What is Square Point of Sale used for?

Square Point of Sale is point-of-sale software and card-payment hardware for restaurants, retail shops, salons and service businesses. It is a good fit for coffee shops and restaurants taking orders and payments, retail stores tracking inventory, and salons and service providers booking appointments.

Is Square Point of Sale free?

Yes. Square Point of Sale has a free plan, and paid plans start at $49 per month. A free trial is also available.

Is Square Point of Sale open source?

No. Square Point of Sale is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Square Point of Sale include Open Source POS.

What are some alternatives to Square Point of Sale?

Square Point of Sale competes with Clover, Toast and Lightspeed. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Square Point of Sale alternatives.

Square Point of Sale: features, pricing and alternatives

About Square Point of Sale

Square Point of Sale is the register and payments product from Square, used by physical businesses to take payments and keep track of sales. The vendor groups it by business type, with tailored setups for food and beverage, retail, beauty and personal care, and a broad range of service businesses.

On the software side it covers taking payments, managing orders, tracking inventory, scheduling appointments, sending invoices, running an online store, managing staff schedules and pay, and watching cash flow and performance. Square also sells hardware to go with it, including handheld devices, terminals, registers, stands, kiosks and card readers for contactless, chip and magstripe cards.

Square is a commercial hosted product, with software and hardware bought from the vendor and fees listed on its pricing page. It suits small and mid-sized shops, cafes, salons and mobile businesses that want payments and operations tools from one provider.

Key features

In-person payment acceptance with Square hardware
Inventory tracking for retail
Order management for restaurants
Appointment scheduling for service businesses
Invoices and online store tools
Staff scheduling and payroll tools
Sales and performance reporting

Good fit for

→Coffee shops and restaurants taking orders and payments
→Retail stores tracking inventory
→Salons and service providers booking appointments

Tags: pos; payments; retail; restaurant; inventory; hardware; square

Square Point of Sale: questions and answers

What is Square Point of Sale used for?: Square Point of Sale is point-of-sale software and card-payment hardware for restaurants, retail shops, salons and service businesses. It is a good fit for coffee shops and restaurants taking orders and payments, retail stores tracking inventory, and salons and service providers booking appointments.
Is Square Point of Sale free?: Yes. Square Point of Sale has a free plan, and paid plans start at $49 per month. A free trial is also available.
Is Square Point of Sale open source?: No. Square Point of Sale is proprietary (closed-source) software and can't be self-hosted. Open-source alternatives to Square Point of Sale include Open Source POS.
What are some alternatives to Square Point of Sale?: Square Point of Sale competes with Clover, Toast and Lightspeed. For open-source options, see Enlisted's ranked list of open-source Square Point of Sale alternatives.