Vendor:
Founded:
Headquarters:
Square Inc.
2009
San Francisco, CA
Customers:
Deployment Model:
Free Trial:
2 million+
Cloud
Yes
Square POS At A Glance
Product Overview
Square POS is a point of sale system that empowers businesses of all sizes to run their operations effectively. Business owners can manage their inventory and orders, provide great customer service and track their best-selling items. Square POS is a free app with robust features, and businesses only need to pay the credit-card processing fees.
There are numerous benefits, including:
- Customizable and scalable features
- Payment processing fees are the same, regardless of credit card issuer
- Easy-to-use interface that requires minimal training
- Quick account setup
- Integration to many third-party applications (e.g., QuickBooks, ShipStation)
While Square POS is a free app, the vendor sells POS systems that are specifically targeted to retail and restaurants. The Square POS for Retail solution has all of the features of the free app, plus advanced checkouts, return and exchanges, and advanced inventory management. The Square POS for Restaurants has restaurant-oriented features, including customizable menus and floor plans, online order management and advanced reporting. Both solutions have a 30-day free trial, and their pricing is in our Pricing section below.
Features
Here are some of Square POS’s key features.
Transactions/payments – Square POS can accept cash, debit/credit cards and mobile payments (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay). Business owners can send invoices to customers as well as redeem gift cards. They can also store customers’ credit card data on file, allowing them to process future payment with a click of the button.
The app has customizable receipts, so users can either print them or send them to customers by text or email. Additional transaction features include the ability to choose preset tip amounts, the option to split a check among multiple customers per table and an offline mode that lets businesses swipe card payments while the Internet is down.
Square POS also has built-in payment protection features, such as fraud monitoring and alert, encrypted payments and Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance. It can settle payment disputes with the bank on the business’s behalf.
Item/order management – The software includes a customizable item grid, so employees can access frequently used items or categories quickly from the register. They can also upload multiple items in bulk, group specific items within a category and provide itemized refunds to customers. Restaurants can customize their menus with special requests as well as manage orders from third-party delivery services (e.g., Postmates, DoorDash).
Customer service – Square POS has a built-in customer directory database that stores contact information, credit card details and notes. Users can manually add new customers to the directory during checkout or import an existing list via CSV. Businesses can personalize their email receipts to include a request for customer feedback. If businesses want to provide a loyalty program or engage in email marketing, Square POS provides those features for a nominal fee.
Operations management – Businesses can manage their operations (e.g., inventory, locations, employees) within the solution. Basic inventory management features include daily alerts of low-stocked items and downloadable reports on inventory levels. Square POS also integrates with other inventory management software.
Businesses that have multiple locations can track each site with unique profiles that include business hours and banking information. There’s also a team management feature that lets owners track their employees’ hours for free, and they can upgrade to the Team Plus paid plan for advanced features.
eCommerce – Business owners are able to sell their products or services online for free. They can build the website with no coding involved, sell an unlimited number of items and promote their products on Instagram and Pinterest. Note that Square POS offers paid plans with advanced eCommerce features, too.
Reporting – The Square Dashboard provides owners with business intelligence functionality. They can also use it to manage their teams, accept virtual payments and send invoices. Users can analyze data from any device in real time, helping them spot issues or opportunities quickly. There are also in-app sales reports that provide certain metrics, such as gross sales.
Target Market
Square POS targets companies of all sizes, including brick-and-mortar retailers, online stores, restaurants, food trucks and professional services (e.g., electricians, plumbers, hairstylists). It doesn’t publicly name customers, so please contact the vendor directly if you’re looking for references.
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Implementation/Integration
Business owners can simply sign up for their free account via Square’s website or by downloading the app on a mobile device. The signup process takes a few minutes, and Square sends its free card reader by mail within 10 business days.
Square POS integrates with many applications via its App Marketplace, including accounting systems and marketing automation solutions.
Customer Service & Support
The Square Support Center has articles on product features, best practices and more. Users can contact the support team by phone, email, live chat or social media. There’s also the Seller Community forum, where business owners can get product updates and engage in discussions with other sellers.
Pricing
While Square POS is a free app, there’s a payment processing fee of 2.6% plus 10 cents per tap (mobile payments), dip (chip cards) or swipe (magnetic stripe cards). Users will have to pay if they want to take advantage of some of its advanced features. For example, the loyalty program has three paid plans that start at $45 per month, while the email marketing software’s subscription starts at $15 per month.
The Square POS for Retail costs $60 per location, per month and has a 2.5% plus 10 cents per payment card transaction fee. The Square POS for Restaurants is priced at $60 per location, per month for a single point of sale system. Restaurants that want to add another point of sale system must pay an additional $40 per month, and there’s also a 2.6% plus 10 cents per payment card transaction fee.
Square provides a free magnetic stripe card reader and sells additional hardware accessories, including a register ($799), an all-in-one credit card terminal ($299), an iPad stand ($199) and a contactless/chip reader ($49). It also offers a variety of hardware kits, such as the Square Stand Restaurant Station (starting at $1,074).
Shortcomings
The payment fees can add up quickly for businesses that process numerous credit or debit card transactions. Also, some users have experienced occasional issues in connecting Square POS to their wireless networks.
Screenshots
About
Square’s mission is to empower businesses of any size to run their operations successfully with any easy-to-use and affordable solution. Its first product was the Square Reader that accepted credit card payments via a mobile device. In addition to point of sale software and hardware, Square offers gift cards, small business financing services, a payroll solution and an appointment booking tool.
Square is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in New York City, Atlanta, St. Louis, Tokyo, London, Dublin and Melbourne.
