start with a code, just keep the CODE-rest shape. We take everything before the first dash as the vendor, so B03-001 and B03-air-plant both attribute to B03.

A handful of fixed booths: item per booth

For a small, stable set of booths you can create one item per booth named like Booth B05, or treat the whole item name as the vendor. Simple, but it does not scale to many SKUs per vendor.

Fallback: the note field

When nothing else applies, the cashier can type the vendor code in the sale note. This is the only way to attribute a custom-amount sale, which has no catalog item, category or SKU. It relies on people remembering, so use it as a safety net, not your main convention.

★Mixing conventions is fine: the cascade handles it. But picking one primary convention (custom attribute or category) and using the note only for custom amounts keeps your Unassigned list short.

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