Why Every Rate Should Be Connected to a Square Item

When using Square with Birrdi, every Birrdi rate should be connected to a Square item — even if the rate is $0.

Connecting rates to Square items keeps your Square transactions organized, improves reporting, and prevents reservation payments from unnecessarily appearing as Custom Amount transactions.

However, it is important to understand the difference between the Birrdi rate name and the Square item name.

Your Birrdi rate names should stay simple.

Your Square item names should contain the additional details needed to identify exactly what was purchased.

For standard reservations, the Birrdi rate name should generally be:

Public

or:

Member

Do not put the following into the Birrdi rate name:

For example, your Birrdi rate name should not be:

30 Min Public Peak

or:

1 Hour Member Off-Peak

Those are examples of Square item names, not Birrdi rate names.

The Birrdi rate itself should simply remain:

Public

or:

Member

The Square item is where you should identify the rate in more detail for reporting.

For standard Public and Member reservation rates, a recommended Square item naming format is:

Booking Interval + Public/Member + Peak/Off-Peak

For example:

This allows your Birrdi rate names to stay simple while still giving Square the detail needed to identify what was purchased.

The duration included in the Square item name should match the Booking Interval configured in Birrdi.

Birrdi Booking Intervals can be:

If your Booking Interval is 15 minutes, your Square items may include:

15 Min Public Peak

15 Min Public Off-Peak

15 Min Member Peak

15 Min Member Off-Peak

If your Booking Interval is 30 minutes, your Square items may include:

30 Min Public Peak

30 Min Public Off-Peak

30 Min Member Peak

30 Min Member Off-Peak

If your Booking Interval is 60 minutes, your Square items may include:

1 Hour Public Peak

1 Hour Public Off-Peak

1 Hour Member Peak

1 Hour Member Off-Peak

The Birrdi rate name itself should still simply be Public or Member.

Suppose your Birrdi rate is named:

Public

If your Booking Interval is 30 minutes, your Square items may include:

If your Booking Interval is 60 minutes, your Square items may include:

If your Booking Interval is 15 minutes, your Square items may include:

The Birrdi rate remains Public.

The Booking Interval and Peak/Off-Peak details belong in the Square item name.

The same structure applies to Member rates.

The Birrdi rate name should simply be:

Member

If your Booking Interval is 30 minutes, your Square items may include:

If your Booking Interval is 60 minutes, your Square items may include:

If your Booking Interval is 15 minutes, your Square items may include:

Again, the Birrdi rate itself remains Member.

Lessons follow a slightly different naming structure.

The Birrdi lesson rate name should identify the instructor, but it should not include the Booking Interval.

For example:

Lesson with John

Lesson with Sarah

The Square item should then include the Booking Interval.

A recommended lesson Square item naming format is:

Booking Interval + Lesson with + Instructor Name

For example:

If your Booking Interval is 30 minutes, you may have:

If your Booking Interval is 60 minutes, you may have:

Do not name the Birrdi lesson rate:

30 Min Lesson with John

The Birrdi rate should simply be:

Lesson with John

The Booking Interval belongs in the Square item name.

The day of the week should never be included in the Square item name.

Do not create Square items such as:

Monday 1 Hour Public Peak

Tuesday 30 Min Public Off-Peak

Saturday 30 Min Member Peak

Instead, use:

1 Hour Public Peak

30 Min Public Off-Peak

30 Min Member Peak

Birrdi's schedule already determines when the rate applies.

The Square item only needs to identify what was purchased.

The Birrdi rate name should also stay simple.

Do not name a Birrdi rate:

Monday Public

Weekend Public

Morning Public

Peak Public

nstead, keep the rate name:

Public

or:

Member

Your schedule, time blocks, and pricing configuration determine when that rate applies.

You do not need to create duplicate Square items every time the same pricing is used somewhere else in your schedule.

For example, suppose your Booking Interval is 30 minutes and:

30 Min Public Peak — $30

is used during several different Peak periods throughout the week.

All of those configurations can use the same:

30 Min Public Peak

Square item.

Likewise, if:

30 Min Member Off-Peak — $20

is used during several different Off-Peak periods, those configurations can all use the same:

30 Min Member Off-Peak

Square item.

A different day or time period does not require another Square item.

Use a different Square item when the item being sold or its price changes.

For standard reservation rates, this generally means using a different Square item when:

For example:

30 Min Public Peak

and:

1 Hour Public Peak

should be different Square items because the Booking Interval is different.

Likewise:

30 Min Public Peak

and:

30 Min Member Peak

should be different Square items because one is Public and the other is Member.

And:

30 Min Public Peak

and:

30 Min Public Off-Peak

should be different Square items because they represent different pricing periods.

If two otherwise similar configurations have different prices, they should use different Square items.

For example, if:

30 Min Public Peak — $30

is used in one configuration and:

30 Min Public Peak — $35

is used in another configuration, they should not use the same Square item.

The Square item should correspond to the price being charged.

For lessons, use a different Square item when:

For example:

30 Min Lesson with John

and:

1 Hour Lesson with John

should be different Square items because the Booking Interval is different.

Likewise:

30 Min Lesson with John

and:

30 Min Lesson with Sarah

should be different Square items because the instructor is different.

If the same 30 Min Lesson with John — $60 is available during several different lesson periods, those configurations can all reuse the same Square item.

Think of it this way:

Birrdi rate name = Simple rate name

Square item = Detailed reporting identifier

For standard reservations:

Birrdi: Public
​Square: 30 Min Public Peak

Birrdi: Public
​Square: 30 Min Public Off-Peak

Birrdi: Member
​Square: 30 Min Member Peak

Birrdi: Member
​Square: 30 Min Member Off-Peak

For lessons:

Birrdi: Lesson with John
​Square: 30 Min Lesson with John

Birrdi: Lesson with Sarah
​Square: 30 Min Lesson with Sarah

The duration shown in the Square item should match your Birrdi Booking Interval.

Add-ons do not need to include the Booking Interval in the Square item name.

Add-ons are separate products added to a reservation rather than reservation time itself.

For example:

If the Birrdi add-on is named:

Club Rental

the Square item can simply be:

Club Rental

There is no need to create:

15 Min Club Rental

30 Min Club Rental

or:

1 Hour Club Rental

unless the add-on itself is intentionally sold as a different product based on duration.

For standard add-ons, use the add-on name itself.

Rates that cost $0 should still be connected to a Square item.

For example, depending on your Booking Interval, a complimentary Public rate may connect to a Square item such as:

30 Min Public Complimentary — $0

or:

1 Hour Public Complimentary — $0

The Birrdi rate itself can still remain:

Public

Even though no revenue is being collected, connecting the rate to a Square item allows Square to identify what occurred.

This can make it easier to understand:

A rate should not be left disconnected simply because its price is $0.

If a Birrdi rate is not connected to a Square item, transactions created from that rate may appear in Square as a Custom Amount.

Instead of seeing:

30 Min Public Peak — $30

you may see:

Custom Amount — $30

The payment amount is still recorded, but Square has much less information about what the customer actually purchased.

If many rates are left disconnected, a large portion of your reservation transactions can become grouped together as Custom Amounts.

That makes your Square reporting much less useful.

Keep them simple:

Public

Member

Do not include:

Include:

Booking Interval + Public/Member + Pricing Type

For example:

15 Min Public Peak

15 Min Public Off-Peak

30 Min Public Peak

30 Min Public Off-Peak

1 Hour Public Peak

1 Hour Public Off-Peak

15 Min Member Peak

15 Min Member Off-Peak

30 Min Member Peak

30 Min Member Off-Peak

1 Hour Member Peak

1 Hour Member Off-Peak

Use the interval that matches your Birrdi Booking Interval.

Include the instructor:

Lesson with John

Lesson with Sarah

Do not include the Booking Interval in the Birrdi lesson rate name.

Include:

Booking Interval + Lesson with + Instructor Name

For example:

15 Min Lesson with John

30 Min Lesson with John

1 Hour Lesson with John

The interval should match the Booking Interval configured in Birrdi.

Use the add-on name itself:

Club Rental

Guest Fee

Simulator Upgrade

The Booking Interval does not normally need to be included.

Every Birrdi rate should be connected to a Square item — including $0 rates.

Birrdi Public rate → Public

Birrdi Member rate → Member

Birrdi lesson rate → Lesson with [Instructor]

Keep Birrdi rate names simple

Do not put the Booking Interval, Peak, or Off-Peak in the Birrdi Public or Member rate name

Do not put the Booking Interval in the Birrdi lesson rate name

Square Public/Member items → Booking Interval + Public/Member + Peak/Off-Peak

Square lesson items → Booking Interval + Lesson with + Instructor

Birrdi Booking Intervals are 15, 30, or 60 minutes

The duration in the Square item name should match your Booking Interval

Never include the day of the week in the Square item name

Never create duplicate Square items just because a rate applies on different days or at different times

Same Square item name + same price → Reuse the Square item

Different Square item name or different price → Use a different Square item

Add-ons → No Booking Interval needed

No Square item connected → Custom Amount → Limited Square reporting

Keeping Birrdi rate names simple while putting the detailed information into Square items gives you a cleaner Birrdi setup and much more useful Square reporting.

Peak and Off-Peak are common naming conventions, but they are not required. If Morning, Afternoon, Evening, or another clear pricing label better matches how your facility structures its pricing, those labels are perfectly fine to use in the Square item name.