Square Payment Addon

The MEC Square Payment Addon is a powerful integration tool that connects your Modern Events Calendar (MEC) with the secure Square Payment system. This allows you to process ticket sales directly through Square, providing a seamless and professional checkout experience for your attendees.

Initial Setup

Before you begin the integration, ensure your environment meets the following requirements:

• MEC Pro: This addon requires the Pro version of Modern Events Calendar.
• Booking Module: Navigate to MEC Settings > Booking and ensure the Enable booking module toggle is active. You must save changes and refresh the page for payment gateway options to appear.
• Installation: Confirm both MEC Pro and the Square Payment Addon are installed and activated on your WordPress site.

Creating Your Square Developer Account

To link the systems, you must first set up a developer profile on the Square website.

1. Sign Up: Visit the Square Payment sign-up page.
2. Account Credentials: Enter your Email, create a Password, and select your Locale (e.g., United States (English)) from the dropdown menu.
3. Agreement: Check the box to agree to Square’s Terms, Privacy Policy, and E-Sign Consent, then click Create account.
4. Business Details: Enter your First name, Last name, and Business name. You may also provide a Business website (optional) before clicking Continue.

Pro Tip: When asked “How do you like to code?“, click the Skip button to proceed to the application setup.

Square Application Configuration

Once your account is ready, you must create a specific application to generate the necessary API keys.

1. Name Your Application: Enter a clear Application name in the provided field.
2. Developer Terms: Check the box for the Square Developer Terms of Service and click Continue.

3. Define Goals: You will be asked “What will you build first?”. You can select options like Accept payments or Manage and fulfill orders, or simply click Skip.

Integration & Credentials

After creating your application, you must transfer the security credentials to your Modern Events Calendar (MEC).

Extracting Credentials from Square

Toggle between Sandbox (for testing) and Production (for real transactions) at the top of the page.

Pro Tip: Your application must be in Production mode to receive actual payments to your bank account.

1. API Keys: Copy the Application ID and the Access token.

2. Location ID: Navigate to the Locations tab in the Square sidebar. Copy the specific Location ID associated with your business address.

Configuring MEC Settings

Navigate to MEC Settings > Booking > Payment Gateway > Square and input the following:

1. Application ID
2. Access Token
3. Location ID

Pro Tip: Ensure the currency set for your Location in Square matches the currency selected for your events in MEC Settings > General > Currency. If these do not match, payments will fail.

Use Cases (When This Addon is Useful)

• Secure Online Ticket Sales: Provides a trusted, encrypted environment for attendees to pay for events using credit cards.
• Automated Financial Tracking: Centralizes all ticket revenue within your Square Dashboard for easy accounting.
• Streamlined Checkout: Reduces friction by allowing users to pay directly on your site without being redirected to external, unfamiliar pages.

Situations This Addon May Not Be Ideal

• Non-Pro Users: This addon will not function if you are only using the Lite version of Modern Events Calendar.
• Unsupported Currencies: If your local currency is not supported by Square or does not match your MEC settings, the integration will fail.
• Offline-Only Events: If you only accept cash or on-site payments, this digital gateway integration is unnecessary.

Troubleshooting for Beginners

• Payments Failing: Double-check that your MEC Currency matches your Square Location Currency. Even a small mismatch (e.g., USD vs CAD) will prevent the transaction from processing.
• Not Receiving Money: Ensure your Square app is toggled to Production mode. If it is in Sandbox, transactions are only simulated and no real funds are transferred.
• Credentials Not Saving: If the fields in MEC won’t accept your keys, ensure you haven’t copied any extra spaces at the beginning or end of the Application ID or Access Token.