How we keep your shop's data safe.

Card and bank payments go through Stripe

When a client pays a deposit or an invoice, they type their card or bank details into Stripe's own payment form. Those numbers go straight to Stripe. Square Away never sees them and never stores them. What we keep is Stripe's reference number for the payment and whether it went through.

Each shop gets its own Stripe account, set up on Stripe's own screens, and payouts go from Stripe to your bank.

Everything is encrypted on the way

Square Away only runs over HTTPS, the same lock icon your bank uses. If someone types the plain http address, they are sent to the secure one. That covers the app, the client pages and the phone app.

When you connect another app, like Google Calendar, QuickBooks, Canva or Facebook, the keys that let Square Away talk to it are stored encrypted.

Signing in

• Passwords are never stored as typed. We keep a scrambled version (a bcrypt hash) that can't be turned back into your password.
• Too many wrong tries from one place and sign-in pauses for a while, which stops password guessing.
• Password reset links work once and expire after an hour. Resetting your password signs out every other device.
• You stay signed in for up to 7 days, then sign in again.
• Your clients never need a password. To open their portal they get a one-time link by email that expires after 20 minutes.

Face ID or fingerprint lock on your phone

In the Square Away phone app (coming soon to the App Store and Google Play) you can turn on Unlock with Face ID (or your fingerprint) in Settings, under Account. Once it's on, the app asks for your face or fingerprint when you open it and after it's been in the background for a minute. It's off until you turn it on, and it's set per phone. Your phone's passcode works as a backup.

Who on your team can see what

• Owner. The shop owner controls the money side: bank and payouts, the texting number, removing teammates, deleting invoices and Shop TV setup.
• Teammates. People you add to your shop can work on jobs, but those owner settings stay with you.
• Your bookkeeper. Bookkeeper and CPA logins are separate and read only. They see reports, deposits and payouts, nothing else, and their access can be set to expire.
• Shop TV. The TV in your shop shows jobs, drawings and cut lists, never prices or money.

Your files stay private

Photos, drawings and documents you upload are stored privately. Every time someone opens one, Square Away checks they belong to your shop and hands out a link that stops working after an hour.

Text messages only with a yes

Square Away only texts a client who has said yes to texts, and a client who replies STOP is never texted again. Read how it works on our text messaging page.

Email open and click tracking

Email campaigns you send to your contacts include a tiny image and tracked links, so you can see who opened an email and who clicked. Opens are a rough count, because some email apps load images on their own. Test emails you send yourself are not tracked, and every campaign email has an unsubscribe link.

Deleting your data

• A contact. You can delete a contact that has no jobs, and it's gone for good. Jobs are archived instead of deleted, so your records stay whole.
• Your whole account. The owner can delete the shop from Settings, under Account, by typing the shop's name to confirm. Anyone can also start it from our delete account page. You get 7 days to change your mind, with a link to cancel. After that, your shop's data and uploaded files are permanently deleted and your shop's Stripe account is closed once any money on it has reached your bank.
• Just your login. A teammate can delete their own login the same way without touching the shop.