Square Card Reader & POS Review (Expert Tested)

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There’s a lot to consider when choosing a POS (point of sale) for your business, whether it be a simple card reader or a full till system. The cost of the POS will understandably be the top consideration for SMEs, followed closely by how easy it is to use and what features it comes with.

Square is headed up by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, and its aim is to provide a simpler POS solution for small and medium sized businesses. But does it succeed? During hours of our own hands-on testing and analysis, we found Square POS to be the best overall system for small businesses, while the Square Terminal also made our ranking of the best card machines.

Square is a great all-in-one solution for businesses who just need a free app, a basic card reader, and a fair payment platform. But for more established businesses, Square’s more advanced POS systems also performed very well in our tests.

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In this article, we cover:

How did we test and review Square?
Square’s pros and cons
Square’s equipment
Square’s software
Does Square have free POS software?
What’s it like to use Square for Retail?
What’s it like to use Square for Restaurants?
Is Square good at customer service?
Square versus competitors
Is Square right for my business?
Final thoughts

How did we test and review Square?

We have a dedicated team of in-house researchers who combine in-depth industry research with hours of hands-on user testing, so we can give you the most helpful recommendations for your business as possible.

When reviewing card machines, including the Square Terminal, we evaluated each one in the key areas most relevant for an SME, which were:

The interface, connectivity, and charging and printing capabilities
The software
The cost
The usability
The help and support options available

For Square’s POS system, we conducted an entirely separate round of research (amounting to 40 user testing sessions), as the criteria for a small business needing a POS system would be slightly more nuanced. We evaluated them based on all the same criteria above, except the weighting of each criteria was amended.

We also added an additional criteria for customer score: a combination of research into online customer reviews in conjunction with our own user testing, based on how likely they would be to recommend the POS.

Square’s pros and cons

Pros

Free plan with no setup costs
Reasonable 1.75% transaction fees
Provides a mobile app as well a great range of hardware
Easy to use
Strong customer support
Excellent mobile ordering features
Offline functionality
Live transaction monitoring

Cons

No 24/7 support, except for the Plus plan
You can’t integrate an existing POS system
POS lacks advanced features like cost and profit management and ingredient tracking tools
No training mode to onboard new staff
Businesses taking in high sales may get lower transaction fees from competitors

Square’s equipment

One of the Square’s major strengths is its wide range of card machines, POS terminals and accessories. We’ll take you through a detailed overview of each option.

Equipment	Price
Square Reader	£19.00 + VAT
Square Terminal	£149.00 + VAT
Square Stand (turns your iPad into a countertop terminal)	£99.00 + VAT
Square Register	£599.00 + VAT
Square Kiosk	£99.00 + VAT
Receipt printer	From £199.00 + VAT
USB barcode scanner	£89.00 + VAT
USB scale	£529.00 + VAT
Cash drawer	From £79.00 + VAT
Kitchen touchscreen display	From £349.00 + VAT
Hardware kits	Starting from £419.00 + VAT

What’s it like to use the Square Reader?

The Square Reader is a portable, pocket sized card machine that pairs up to your smartphone. Source: Startups.co.uk

To get started taking payments with Square, all you actually need is the free POS app. But if you want a dedicated piece of equipment to take card payments with, then the Square Reader is the cheapest option.

How much does it cost?

Costing just £19 plus VAT, the Square Reader is a light and simple solution for taking card payments from your customers. Once you’ve paid for the reader itself, you just need to pay the 1.75% transaction fee for every card payment you take.

The Square Reader accepts payments from credit cards, debit cards, American Express, and mobile payment apps – all for one fixed rate. This means there are no additional hidden fees or charges.

Is it easy to use?

The pocket-sized reader is super-easy to set up, you just have to connect using your phone’s bluetooth, and you should be ready to go! It can last all day on a single charge, which is especially handy for on-the-go businesses, and it can also take payments offline.

There’s no screen – or even a pinpad for that matter – so all the inputting is actually done via the Square POS app (we’ll get into more detail about that further down the review). All you need to do is select which items your customer wishes to purchase, or simply type in the sum of the transaction, and your customer can tap their card on the reader.

What’s it like to use the Square Terminal?

The modern and sleek interface of the Square Terminal really stood out during our testing. Source: Startups.co.uk

If you feel like you need something more heavy duty and sophisticated than the basic Square Reader, the next rung up the ladder is the Square Terminal. This is Square’s all-in-one POS terminal that can be carried around in the palm of your hand. It has a large display screen that you can manage your inventory from, and comes equipped with a receipt printer.

How much does it cost?

The Square Terminal is a big jump in price from the Square Reader, costing £149 plus VAT. If you want to add the Hub (you use it to connect to the internet via Ethernet, and also allows you to add USB accessories) then this will cost you an extra £39 plus VAT. The Square Terminal is subject to the same 1.75% card present fee as the Square Reader.

This price is on par with competitors like the Zettle Terminal (also £149 + VAT), slightly more expensive than the Tide Card Reader Plus (£79 + VAT), but quite a bit cheaper than the Clover Flex (£450 + VAT). So we’d argue it’s fairly priced.

Is it easy to use?

We liked the Square Terminal a lot during our testing, especially the large display screen, which made it really easy for customers to see what their total is (we also loved how easily we could switch between the product and price input screens). The large screen also made it fast and easy to serve customers, which we found was much more efficient than some of the smaller devices we’d tried out.

Our main word of warning in regards to the Square Terminal: it’s big. While it’s possible to carry it around in your hand, if you or your staff have to lug it around a busy shop floor or restaurant all day, you might start to find it pretty uncomfortable.

We felt its natural home would be left on a countertop, rather than being held and carried around for the working day. If you’re planning on having it to hand for an extended period of time, the Square Reader might make more sense.

One thing we would have liked to have seen included in the Square Terminal is an option for mobile data connection. Especially as it’s something that many of its competitor devices support, like the Clover Flex and takepaymentsplus.

What other POS equipment does Square provide?

In addition to the Square Reader and the Square Terminal, Square also provides the Square Stand (£99 plus VAT), which lets you turn an iPad into a POS terminal (you can also purchase the iPad directly through Square).

Square’s premium bit of kit though is the Square Register. This is Square’s powerful, dual-screen till system. It comes complete with pre-installed POS software, and has its own payment terminal. You don’t need any additional readers, apps or smartphones, you can do it all just from the Square Register.

They don’t come cheap though: it’ll cost you £599 plus VAT, which is more than three times the cost of the Square Terminal. Operations that want to be fully equipped may consider the cost worth it, and the separate customer facing screen could be a real life saver during rush hour orders.

Additional hardware and accessories

Square also provides barcode scanners, cash drawers, receipt printers and even kitchen touchscreen displays. Essentially, any hardware you’ll need to run your business smoothly can all be bought through Square directly.

They even have the Square Kiosk, an iPad-run device that customers can use to serve themselves, allowing you to free up your staff. Square can also provide hardware kits, that are bundles of its first and third party hardware, so you’ll have everything you need straight out of the box.

What if I want to switch to another provider?

Just keep in mind that the Square Reader, Terminal and Register don’t integrate with other POS platforms. You can only use them in the Square ecosystem. Many of the accessories though are third party, and so you could potentially use them with another provider.

Square’s software

Now we’ve covered the equipment that Square can provide, let’s get into Square’s POS software, what it costs, and what it can do.

Plan	Price	Transaction fees
Square Point of Sale	Free	1.75% for each contactless, chip and PIN or swiped card-present transactions 2.5% for virtual terminal and invoices, 1.4% + 25p for online transactions
Square for Retail Plus	£49/month, per location	1.6% in person transactions, 2.5% for virtual terminal and invoices, 1.4% + 25p for online transactions
Square for Restaurants Plus	£69/month, per location	1.75% for each contactless, chip and PIN or swiped card-present transactions 2.5% for virtual terminal and invoices, 1.4% + 25p for online transactions
Premium plan (for businesses that process more than £200,000 per year)	Custom pricing	Custom

Does Square have free POS software?

Who it’s for: we recommend Square’s free POS to new businesses, who are just starting their journey into taking payments, either in person or online. Single unit businesses like newer cafes, pop-up retail outlets and simple online stores, as well as sole traders.

Yes! Square is one of the few POS platforms that offers a completely free POS app for its customers to use, which you can download to a smartphone or tablet. Not only is it free of charge, but we ranked it as our number one choice for free POS software for your small business, thanks to its sophisticated, sleek design.

Square POS has a user-friendly interface that makes getting setup a painless process. Source: Startups.co.uk

Square’s free POS doesn’t sacrifice usability either. It’s simple to use and is a great fit for smaller and micro businesses, like food trucks or pop-ups, that need to process payments but keep overheads lean. There are no monthly charges or setup fees, so it’s great for keeping costs low.

You can hit the ground running, and be ready to take payments in under an hour, and it’s particularly well suited to first time users. The free software gives you everything you’ll need to get going, including team management tools, cash management feature, invoicing and detailed sales reporting.

Square’s user-friendly system makes everyday tasks like adding new items and products a breeze. Source: Startups.co.uk

However, we wouldn’t recommend the free option for more established businesses, as it’s lacking advanced features that a slightly more sophisticated business, or multi-location enterprise, will need.

Square also breaks its POS plans into two separate types based on industry: Square for Retail and Square for Restaurant. These both have free versions, but you can also pay for the expanded “Plus” tiers. We tested the Plus versions out for ourselves:

What’s it like to use Square for Retail?

Who it’s for: we recommend Square for Retail Plus to retail businesses that are growing and scaling up, and that need support from advanced tools like bulk inventory intake. Especially businesses with multiple locations.

We were so impressed with Square for Retail that it emerged as our number one overall choice for the best POS system for small businesses. From the easy-to-use front end, to the feature packed back office, we felt Square for Retail offers almost everything you’ll need in a POS system. You can use the free version of Square for Retail, or upgrade to the Plus plan. The Plus will also unlock 24/7 help and support, which could be critical for all-hours businesses.

The multi-site stock management was a standout feature in our testing, which is great for managing multiple stores. Source: Startups.co.uk

We particularly liked the exceptional employee management tools, which give you unlimited employee time tracking when paying for the Plus plan. You’ll also get barcode label printing, which will be critical for a lot of retail outlets.

With Square POS you can quickly access sales reports to get a speedy look at your businesses financial health. Source: Startups.co.uk

The Plus plan gives you all the advanced features your store will need to thrive, like inventory scanning tools, smart stock forecasts, and in-depth reporting features. Square for Retail Plus also provides you with the power to manage and operate multiple stores, as you get tools like cross-location returns, so your inventory is synced up across different outlets.

Is Square for Retail easy to use?

During our testing, both the front end and back end proved to be equally, and remarkably, easy to use. The back end was just a nose easier to navigate around than the front end though, thanks to its clearly defined menu headings.

We found that all the most important features were nice and easy to find in our testing. Source: Startups.co.uk

We effortlessly completed all the testing tasks we threw at the platform, making it by far the best platform in terms of usability, beating out the nine competitor retail POS platforms we tested. All the features we needed were readily accessible and easy to find, making it reassuringly fast and efficient to use.

How much does Square for Retail cost?

You can use Square for Retail on a free plan, but Square for Retail Plus costs £49 per month, per location. While this might seem expensive when there’s an option for a free plan, when compared against similar competitor paid tiers it’s actually quite a competitive monthly cost.

The other key thing to be aware of with the Plus tier is that you’ll unlock slightly lower transaction fees. Instead of the standard 1.75% transaction fee, you’ll be subject to a lower 1.6% fee. So if you’re taking in a large amount of sales, this could save you some money in the long run.

What’s it like to use Square for Restaurants?

Who it’s for: we recommend Square for Restaurants Plus for slightly more established and multi-location restaurants and eateries who need more than the basics. If you have roughly one to three dining establishments, you should consider this tier.

Square for Restaurants emerged as our top choice for food and beverage businesses of any size. Though it was just edged out by Clover for our favourite POS system for restaurants. Similar to Retail POS, a huge benefit you’ll get from the Plus plan is access to 24/7 help and support.

We found that getting the backend setup on Square for Restaurants was reassuringly simple in our tests. Source: Startups.co.uk

The other features that separate it from the free tier are:

Seat management functionality
Course management
Ability to re-open closed bills (so you can void an accidental item, for example)
Floor plan customisation
Square for Restaurants mobile POS
Option to add unlimited kitchen display systems

We were particularly impressed by the mobile ordering features, which we found to be exceptional, and the detailed stock management tools were one of the main reasons we picked it as the best POS for pubs and bars.

The intuitive interface is well suited to small, single location restaurants who need speed and simplicity. Source: Startups.co.uk

The main things we felt were holding it back from being a flawless POS for restaurants was a lack of in-depth cost management tools, and we also felt that there should have been a more comprehensive ingredient tracking tool, which is a real miss.

Is Square for Restaurants easy to use?

We found that Square for Restaurants was extremely easy to use, but we did find that trying to get the front end set up was a little tricker than the back end, which was nice and easy. Creating menus was a breeze though, both from the back office and in the front end. Overall it’s a really intuitive system to use, so you should have no trouble managing orders that are flying into the kitchen.

The simplicity of the Square interface makes finding features like reports and invoices fast and easy. Source: Startups.co.uk

A word of caution though. This won’t be the best POS to use if you’re planning on changing your floor plan regularly. Creating floor plans was an absolute cinch, but you can only change or update them in the back end. You can’t do it directly from the terminal, so there will be a lot of back and forth if you’re doing this a lot. A platform like Epos Now can do this directly from the till, so there’s no waiting for a laptop to boot up.

How much does Square for Restaurants cost?

Square for Restaurants Plus costs more than the Retail Plus, at £69 per month, per location. The reason being that Square for Restaurants Plus incorporates essentially all the same features as Retail, but with additional F&B specific tools like the table planning and kitchen display systems.

The speedy email marketing setup is another impressive highlight from Square’s strong range of features. Source: Startups.co.uk

It might seem like a lot, especially compared to retail, but when compared to other F&B POS platforms, it’s pretty good value for money. It’s competitively priced, and we don’t think you’ll find a better deal elsewhere that doesn’t sacrifice the usability of Square’s POS.

However, unlike the Retail Plus plan, you unfortunately won’t get access to the lower transaction rates. Square for Restaurants Plus is subject to the standard 1.75% fees that you get with the free plan.

Premium tiers

Square POS also offers a Custom plan, for both its retail and restaurant services. This is for established businesses who are taking in more than 200k per year. If you take in over this threshold, then you can negotiate custom pricing and transaction fees with Square.

Is Square good at customer service?

In general, we were pleased to find that Square provides very solid help and support should your business need it. What we found most impressive about Square’s support was the vast range of options they provide for getting help.

With Square, you can access support through:

Email
Phone
Social media
A live chat function
A knowledge centre
Video and image tutorials
In-platform support
You even get a user forum where you can discuss your pain points with other merchants (out of all the POS platforms we tested, only three other platforms offered this).

We put the knowledge centre and live chat functions to the test with some queries, to assess how efficient they were. We were impressed by the results, as we found the knowledge center very reliable, and the chat functionality in particular came out as one of the most impressive we tested (on par with Lightspeed and Shopify).

If you find yourself running into any trouble, you can find assistance with Square’s excellent help and support resources. Source: Startups.co.uk

Just be aware that Square’s help and support is only available from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. However, if you’re paying for either of the Plus plans, then you’ll get access to 24/7 help and support. It’s also lacking a training mode, so this might be an issue for those trying to onboard new staff.

Square versus competitors

There are lots of alternative options to Square. We’ve provided you with a selection below.

Swipe right to see more


Card Reader Square	Card Reader Zettle	Card Reader SumUp	Card Reader Worldpay	Card Reader PayPal Here
Device Cost £19	Device Cost £29	Device Cost £59	Device Cost £17.95/month	Device Cost £45 on offer here
Transaction Fee 1.75%	Transaction Fee 1.75%	Transaction Fee 1.69%	Transaction Fee 2.75% + 0.25p	Transaction Fee 1.5%

Is Square right for my business?

Overall, Square performed strongly across a number of areas. It’s good for newer businesses who are just getting set up, thanks to its excellent free POS app, competitive transaction fees, and the option to integrate an online store if you need one.

Square is also good for supporting growth in your company. In particular the Square for Restaurants plan is a good choice if you’re looking to scale and grow your business over time, thanks to the range of plans with feature rich software and a great range of equipment.

Square has a wide marketplace of apps you can use to integrate with the POS system. Source: Startups.co.uk

Square is a jack of all trades, but more advanced restaurants might also consider a competitor like Lightspeed Restaurant, which is focused on more niche features like a strong customer loyalty programme, and can provide ingredient tracking tools.

While the processing fees provided by Square are about average when compared to competitors, and fairly reasonable, they aren’t necessarily the lowest on the market. Some businesses with an extremely high turnover of card transactions might be better suited to a provider that provides custom fees, rather than set costs, like Clover.

Final thoughts

Square is a great option for businesses of almost any size, including sole traders. It’s great for newer businesses thanks to its simple, clear and fair transaction fees, zero set up fees, and a truly great free POS app.

Equally, Square can support growing businesses with its impressive Plus tiers tailored to retail and restaurants, and an excellent range of hardware that will support a variety of needs.

The only drawbacks to consider with Square: there are potentially better rates out there if you’re taking in more than £10,000 per month. Though you could get in touch with Square’s customer service team to see if you can get a special rate.

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