Part 1 — Sign up for your new Square account
Merchant type: Individual (sole proprietor; a DBA does not change this), unless you are an LLC, S-Corp, etc. Start at squareup.com → Get Started.
Before you start — have these ready
- Business email you actually check (becomes your Square login + notification address)
- Your DBA / trade name (goes in the Business Name field)
- Your legal name, home address, phone number
- Last 4 of SSN (or EIN from the IRS, if you already have one — optional, keeps your SSN off paperwork)
- Bank account routing + account number for payouts (ideally a checking account under the DBA)
Signup steps
- Go to squareup.com and click "Get Started"
- Enter email, password, and region → Continue
- Choose merchant type: Individual
- Enter business details: DBA name, address, industry/category, phone
- Complete identity verification: legal name, address, last 4 of SSN (or EIN)
- Agree to Square's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
- Link bank account (routing + account number) for deposits
Note
Nothing pays out until the bank account is verified. Make sure the name on the bank account matches the DBA/legal name entered — mismatches are the usual cause of held payouts.
Part 2 — Add an online store to your new account
Square Online is a module on top of the account — no separate signup. From the Dashboard, open the Online section and start the site builder.
- Dashboard → Online → start the site builder
- Pick a template / page type
- Configure the homepage: edit sections, images, branding
- Add and organize items (name, price, photos, categories)
- Set up checkout, shipping, pickup, delivery
- Configure taxes
- Choose a plan: Free tier (Square subdomain) to start, or paid (~$29/mo) for a custom domain + lower fees
- Preview, then publish
Part 4 — Sales tax for your online store
Bottom line: Probably no state-by-state sales tax nightmare for most beginning stores. You collect and remit Sales Tax in your home state only, and ignores other states until any single one approaches ~$100k/yr in sales.
The one thing to understand
Square is NOT a marketplace facilitator. Unlike Etsy / Amazon / eBay (which collect AND remit tax for the seller), Square Online is your own store. Square calculates and collects tax at checkout, but does not file or remit. Registering, filing, and paying are your responsibility.
Two kinds of nexus
- Physical nexus — your home state. You have it from day one. Register with the your state's Tax Commission, collect sales tax on shipments within your state.
- Economic nexus — other states. Only triggers at ~$100,000 in sales into a single state per year (a few states still add a 200-transaction rule, but that test is being phased out). A new small store won't hit this — nothing to do until it does.
Setup checklist
- Register for a sales tax license with your state's State Tax Commission (confirm whether it's required before the first sale)
- In Square: add your state as a tax enrollment so the automatic calculator applies the correct rate
- Verify Square is charging tax on ship-to orders in your state at checkout
- Each filing period: pull Square's collected-tax total and file/pay the Sales Tax return yourself
- Turn on a sales-by-ship-to-state report; glance at it periodically to watch for any state nearing ~$100k
- Only if a state crosses its threshold: register there and add it as another Square tax enrollment
Note
Automation (TaxJar or Commenda — both integrate with Square and actually file/remit) is worth it only once he has nexus in several states. Overkill for a single-state seller.
Note
Not tax advice. Confirm Utah registration specifics with the Tax Commission or an accountant — Playful Platypus/RWG already collects Utah tax, so this path is familiar.