Overview

In-Person Payments let your school accept payments in person—at concession stands, school events, and sales—using a phone or an iPad. The feature is powered by SnackBar, FutureFund’s free point-of-sale app for iPhone, iPad, and Android phones. On a phone, no additional hardware is required.

SnackBar can take Tap to Pay, an optional Bluetooth card reader, or cash, so you can pick whatever fits your event. Card payments through SnackBar also carry a lower processing fee than an online card payment, and cash sales have no processing fee at all, so more of every sale stays with your program. See the pricing page for current rates across all payment methods.

How It Works

SnackBar turns a phone into a secure, contactless payment terminal. Built on Tap to Pay technology, it lets a volunteer or staff member accept payments without a separate card reader. On an iPad, SnackBar is laid out as a full register instead, and cards are taken with a Bluetooth card reader—see On an iPad below.

When a volunteer launches the SnackBar app, they select items from the campaigns you have made available in SnackBar. Once the cart is ready, the buyer taps their contactless card, phone, watch, or supported digital wallet against the volunteer’s phone to complete the payment—or hands their card to a paired card reader, or, if your school accepts cash, the volunteer can collect cash instead. The payer can optionally enter their email address (or phone number, for a text) to receive a digital receipt. All purchases appear in your FutureFund admin, where you can track sales and issue refunds.

What You Need

Tap to Pay is Apple’s and Google’s technology, not ours, and both of them require the phone to be set up a certain way before it can accept a card. Most of these are one-time steps on each phone, and SnackBar walks the volunteer through them the first time they open the app.

The device

• iPhone XS or later, running a recent version of iOS. Older iPhones do not have the hardware for Tap to Pay.
• Android phones running the latest supported version, with NFC and up-to-date Google Play services. Android tablets aren’t supported.
• iPad, running a recent version of iPadOS. iPads have no Tap to Pay hardware, so an iPad needs a Stripe Bluetooth card reader to take cards—cash needs nothing extra. See On an iPad below.

Before Tap to Pay will turn on

These apply to a phone. An iPad skips this part entirely, since Tap to Pay isn’t offered there.

• A passcode (or screen lock) on the phone. Apple and Google both require one on any device taking card payments. On iPhone: Settings > Face ID & Passcode.
• Signed in to an Apple Account (iCloud). Apple’s Tap to Pay terms can’t be accepted on an iPhone that isn’t signed in. On iPhone: Settings, then sign in at the top. The Apple Account also needs to be active and in good standing.
• Accepting Apple’s Tap to Pay terms. A one-time Apple screen appears during setup—tap Agree. If it gets dismissed, setup stops and starts over the next time.
• An internet connection. Setup and every card payment need Wi-Fi or cellular.
• The app on screen during setup. Tap to Pay can’t finish authorizing in the background—don’t switch apps or lock the phone until SnackBar says it’s ready. The first setup can take a few minutes.
• Not on a phone call. Tap to Pay won’t set up while a call is in progress.

It’s the same free app. Download SnackBar from the App Store on the iPad, sign in with your school’s access code, and the register layout appears on its own—there’s nothing to switch on.

The register layout is an iPad feature. On Android, SnackBar is a phone app—Android tablets aren’t supported.

Card Reader

Tap to Pay on the volunteer’s phone is the default and needs no extra hardware. If you would rather hand the buyer a dedicated reader, SnackBar also supports an optional Bluetooth card reader. On an iPad the reader is the only way to take a card, so it’s the main payment button there rather than a fallback.

A reader is useful when you want to keep the phone with the volunteer, take payments from cards that need to be inserted or swiped, run a busy line where a separate reader is faster, or run your register on an iPad.

To pair a reader:

1. Turn on the card reader and make sure Bluetooth is enabled on the phone or iPad.
2. In SnackBar, build a cart and go to the checkout screen.
3. Tap Card reader.
4. Select your reader from the list of nearby readers.

You can also get to your readers any time from Profile > Card reader, with or without a cart going.

Once paired, the reader stays connected for the rest of the session and its battery level is shown on the checkout screen. SnackBar remembers it after that, too—when the app opens, or comes back from the background, it wakes your reader on its own, so the first sale of the day doesn’t start with a trip back to this screen. On a phone, Tap to Pay remains available at any time, so you can switch back and forth.

Removing a Reader

If a reader is being retired, moving to another school, or you just want SnackBar to stop reaching for it:

1. Open Profile > Card reader (or tap Card reader at checkout).
2. Swipe the reader’s row to the left.
3. Tap Forget.

The reader doesn’t have to be switched on or nearby—it’s listed whether it’s connected, asleep, or sitting in a drawer in the supply closet. Forgetting it only affects the phone or iPad you do it on; a reader paired on another volunteer’s device stays paired there.

Accepting Cash

Some events are still easier with a cash box—a bake sale line, a ticket table, a younger volunteer who isn’t ready to run card payments. SnackBar can take cash too, right next to Tap to Pay and the card reader.

Cash is off until you turn it on:

1. In the Admin, navigate to Settings > In Person Payments (under Payments).
2. Check Accept cash payments.
3. Click the Save button.

Once it’s on, Cash appears as a payment option on the SnackBar checkout screen for every seller at your school. Turn it back off any time and the option disappears from the app.

Cash sales skip the processing fee entirely—the buyer pays the item total (plus any sales tax), nothing more. The checkout screen spells this out: “Total due · no processing fee.”

When a seller taps Cash, SnackBar asks what the buyer handed over. Quick buttons offer the exact amount or the next $5, $10, or $20 bill, and the app shows the change due right away. Nothing is charged to a card and the sale never touches Stripe—it’s simply marked paid. Cash sales appear in Order History and order detail just like any other sale, showing the cash total instead of a card total (there’s no card brand, last four digits, or auth code to show).

FAQ

Where can I download SnackBar?

SnackBar is a free download available in the App Store and Google Play. The App Store download works on both iPhone and iPad.

What type of campaigns can be sold with SnackBar?

Purchase, Membership, Tiered Membership, Donation Drive, Sign Up, Bundle, and Shop campaigns can all be sold in SnackBar. Mark a campaign as available on the SnackBar tab when editing it, or add several at once from Channels > In-Person Payments.

Can I choose the order campaigns show up on the register?

Yes. On Channels > In-Person Payments, drag campaigns in the SnackBar list into the order you want, or use the keyboard—Tab to a drag handle, then the arrow keys to move it. Shop campaigns always show first, and the order you set applies within your shops and within everything else. It updates on every SnackBar device right away, no app update needed.

I added a campaign but it isn’t showing up on the register.

Pull down on the Sell screen and SnackBar will go and fetch it. Campaigns normally arrive on their own, but a register that’s been open since before you made the change may still be showing the older list—pulling down refreshes it without closing the app.

How do I remove a card reader?

Open Profile > Card reader, swipe the reader’s row to the left, and tap Forget. The reader doesn’t need to be switched on or nearby. See Card Reader above.

How are receipts handled?

Once the purchase is completed, the payer has the option to receive their receipt by email or text. This works the same way for card and cash sales.

Can I issue a refund?

Card payments taken in SnackBar can be refunded from the FutureFund admin. There’s no refund option inside the SnackBar app itself—that’s always done from the admin. Cash never passes through FutureFund, so returning cash is handled in person by the seller; contact FutureFund support if the order record itself needs correcting.

Can I use an iPad?

Yes. SnackBar runs on iPad and lays itself out as a register, with your campaigns on one side and the order you’re building on the other. The one catch is cards: Apple offers Tap to Pay on iPhone only, so an iPad register needs a Stripe Bluetooth card reader to take a card. Cash works on an iPad with no extra hardware. See On an iPad above.

Can I use an Android tablet?

Not yet. On Android, SnackBar is a phone app. If you want a tablet on the table, use an iPad.

What type of device is required?

For Tap to Pay, you need an iPhone XS or later, or an Android phone on API level 26+ (Android 8.0 Oreo). We recommend running the latest supported version on your device. iPads can run SnackBar, but they can’t do Tap to Pay—pair a card reader or take cash. Android tablets aren’t supported. See What You Need above for the full list of requirements.

Do I need a card reader?

On a phone, no. Compatible phones have an NFC chip built in that lets the phone act as the card reader. A Bluetooth card reader is an option if you prefer a dedicated one, but it’s never required on a phone, and neither is a card reader if your school accepts cash. On an iPad, you do need a reader to take cards, since there’s no Tap to Pay there.

Which payment types can I accept?

With Tap to Pay, you can accept all types of in-person, contactless payments right on your phone—from physical debit and credit cards to Apple Pay and other digital wallets, including Android. With a paired Bluetooth card reader, you can also accept inserted (chip) and swiped cards; this is how an iPad takes cards. If you turn on Accept cash payments in Settings > In Person Payments, sellers can also collect cash, with no processing fee.

Does SnackBar cost less than online payments?

Yes. In-person card payments processed through SnackBar carry a lower fee than an online card payment, and cash payments have no processing fee at all. See the pricing page for current rates.

How do volunteers sign in?

Non-admin volunteers can sign in with your school’s SnackBar access code instead of an email and password. Find the code, and a QR code that signs the app in automatically, on the Channels > In-Person Payments page.

Is there something I can print and hand to the volunteers running the register?

Yes. On the Channels > In-Person Payments page, click Download the guide below the access code for a one-page PDF made to print and hand off. It covers downloading the SnackBar app, entering your school’s access code, and turning on the permissions SnackBar needs to take a payment—so a volunteer can get set up without an admin walking them through it.

SnackBar says this iPhone needs a passcode.

Apple requires a passcode on any iPhone that takes card payments. Open Settings > Face ID & Passcode, turn a passcode on, then return to SnackBar and try again.

SnackBar says to sign in to iCloud first.

Apple needs the iPhone signed in to an Apple Account before it will let the phone accept the Tap to Pay terms. Open Settings, sign in at the top, then try setup again. If the account is signed in but the terms still won’t accept, check that the Apple Account is active and in good standing.

Tap to Pay setup is stuck or takes forever.

The very first setup on a phone can take a few minutes. Keep SnackBar on screen while it works—switching apps or locking the phone cancels it—and stay on Wi-Fi or a solid cellular signal. If it still doesn’t finish, try again; it usually succeeds on the second attempt.

Apple’s terms screen appeared and I dismissed it.

Setup stops if the terms aren’t accepted. Start setup again and tap Agree when Apple’s screen appears.

I don’t see Tap to Pay anywhere on my iPad.

That’s expected. Apple only offers Tap to Pay on iPhone, so SnackBar hides it on iPad rather than showing an option that can’t work. Pair a Stripe Bluetooth card reader to take cards, or take cash.

Tap to Pay won’t turn on at all on this phone.

If the phone is older than iPhone XS, or the iOS version is out of date, Tap to Pay isn’t available—check for an iOS update first. Apple can also temporarily block Tap to Pay on a device. Either way, the volunteer can still sell with a Bluetooth card reader, or with cash if your school accepts it. If SnackBar shows an error code, include it when you contact FutureFund support.

I see “This school isn’t set up for card payments yet” when a volunteer sets up Tap to Pay or takes a card payment—what do I do?

This means your school’s card payment setup hasn’t finished connecting on our end—it isn’t something a volunteer can fix from the app. Contact FutureFund support and we’ll get it sorted out. In the meantime, if you’ve turned on Accept cash payments, sellers can still ring up sales for cash.