Yep. Patience. Lots of it.
It helps if someone is home all the time (are you?), then you don't have to trust the pup to "hold it" longer than they can. 12 weeks old is a lot better than 8 weeks old. Trust me on that
I've never been a believer of training a dog to go inside, so no paper training for my dogs. Pierce turns one year old on Monday and only one pee accident, but even now I rarely let him leave my sight, and never as a puppy. If I was watching TV late, he went into the crate beside me in case I fell asleep. Even now he will seek out his crate and lay down in it rather than me "yelling" at him to get out of the kitchen (when I'm cooking). So I guess what I'm saying is to never punish him by putting him ini his crate and he won't mind going there.
So, gone are the days of rubbing their nose in it. If you don't catch a pup in the act and run into an accident, put him outside or in his crate for a bit and clean it up without him seeing you. Remember, his mother cleaned up after him until he was weaned..... don't let him think it's still OK by him watching you clean up after him.
Anticipate when he has to go; When he wakes up, shortly after he eats, after playing or losing interest in playing and getting "the look". And about three other times inbetween.
If you do catch him starting to squat, throw something at him. Magazines work great, but a remote landing closeby will have a similar effect, too. It will stop him from going immediately, then grab him, take him outside and if he has anything to finish, tell him how good he is. Repeatedly. A stomp on the floor and a yell from you will work in a pinch if you don't have anything safe handy.
Keep in mind; You can't housebreak a dog just by putting him outside on his own. You need to be there with him, and if he wants to play, bring him back inside. You aren't out there to play. He will get the idea quickly what he's supposed to be doing and yes, a "word" helps remind him why he's out there. I liked to keep a leash handy and use that, taking him to the same spot, but Pierce has always been a walker and that didn't work for him, so be ready to adapt.
And good luck!
Oh, and pick his water up after dinner. He won't need any water til the next day unless something is wrong with him. That should let him go one last time before bed (11:00ish) and hold it til morning (6:00ish?)