Square for Retail Reviews

Pros

I love how it’s so easy to use and very user friendly. I have the Square Register which has a large screen for me and a small screen in the front for the customers transaction. It is easy to add inventory by name and barcode with the barcode scanner. You can set up alerts, and I can still use it for cash transactions. I have the cash drawer accessory so it opens as soon as soon as you complete cash sale. It is basically a very advanced and convenient cash register that isn’t large and bulky.

Cons

The price is a little steep for small businesses. You can get the system that requires an iPad but I didn’t see the point. If you don’t have an iPad you have to purchase that in addition. I settled for the standalone register.

Pros

I enjoy easily keeping track of my customer's info, including the ability to create my own custom fields and also group customers. These features make it easy for me to note a history with a customer, aside from just their purchases. Grouping customers allows me to enter a location, find the group of customers there, and know everyones name as a result of this reference

Cons

I wish it were easier to transfer my client lest from other software, but thats the nature of software I guess.

Pros

The fee structure is lower than some, and they send first time users a free mag strip reader. That's really the only benefit I can see.

Cons

-You can't manage your account from your phone. Most options are grayed out and say "desktop required."
-Once I got to my desktop, the site was really buggy and hard to use. For instance, little black dialogue boxes telling what kind of info to put in each field hover over the space you actually need to type in when you do your account set-up. When you hit the "X" in the corner of the dialogue box that is blocking your view of the typing area, a full-screen pop-up asks "Are you sure you want to leave setup?" No, I don't want to leave setup, I just need this box out of the way. My first form that I filled out was full of typos, because I couldn't see the field to type in through the black dialogue boxes.
-Their customer service is REALLY bad. When I had trouble signing up for the free card reader, I used the WORST customer service bot I've ever seen. It just kept sending bursts of 3-5 messages with links to broken pages on their website based on key words before I could even fully type my question. Then the human customer service rep I chatted with wanted to add things to my cart for me and kept trying to assume the sale before actually addressing my problem.

Alternatives Considered

Clover

Pros

We specifically use Square for Restaurants POS system for our taproom system, which also ties into our mobile payments, but we do use Square for Retail as the basis for our online ordering page through Wix, as it works best for hosting that site for orders. It works great, we can track inventory and orders and such, it does what we need it to do!

Cons

Honestly, the only thing I wish was different was that we didn't have to use Retail and could just use Restaurants for our online ordering, but the retails works for it better and it functions so it's fine.

Alternatives Considered

Toast POS

Reasons for Switching to Square for Retail

We were already using Square for ever other aspect of our business, so honestly, it makes sense!

Pros

I love how easy it was to start taking credit cards and to use Square as my POS. It syncs to my accounting software automatically and keeps track of all my products, invoices and charges.

Cons

There isn't an automatic section for shipping and I have to add it manually as its own category. Not sure why they haven't built this into their invoicing platform yet even though so many people have asked about this.

Pros

In the past I've used traditional forms of credit card accepting machines and software provided by my bank. Very expensive and cumbersome. Square has made accepting credit cards cost effective and very easy. The retail setup has made keeping inventory easy along with sorting out sales taxes. The advantage of using AP on phone when not in store is extremely helpful and again very easy to use.

Cons

No real cons, If I were to get picky I'd say initial set up takes a bit of time but nothing really worth complaining about.

Alternatives Considered

PayPal

Reasons for Choosing Square for Retail

Cost was much better with square, speed of deposits was better with Square and customer service is better with Square.

Reasons for Switching to Square for Retail

No one offered all that Square did for the price.

Pros

The Square plugin was super easy to use and fit most devices. The application is simple and adjustments were easy to make changes to. Paperless receipts are the best way to go about transactions.

Cons

The price was a little high for the software. Using the plugin had its disadvantages if you use a phone and that phone has a protective case. The application sometimes froze.

Alternatives Considered

Venmo

Reasons for Switching to Square for Retail

The popularity among companies meant ease of use.

Pros

User friendly platform to load your storefront with products. Present templates that are also customizable to your liking. Integration of an inventory model to track what you have left on hand.

Cons

Have a plan for your products of offering multiple size and/or color options before entering on the site. It's much harder to edit and change the categories once it's set. Know what your page intent is as well ahead of schedule.

Alternatives Considered

PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, PayPal Zettle and Samsung Pay

Reasons for Switching to Square for Retail

Added alternative means for my customers to pay and shop.

Pros

I love how easy everything is to setup and use. No crazy long instructions to try to figure out and there aren’t multiple steps for just one thing. So user friendly. Love that everything is in one. Checkout features, inventory, clocking, card processing everything. They offer so much more too than just what I use. Amazing!

Cons

The cost of hardware is kind of pricey but honest the value and quality is there so I can’t really complain!

Alternatives Considered

PayPal Commerce Platform and Clover

Reasons for Choosing Square for Retail

I felt like Square was more reliable.

Reasons for Switching to Square for Retail

Again, the overall quality, reviews, rates and great service.

Pros

Square for Retail enables you to easily create an online eCommerce store, list your products, and sell them. It's quite simple to use, and this is perhaps what is the best reason to use Square. It is particularly useful for small businesses trying to build sales via social media and other online avenues. At the same time, it is useful for brick-and-mortar stores as well. While I use it for online sales, several of my colleagues use Square in their stores.

Cons

A big drawback is that Square (as of the writing of this review) is unable to process payments from outside the United States. Thus, if you anticipate worldwide sales, Square may not be the best solution for your business. A second drawback is that it can be difficult to reach a live customer service representative. Unlike most companies, in which one simply phones in for service, Square requires that you first create a trouble ticket (at which point you will be assigned a case number). You then use the case number when phoning customer service. It's not horrible but in today's business world it's kind of annoying and time consuming. Square also lacks live online help, which is another downside.

Pros

I like the ability to transfer inventory from one store to another. I like the ability to have employees clock-in/clock-out to keep track of pay and what items a specific employee sells. I like the ability to adjust quantities from the app instead of just the dashboard.

Cons

I don't like that I can't view another store's inventory from the app. Very often, I find myself saying, "We don't have that in-stock here, but I know it's in-stock at our other location." It'd be very helpful to be able to type in an item and view quantity in-stock for all locations. I also HATE that there are not "tickets" available anymore. I own a music store that offers instrument repairs and we also have special orders. For instrument repairs - the amount is variable depending on what needs done and I also notate the transaction with the instrument type, brand, serial number - what parts were used, and what was done under the "Quantity and Notes" section. I don't want to have to look up that information and type into a transaction with the customer standing at the register. In the other app, I could do all of that when no one was in the store and save it as a ticket. Then when they come into the store, all I had to do was pull up the ticket and they were good to go. Same with special orders. I don't want to add inventory into Square, assign it a price, add the SKU, put it into a category, set the quantity, etc., if I'm not going to STOCK the item. So for special orders, I like to just type in the information under "Custom Amount," but I do like to notate the transaction under "Quantity and Notes" with the title and SKU so I can look back and see what it was. I don't want to do that typing when a customer arrives, so I prefer to save it as a ticket. Now I can't do that.

Pros

Despite what I wrote in my "cons", this really is the best software I've found for card sales for my company. Most of them charge you a monthly fee in addition to a percentage of every sale, which thankfully is not the case with Square. It's very easy to use if you're not familiar with POS software. Customer service is also very easy to reach and quite friendly from my experience.

Cons

Unfortunately, you have to buy their most expensive software to only have 2.4% taken out from every credit card purchase. Otherwise, you'll be charged more. I know that's just how POS systems are... but it's too bad we are charged a percentage of every purchase to simply use their product, given it's not their money. I also wish there were more customization features available. I just used Quickbooks (which is compatible with Square) instead of Square itself to do all the customizing so I also didn't have to put Square advertisements on all of our receipts, which doesn't look very professional.

Pros

I really like how sleek, modern, and clean this method for receiving payment works. It has a very modern GUI, with large clear numbers and values as opposed to the majority of credit card readers that have much more pixelated appearances and significantly smaller font sizes in comparison. Also, the ease of the option of signing when required with a finger on a touchscreen device is better than the alternatives available today such as signing with a physical pen or a stylus for digital screens. These features save time at checkout which in turn increases efficiency, and as my time is very valuable to me, I greatly appreciate these factors that contribute to the ease of use.

Cons

While there is not much to dislike, I have noticed that sometimes cards are not read as easily with this software at times. While this is perhaps more a function of the hardware used to swipe or scan credit or debit cards, I have noted a bit of a trend with this when using Square with certain cards while performing with other card types have been flawless. This makes me suspicious if it is related to a software issue. Otherwise, I have no complaints about Square.

Pros

The most favorable feature in using square is its simplicity. In less than 10 minutes I was all set up with full understanding of how the software worked. It was quick and clean and practically effortless. When I was all finished I couldn’t believe it I said “ wow, really? That’s it? I’m done?” Great interface with extremely user-friendly and modern design.

Cons

I honestly have no complaints. I have yet to run into any bugs or performance issues. Which, when there’s money involved is hard to come across and a very crucial detail. I had to speak with an operator one time and that was a fault entirely of my own and was user-friendly and convenient. He was helpful and the issue was rectified within minutes. Sorry but really can’t say a bad thing yet.

Pros

I can keep my sales, products, and inventory in one place. No problems every occur when using. Great software which helps me keep our business organized.

Cons

I haven't encountered any problems. Everything is working efficiently like it should. It even gives suggestions.

Alternatives Considered

PayPal Invoicing

Reasons for Switching to Square for Retail

Better consumer reviews

Pros

Both interfaces are very easy to use. There are many features to make your business look professional, like sending receipts via email and text and asking for feedback after a transaction. Adding line items is very easy, which is convenient for businesses that are changing prices or items frequently.

Cons

As much as I love this product it could definitely still use some tweaking. The biggest complaint is the fact that you are forced to buy multiple card readers for your iPad because they stop reading cards after a while which subsequently forces you to enter the card manually which you are then charged more money for.

Pros

I appreciate how Square has so easily integrated into our church's in-house coffee shop and also our church's book resource center (like a small book store). Square just makes the running of our coffee shop and book resource center so EASY!

Cons

The only drawback that I can see is that, in our church, we have a population of individuals who may be unfamiliar with the idea of swiping a credit card through a device attached to an iPad... I can see how the "newness" of this tool might be daunting to some individuals (and thus potentially hinder them from using it), but on the whole, this is a very SMALL concern. So far, the "pros" have FAR outweighed the "cons"!

Pros

The overall ease of use is great. But the real winner for our organization was that the merchant fees were so much more reasonable than our prior merchant. The ability to track inventory is also very helpful, and has simplified my life.

Cons

The void system being only for restaurant usage is a bit frustrating. The reporting system could also use more options for customization.

Pros

Very easy to use. Quick email confirmation / almost instant at times. Fast turn around when actually getting the money into my bank account. I use it A LOT for credit card purchases over the phone (no card present). Yes, the fees are about .5% higher but always very FAST and very Reliable.

Cons

Nothing. I only use the remote card swiper when at a seminar or speaking engagement.

Pros

It is easy to use and I know exactly what my fees are going to be as it is not dependent on a certain type of card which may unknowingly charge me a higher rate. Overall the platform is easy to use.

Cons

I really don't have any thing bad to say about the software or platform except maybe I do wonder about if I ever have to contact customer service I have heard that is very hard to get problems addressed or make personal contact with a customer service representative.

Pros

I use Square almost daily for my coffee roasting company. Its easy to use, easy to train others to use, and easy to customize for my ever changing inventory.

Cons

Sometimes I wish the Square app had the same functionality as the Square website. For example, invoices are easier to work with on the web vs. working with them on the app. You can't print invoices from the app, yet you can from the web interface. Just little things like that. Not huge, but minor annoyances.

Pros

This feature is amazing, it takes a little time to set up, but time well invested. I no longer spend my days counting inventory, just look on the system and current count of all products right there.

Cons

cant say any cons here. We are a water sports concession. Offering hats, sunscreen, phone dry bags etc

Pros

Easy to implement and can use on multiple devices. Can also accept multiple forms of payment and not restrict clients to only paying cash.

Cons

Occasionally have difficulty getting software to connect with internet to process cards and the chip/contactless reader will sometimes not want to connect to the device.

Pros

We love the ease of use for both us and the client. We used to have to wait for payment via check and sometimes we'd have to follow up with clients for months without getting paid. Now when our technicians are wrapped up in the field.. they have the client pay instantly using their mobile phones with card reader. No more waiting for payments!

Cons

Square is a great software and clients trust it. There is nothing that is negative about Square. Love it.

Pros

It is easy to set up and use. It is affordable and the customers never have a problem with it.

Cons

I wish they took bitcoin and the square terminal has quite a few quirks that should be worked out before charging that much.