Square, IFTTT Hope They've Found the Recipe for Small Business Success

What's This?

Square integrated with IFTTT Thursday to help business owners set up automated tasks.

Image: Mashable, Karissa Bell

By Kurt Wagner2014-07-24 13:03:35 UTC

Square is diving into recipes, but probably not the kind you're thinking.

The mobile payments company announced Thursday that it has integrated with IFTTT, a service that automates your tasks with a few manual directions.

See also: 11 Top IFTTT Recipes to Activate Now

IFTTT, which stands for "If This, Then That," allows users to create "recipes" — a series of events that occur once an initial trigger takes place. For example, a small business owner could have an email automatically sent to his supply manager when a specific product is nearly out of stock.

Or if a refund is processed, an owner could set up a IFTTT recipe to automatically send a text reminder to follow up with the customer the next day. IFTTT has been around since 2010, but the integration is the first time sellers could link their sales data to IFTTT for automated tasks.

It's another attempt by Square to satisfy small business owners in hopes of luring them to the service — or keeping them there if they're already a customer. Square recently added small business cash advances to its list of services, a way to lend money to business owners who may have trouble getting a loan from a bank.

IFTTT isn't the only third party integration for Square, which has expanded its platform to work with other services focused on small business customers. The most notable of the group is Intuit QuickBooks, which helps business owners handle payroll and electronic payment tasks.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

Topics: Business, IFTTT, Small Business, Square, Startups