TrustRadius Insights
Square POS has proven to be an invaluable tool for a wide range of businesses and organizations. Users rely on Square POS to handle …
Starting at $10 per each additional reader; first reader free
View PricingOverview
What is Square POS?
Square POS is a point-of-sale software solution with features such as accept credit cards with your iPhone, Android, and iPad along with the flexibility to accept credit card payments anywhere, from Square headquartered in San Francisco, California.
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Pricing
Each Transaction
2.6% + $0.10
On Premise
per transaction
Square Reader for magstripe
$10
On Premise
per each additional reader; first reader free
Square Stand for contactless and chip
$16
On Premise
per month
Entry-level set up fee?
- No setup fee
Offerings
- Free Trial
- Free/Freemium Version
- Premium Consulting/Integration Services
Product Details
- About
- Tech Details
- FAQs
What is Square POS?
Square POS Video
The TrustRadius team goes over some of the best free POS software and services, which includes Square POS.
Square POS Technical Details
| Deployment Types | On-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based |
|---|---|
| Operating Systems | Mac |
| Mobile Application | No |
Frequently Asked Questions
Square POS is a point-of-sale software solution with features such as accept credit cards with your iPhone, Android, and iPad along with the flexibility to accept credit card payments anywhere, from Square headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Reviewers rate Usability highest, with a score of 9.6.
The most common users of Square POS are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Reviews and Ratings
(90)
Community Insights
TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!
- Business Problems Solved
- Pros
- Cons
Square POS has proven to be an invaluable tool for a wide range of businesses and organizations. Users rely on Square POS to handle transactions on the go, whether it's at festivals, events, or remote locations. It has simplified the process of accepting payments and making sales at various venues such as cash bars, concerts, weddings, and sporting events. The reliability and convenience of Square POS have made it a preferred choice for on-site payments.
Additionally, Square POS has been utilized by digital marketing agencies for charging clients, saving card information, and authorizing monthly payments. Retail businesses find it beneficial for accepting credit card payments, tracking sales and inventory, and issuing receipts. Independent stylists and makeup artists have also found value in Square POS for appointments, invoicing, inventory management, and sales.
Organizations and departments use Square POS for events, fairs, and merchandise fees. With its intuitive customer database and marketing strategies, Square POS helps analyze store traffic, manage inventory, and improve bookkeeping and accounting tasks. Moreover, Square POS is being used for online credit card payments on e-commerce sites as well as in-person sales using the Square reader for iPhones.
Business owners from various industries appreciate the ease of processing payments, availability of data for reporting and tax accounting, and the user-friendly interface of Square POS. Whether it's selling clothing and branded merchandise or collecting dues for organizations, users have found that Square POS streamlines their transactions, manages inventory effectively, and generates comprehensive reports. Additionally, Square POS caters to therapists collecting credit card payments easily without delays while providing a secure solution for fundraising events.
Clean and Intuitive Interface: Many users have praised Square POS for its clean and intuitive interface, stating that it is easy to use and navigate. Customers appreciate the simplicity of the user interface, which is clearly laid out and familiar to anyone with experience using smartphones, computers, or tablets.
Real-Time Sales Tracking: Numerous reviewers have found Square POS's real-time updates on tickets sold and revenue made to be invaluable. This feature allows businesses to easily track their sales performance and analyze their business metrics. Users appreciate having up-to-date information at their fingertips, enabling them to make informed decisions about their operations.
Customizable Options: Several customers have expressed appreciation for the variety of customizable options offered by Square POS. They like being able to tailor the system to their specific needs and business requirements. This flexibility allows them to adapt the software to their unique business models, making it a versatile solution for different types of businesses.
Clunky hardware design: Some users have found the hardware of Square POS to be clunky, particularly the chip reader when paired with phones. This has led to difficulties in using the device effectively and may impact the overall user experience.
Limited sales reporting flexibility: The software lacks flexible categorization in sales reports, making it challenging for users to drill down into their data and gain specific insights. Users have expressed frustration with this limitation as it hinders their ability to analyze sales performance thoroughly.
Inconvenient access to sales summaries: Users have reported difficulty accessing sales summaries on the phone app and are required to download an additional app, Square Dashboard, which adds an extra step and can cause inconvenience. This issue has been mentioned by several reviewers and may disrupt the seamless workflow for some users.
Attribute Ratings
Reviews
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September 19, 2020
Super Easy to Train Employees to Use
We are currently using Square POS for one of our subsidiaries. It is an in-person golf coaching business. We love using Square POS because it is easy to quickly train new employees how to use the system and easy for our customers to interact with. The time Square has spent in making this POS is amazing. It is almost flawless and is super easy and provides awesome reporting!
- Easy for new employees to learn how to use.
- Awesome reporting for accounting and business metrics.
- Easy to use with customers no matter their age.
- Switching between employees could be better, employees get confused what account is signed in for the register so that is a problem and causes commission issues.
- Pricing is a flat rate which is expensive when you are just starting out.
September 19, 2020
Open your Business with the well-known and reliable Square POS
Our organization uses Square at all of its retail locations. Spread across two states and 6 locations, we support service to the 20+ stationary and 10+ remote devices. We also utilize the gift card feature at all locations (both physical and egifts). Some locations depend on variants while others rely on modifiers.
- Quick easy setup of items
- Banking connection is quick and payments processed timely
- Employee management is a great addon.
- Cost of goods sold
- More fluid reporting
September 18, 2020
Square POS: Easy to use anywhere, anytime!
Square POS was used by our church youth group for the Baja Ten Days Missions. We use Square POS to make it easier for us to raise monies for our youth mission trips during our Baja Marketplace and throughout the year. It addresses the issue that many people don't carry cash and/or checks with them anymore. We are in a 'plastic' society where most people utilize credit/debit cards to pay for many of their daily items, charity included. The Square POS system allowed us to accept credit/debit transactions with very little taken out for the use of their services.
- Ease of use for customer
- Ease of use for the business
- Low cost of use for the business
- Free Square POS unit
- Separating charges was complicated at first, so it's not entirely user-friendly until you become familiar with the system.
- The card reader didn't always function properly and we had to manually put the customer information into the system, but it worked most of the time.
- Easier to navigate
January 29, 2020
Works Fine, But Not The Best Fit
I am a coach with an appointment-based business and I have the Square POS system as a payment option for my clients. It is a perfectly adequate system and I have never had any problems with it. It is an easy-to-use option to use for in-person credit card payments, both for my clients and for me.
- Easy to use on the spot for an instant transfer.
- Square Reader is just one piece of hardware to use.
- I have several customers that don’t trust the Square POS system.
- Doesn’t integrate with the Acuity Scheduling software I use.
December 02, 2019
Super Easy to Use Square POS Suitable for Any Environment
We use the Square POS system to sell merchandise at our largest event of the year - our leadership conference in November. Square POS is super easy to set up, easy to take payments on, and overall super easy to use. I'm blown away at how user-friendly the platform is every time I use it. The reporting features are helpful and insightful. The fee structure is simple. It's easy to apply discounts if needed.
- Super easy to use.
- Works just as well from my iPhone as it does on an iPad or anything else.
- Reporting functionality is great.
- The website builder functionality on the desktop version is difficult to navigate but looks super clean
November 20, 2019
A very versatile business payment solution
As a service business where our service takes place at a clients location, it is important for us to be able to collect payment from customers quickly and easily. We use Square POS to accept credit card payments from our customers on site. This helps us to avoid having unpaid invoices.
- The fee structure is very easy to understand and is fair.
- Swiped transactions and keyed transactions are equally easy.
- There are many employee management features inside of the app.
- None
November 13, 2019
If you sell anything, take payments, have inventory, want to track sales, or anything related to business - use Square.
At my previous employer, we used Square POS to sell clothing and branded merchandise. We used it in my department but also took it to events and special circumstances to sell products. It allowed us to sell merchandise without the need to worry about setting up payment processors, and all the nonsense that comes with payment securities. It also gave me specifically great insights into what sold the best and inventory management.
- Inventory
- Sales tracking and predictions
- Ease of setup
- Simple payment processing
- The Bluetooth device, chip reader/tap, would disconnect frequently.
- They just increased the per transaction fee from a fixed percentage to a lower percentage + flat cost.
November 12, 2019
Big benefits for small business
We use Square POS for all of our point of sale transactions. It is our primary sales management tool and keeps track of our daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sales and trends. We only have one food truck we use it there. We additionally use it to determine what items we take to events at specific locations.
- Easy navigation of the dashboard.
- Tons of options for what types of data I want to view.
- Ability to look at trends within a variety of parameters such as dates and times.
- I do not like the new fee per transaction because we are a business with a lot of small transactions so it hits us hard.
- Difficulty getting the app to connect on the iPad.
- Wish the interface on the iPhone was similar to that on the iPad for ease of ringing items.
November 12, 2019
Square POS isn't just for squares...great for everyone!
Square POS is used across the whole organization. It keeps track of inventory, sends and track invoices, syncs with QuickBooks, and can have more than one device synced. It enables the business to be mobile while still maintaining a steady brick-and-mortar location. The two biggest benefits are invoicing and inventory. Being able to instantly keep track of both and have reports sent via email allows me to be constantly up-to-date regarding what is happening with the business at all times.
- Creating and tracking invoices. You can develop a database, which helps to ensure that invoices are going to the correct contact person and then notifies me when they are paid or overdue.
- Inventory. Square makes it very easy to keep track of what inventory we have and compare it to what is actually on the shelves.
- Keep your iPad up to date. When the software needs updated, Square gets slow and clunky. It needs the most updated versions of everything.
November 12, 2019
Good value and quick to deploy!
We have currently deployed Square POS with our service technicians. It gives them the ability to charge our customers for their repair services at the conclusion of the call. We previously would bill customers at the end of the service call and would have to wait 30 to 45 days to get paid. With Square POS, we now get paid instantly!
We have also used other parts of the Square software, such as the Invoicing module for recurring billing and one-time payments.
We have also used other parts of the Square software, such as the Invoicing module for recurring billing and one-time payments.
- Invoicing
- Sales processing
- Revenue collection
- Easier workflow
- Better UX
October 15, 2019
Payments right from your phone
Square is used across our organization. It is the way we collect payments from clients using credit cards. This allows both therapists and office staff to collect credit card payments easily. This eliminates the wait for a secretary to do the processing and helps to not miss payments when office staff is not available.
- It can easily work from any smartphone or tablet.
- It allows us to use chips, swipe or manually enter the card number.
- It allows set up for recurring payments.
- The recurring payments are tricky to do and storing credit card numbers was easier in the past.
- The card reader does not always connect to the phone creating a delay in payment and sometimes needing to manually enter the number.
October 03, 2019
Square POS a thoroughly recommended POS system
Up until my bricks & mortar shop closed a couple of months ago, Square POS was our only till system. We used it to ring up customer orders in person and by phone and we loved that stock control was fully integrated with our website. Very easy to obtain reports and effect all manner of customer transactions from refunds to collecting email addresses for marketing to gathering information for the taxman. Superb system.
- Very intuitive system - easy to use, clearly laid out
- Excellent reporting capabilities
- Fast payments
- Reasonable fees
- The cost of the hardware (specific scanners and receipt printers) was prohibitive for my company, and whilst we managed without them, they would have been nice to have. The range of scanners and printers that integrate with Square is small, so despite our devices' capabilities to read barcodes (we used ipads) and the Zebra receipt/label printers we had, we couldn't use either as the system wouldn't integrate with them.
- Whilst Square's credit card reader is nifty in design, it's a bit small and lacking substance to have as a customer-facing reader so it really needs the dock the company offers. The dock is awkward to open to reset or pair the reader. We often found pairing the reader with the device running the system tricky and confusing, relying on pressing one button and then interpreting a sequence of lights that often caused confusion. The pairing process might have been clearer presented through the device rather than the reader.
- Truly can't think of any more!
Square POS is used by our organization for any and all events that we host to raise money for our company's foundation. As a large construction company, we don't use POS to receive payments for our large clients on construction projects because we are talking about $1,000,000 invoices, as such we don't have an easy way to accept payments for smaller amounts such registrations and sponsorships of events like golf tournaments, etc. We put these events on often for our foundation, and we were constantly being asked by our attendees how they could pay using credit cards. We ultimately implemented Square POS because it is easy, cheap to implement and get started, and the fees are comparable to more complex systems that wouldn't make sense for us.
- Easy tracking of payment receipts for the user.
- Easy sending receipts for payors.
- Easy use, particularly with the chip reader.
- Very quick processing time, regardless of connection speed we have had great results.
- Easy to set up quick shortcut options as well as create custom transactions.
- Their old swipe option was very difficult, it rarely correctly reads cards and requires manual input of numbers, chip reader addresses this problem.
- If you don't input customer information, it can be difficult to quickly look at records and know which transaction was for what or whom.
January 04, 2019
Great System
We use Square POS for our ticket sales at the ticket window for our annual corn maze. This allows us to take payments using wifi as opposed to a dedicated credit card phone line and save money. We are able to take payments using swipe, chip, tap and apple/android pay which really helps us stay up-to-date with the times.
- taking several different methods of credit card payments ie. swipe, tap, chip, and apple/android pay
- Itemized pos system allows us to use a tablet for all our register needs. We do not use the print or cash box functions, but we use it for credit card payments strictly. We hope to eventually switch over completely to Square POS
- Easy to use and great customer support
- If you want to do more than just take credit cards there is a plethora of equipment to choose from. It can get pretty expensive to set up though when purchasing equipment.
- You are only as fast as your internet/cell service signal which can slow things down a bit. They do have an offline mode, but that can be risky because you don't really know if the card went through until you get back to service.
November 12, 2018
Square POS - A Must Have For Small Business!
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
I am an independent Hairstylist & Makeup Artist. I use Square for all of my business needs - appointments, contacts, inventory, invoicing, sales, etc. It provides dynamic reporting & is easily accessible from anywhere, so I can take care of business whether I am in the salon, at home, or on the road.
- It keeps track of my earnings & expenses & offers me a variety of ways to view & track the data.
- Provides an easily customizable scheduling interface, which allows me the ability to update my hours from day to day or week to week, see scheduled appointments, & accept or reject potential appointments.
- Provides both text & email appointment confirmation/reminders to my clients, automatically, saving me time.
- I think the menu (both on the app & the online version) is a little disorganized & could stand to be improved/streamlined.
- Would like to see the ability to add more customization to the scheduling website (ie: ability to customize text, insert breaks/paragraphs in service descriptions, etc.)
- Ability to quickly add custom line items to a client's visit when checking out, rather than needing to choose from a pre-set list. Occasionally I need to add on a service or retail item that has not yet been entered into the list. Currently, I am unable to simply add this within the transaction. Instead, I have to go out of the transaction & into my retail or service list, create a new item (adding description, etc.,) save it, then return to the transaction to add it to the ticket.
August 02, 2018
SQUARE - the only POS you'll ever need!
We use Square as our point of sale for our on-campus coffee shop on Sundays. It is also used for special events that want to use our coffee shop on campus. It has helped us track various espresso drinks being sold and we can begin tracking what supplies we need and track other various trends. Some of these trends include: number of drinks sold weekly, peak selling times, and top beverages being sold each week.
- Simple design. It's simplistic design and minimalist approach is a joy to use.
- Easy set-up. Took around 15 minutes to have it up and running.
- User-friendly. Not difficult to understand how it works because it is designed to be very intuitive.
- Cannot edit how the buttons look on the sales side. While I appreciate the minimalist approach, I wish minor adjustments could be made.
- Square Stand doesn't always stick well to the countertop. We cannot glue or screw down the device (per our preference) but when rotating it to a customer it is usually a two-handed job because the base turns as well and messes up the cord.
- Cables are minimal but not easy to hide. I wish it had a small box to put the cables into that could be secured to a wall beneath the counter. This just causes for clutter and concern that the cables (which are not braided) could easily be torn.
April 12, 2018
Quick & Easy: Square POS
We use it for concession and merchandise sales. It's very user-friendly and easy to train staff and volunteers on. It's replaced our old clunky manual register system which gives us more counter space to display items for sale as well as eliminates a lot of user error when it comes to entering items. This has also been helpful in providing a more accurate count of inventory.
- Cash transactions
- E-receipts
- Quick sales
- Slow transactions: This could be a wifi issue, but sometimes the program freezes.
April 02, 2018
Excellent for on the go payments!
We use Square POS with all of our mobile events whether it’s a fundraiser for 300+ attendees or just taking donations at church. It has allowed us to meet donors where they are at and accept payments that are convenient for them.
- Mobile payments
- Fast application updates
- Minimizing swipe errors
- Keeping up with changing needs (updated security measures of card company)
- Charge for more employees
- Easier adapted for iPhone 8 model
March 22, 2018
Square POS for My Small Business
I am the sole owner of a small business (photography) and I use Square POS for most transactions. It gives me the ability to accept credit card payments from clients while on the go, which is essential to me because my business always operates on location. When customers choose to pay with cash, I can still record the payment and send them a receipt via Square.
- The Square POS software is free to download (the physical card reader was also sent for free). I was happy to sign up for a POS system without having to pay a monthly fee.
- The interface of Square is minimalistic and easy to navigate. Even those who are not very tech savvy will be able to use it with little effort.
- Square POS automatically sends payments to my bank account without my needing to log in and transfer funds. Other bank-to-bank apps I've used don't initiate that transfer automatically.
- I have not been able to find a way to directly contact support for Square POS. It would be good to have some sort of system of support for customers.
- When using the Square app on my phone, I'm not able to access all its features - I need to go online from a computer for this. It would be nice to have more control on my phone.
- If the card reader is unable to read a card, I have to pay a higher fee to enter the card number manually.
We are a digital marketing agency specializing in online advertising, search engine optimization, and social media. Our clients hire us for a project that requires a down payment and final payment or on a monthly retainer basis.
We charge a company's credit card for their advertising and other expenses plus our fees. Square allows us to receive an authorization from the client and save the card information on their system. Each month, we click the authorize button for that month's fees and the funds are deposited in our bank account the next business day.
The fees are the same as most merchant accounts. We save on lockbox fees or receiving checks via mail that are then deposited. Our clients like the convenience (and points!) of paying with credit cards. We like the fast turnaround, cash flow, and ease of processing.
We charge a company's credit card for their advertising and other expenses plus our fees. Square allows us to receive an authorization from the client and save the card information on their system. Each month, we click the authorize button for that month's fees and the funds are deposited in our bank account the next business day.
The fees are the same as most merchant accounts. We save on lockbox fees or receiving checks via mail that are then deposited. Our clients like the convenience (and points!) of paying with credit cards. We like the fast turnaround, cash flow, and ease of processing.
- After you set a daily processing deadline time, charges processed by that time are deposited the next business day.
- The reporting dash board looks overwhelming but that's because it has all of the the information that you've processed before. That was invaluable when we recently went to look at the detail on a two year old transaction and were able to find the information by ourselves.
- The ability to use multiple devices is great. We can process charges on a computer, a tablet, or even a smartphone.
- Receipts are automatically sent to the customer's preferred email or texted to their phone.
- There is a lot of unbundling of services that could make it seem like you are always getting pitched for something new. And the company is constantly introducing new services so there is a steady stream of marketing.
- The interface becomes cluttered with those services even if you don't sign up for them.
- The interface with QuickBooks got good reviews, but our experience interfacing QuickBooks Online with Square did not work well and cost us money for our accountant to untangle the mess. Square could have used a good onboarding process there.
November 07, 2017
Square POS is a Yes
We use square pos for clients who want to pay with a credit card. It is a much simpler solution than setting up credit card processing through the bank and supports chip and touch charge technology.
- Square is easy to set up and payments are received in the bank in a very timely manner.
- Square has done a great job a creating brand recognition and clients are happy to use it.
- Square fees are reasonable/competitive.
- Square readers are easy to use with our iPhones and iPads - unplug from one, plug into another. GREAT.
- I'm pretty happy with Square. Perhaps adding a carrying case for those of us that frequently work onsite at other people's place of business.
- Having an online button to do Square payments on one's website (like PayPal buy now buttons) would be GREAT.
November 07, 2017
Square makes capturing donations easy too.
As a non-profit organization, we use Square POS primarily to accept donations when we host fundraising events. However, we also use it to accept payment when we provide services such as trainings, curricula, and film screenings of our documentaries or training films etc.
- It's simple to use.
- It provides options in the way that donors/customers receive receipts or verification of the transaction.
- It's pretty affordable.
- On occasion, the card reader doesn't function 100% well, but this keeps improving.
November 06, 2017
Square it up!
We use it for retail sales, whether in our studio or setup at remote locations (art fairs, tradeshows, etc.). It allows us to take credit card payment from our mobile devices, keep track of sales and inventory, and issue receipts for purchases. Prior to Square POS, small, traveling businesses like ours were either limited to accepting only cash (and missing out on sales opportunities) or using the carbon-copy credit card slips (risking bad cards and not receiving payments). We had looked into other merchant services, but many were expensive to get started and had monthly fees whether you were using them or not.
- The interface is clean and easy to use for both retailers and the customers. Simple instructions and prompts lead the customer through the transaction, and a receipt can be emailed or texted at the end. At the end of the day, or week, or month, it is easy to track what sold, and in what quantities, and total sales.
- Once a customer pays with Square POS (even with another retailer) their email/phone info can be saved for future use, making transactions even quicker. It is easy to apply discounts or change tax settings for another location. Customers can split transactions (say two people each want to pay half) with ease. While not ideal, the ability to take payment offline can be helpful at times if service is poor.
- The ability to manage inventory on the app is very helpful as well. Knowing what the best-sellers are as well as what stock levels are low is very important for a business.
- The transaction fees are very comparable to competitors.
- If you have to enter the card manually, the transaction fee is 1% higher. We keep cards on file for wholesale orders and often run them through this way. Using Square Invoicing (having customers pay on their end) can avoid this problem.
- Using the app on a phone, you can't access sales summaries. You have to download an additional app, Square Dashboard to view these things.
- The chip card reader we use works well sometimes and seems to go in and out other times.
November 03, 2017
Easy, Quick, Professional - Square great for the small business.
Square is used by the whole organization. It solved our problem of being able to complete transactions for customers that only had a card. It also is used as a secondary reference to help track company finances.
- Clients feel comfortable using Square as it is a leader in small business transactions
- Creates a receipt for the customer
- Tracks finances, which is especially nice when attending high volume sales events
- I would like to see some type of incentive or way to eliminate the transaction fees.
- I dont believe there is a way to set up reoccurring payments
- The 1099-K is only eligible for users who process over 20,000 which is a lot for a small business who only uses Square occasionally
November 03, 2017
Square POS is Simply Awesome!
Square POS is used to manage and process transactions at our organization. We are able to take payments, send receipts, analyze and track sales data, and send invoices painlessly. It is very easy to use, and easy for the customer too. You can even do rewards programs for your loyal customers and track their rewards easily by having them enter their phone number at checkout.
- You're able to organize your products and services neatly in your POS in order to easily track or change pricing and inventory.
- Customers can choose between digital and printed receipts to save money on paper.
- You can track and analyze your sales by item, category, etc. and see what’s working/selling for your business and what's not.
- I wish Square was able to take the e-gift cards online instead of in-store only.
- I wish you were able to copy a product (and its modifiers) in the case that you have a lot of options for one specific item. (flavors, scents, etc.)
- I wish their was a phone app that you could easily manage inventory and complete open sales through. For example... sending tracking # for a completed item via phone app.