Square Review Square POS and Credit Card Reader Reviews

Square
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Many merchants have included Square as part of their business plan. Founded in 2009, the company has expanded and grown exponentially in a relatively short amount of time. There are several important aspects of using Square that a merchant needs to know.
 

What is Square?

 
Square is a credit card processing system that is both feature rich and fairly easy to use. It is a (POS) Point of Sale system that doesn’t charge monthly fees. For this reason many small business owners have started using Square. Square can be used for payment processing, customer service, and can be integrated with accounting software. It can be used online, for a brick and mortar store, or a combination of both.

Square offers several types of hardware that allow merchants to ring up sales in their place of business or on the go. This includes Square stands, terminals, and registers. There are different Square readers available for magstripes and chips. While these items are sold individually, merchants can also get complete kits that offer several items in one package.
 

What Does Square Offer Merchants?

 
Besides an easy to use POS system, Square has a variety of other features that merchants will find convenient to have in one system. Square can provide inventory management that includes inventory counts, barcode scanning, photo descriptions, and multiple tax rates. Square allows merchants to integrate with a variety of accounting software. Square integrates with accounting software such as Kashoo, QuickBooks, Xero, and Zoho Books. Square includes an employee management system with tracking for sales performance and how many hours that have been worked. Employee management is an add on feature that currently costs $5 for each employee.

It also allows merchants to build a database for customers that can be used for marketing and sales. The Square system will enable merchants to complete some of the basic CRM tasks such as storing personal information like customer birthdays and contact information. Another potential add on includes the “Square for Retail” upgrade, which has more software capabilities and provides a free trial period for 30 days. Square even offers, to those who are eligible, access to a business loan. It’s easy to apply, approval is relatively quick, and there aren’t any extra costs for prepayment.
 

How Does Square Work?

 
Square works by charging a flat rate for each credit card transaction. The bank fee for the customer, the merchant account processing fee, and the credit card fee are all together in one flat rate. There is one rate no matter what type of card is being processed. This provides one of the prime benefits for Square, which is its simplicity. It also means a merchant will know exactly what they’ll be paying in advance.

Even though Square charges one rate regardless of the credit card the customer uses, there are different rates for types of purchases. In store transactions, online transactions, and keyed in transactions each have rates that will be slightly different. Square does not charge monthly fees and there are no hidden charges to worry about. Square provides costumer service by email, phone, or visiting the support center.
 

How Does it Compare to Other Payment Processors?

 
There are many different options when it comes to accepting credit cards. The primary alternative is a merchant account through a bank. Merchant accounts are generally a better option for merchants who process more than $5k per month in gross processing volume because you can get lower rates than the flat rate offered by Square. One of the primary benefits of using Square is the ease and simplicity.

Another alternative to using Square is PayPal. PayPal, however, is primarily for processing online payments. Square does provide more hardware options and advanced features. Considering it is easy to use and doesn’t have monthly fees, Square is the payment process of choice for many merchants. If your business processes more than $5k in monthly sales, you will likely save in processing fees by choosing one of these top rated payment processing companies.

One review on “Square”

  1. Thanks for this comparison. I just started a new business and I planned to start with square because I didn’t like what I would have to pay the bank. However, after looking at the other services that you explained here, I have several other options. I also see that there are different types of processors and why I would or wouldn’t want to select a certain type and I know what to look for.

    For now, I’m going to start with square and when I am near the $5K per month, i will look to move to a more long term service that has month to month agreements. I’m excited because now I know and I have the knowledge and reference under my belt. Confidence for myself and for me to share with others.

    Reply

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If you are a low risk merchant looking for a credit card processor, we recommend checking out ProMerchant. If you operate a high risk business or have been told by processors that your business is hard to place, we recommend checking out Flow Payments.

what to look for?

  • Waived Setup Fees

  • Month-to-Month Agreements

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