Square it up!
November 06, 2017
Square it up!
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Square POS
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.
- It has allowed us to do business around the country, quickly updated sales tax information and easy to take on the go. Does not require wifi or wired internet, we have been able to do much of our business with our smartphones. With no upfront investment (our initial square readers were free), Square POS has let us expand and grow our business as an easy solution to credit card sales.
- As Square has grown and added features such as Square Invoicing, our business has been able to take advantage of them as we have grown. I know that Square is always looking to improve upon its services and that it will keep relevant as technology advances, keeping our ability to do business relevant as well.
When we first looked for a POS system, we compared it to the merchant services offered by our bank. Square was way more affordable and easy to use. Since then, as other systems have developed, we have looked into them but never found reason to switch. While PayPal offered similar rates, the interface was inferior.