Square Online Reviews

Pros

We were able to implement a digital gift card program for our restaurant clients in minutes. We don't use Square for regular in-person credit card processing at all we simply set up the online digital gift cards in the weeks leading up to Christmas and generated tens of thousands of dollars in cash-flow for the client and guaranteed business in the weeks that would follow our Covid-19 holiday lockdown.

It is so fast and easy every consumer facing company should do it. Your customer gets their digital gift card immediately and the business gets cash in about 48 hours. They make it super-simple to track the cards and redeem outside of your POS and conventional payment processing system.

It doesn't matter who you use for your payment processing. It is simple and fast to add Square just for their digital gift cards.

Cons

Wish I had discovered how easy implementing a gift card program was sooner. There are no Cons as far as I'm concerned. It doesn't matter what POS or payment processor you use now. There is room to add Square for gift cards to any operation.

The percentage they charge for payment processing is twice what the mainstream processors charge, but there is ZERO cost associated with selling or redeeming the gift card so for many companies it works out to be much cheaper than other gift card programs.

Alternatives Considered

DataCandy

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

Square offered instant set-up instead of 10 days wait and the ability to sell digital gift cards that could be redeemed inperson instead of (or inaction to) physical gift cards.

Pros

I love most that it is so easy to learn on and utilize. It has been a great help in creating my online platform and landing page for clients. I have been able to create a site that matches my brand perfectly and over time has grown with me. The price points as well are great and truly adjustable to what you need in the moment. If you are just starting out and only need the domain you can do that, if you want more as you grow you can do that too. It is a great place to learn new skills and create what's in your mind, especially if this process is all new to you.

Cons

Right now I am expanding into a blog and they have a story feature that is suppose to be their version of a blog. It would say this is the thing I would like to see expand a bit, it is not as easily customizable. For example I can only put in one picture at the top and then the rest is text. I don't have the ability to add more pics. This is a new feature though so if you looking to only do a blog as you business I would look to a site that is more geared towards that. If you looking for a place to just build a site though with products or services then this is a great resource.

Alternatives Considered

Weebly

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

I originally used Weebly before it go bought out by square and I loved the switch over. It was a whole new world with square and I am glad I got brought in through that process.

Pros

1. Integrates with POS.
2. Category creation is easy.

Cons

Terrible set of features for a business with > 100 products
1. If you set products up with Variations (think Red/Blue/Green shirts) you cannot archive a variation if its no longer available.
2. There is no import/export of images. All images must be manually uploaded and their meta data entered manually.
3. You cannot split an item (product) that has variations, into two products via import/export should the need arise. Get it right the first time or you are sunk. The only way is to duplicate a record and manually delete the variations from the two records manually.
4. Tech support is terrible. First they will get into the retail vs Web side of the house discussion, then once you get the right person, they never seem to know what features are or how to solve problems.
5. All variations must share the same description. Poor design.
6. You cannot launch a Coming Soon page without publishing the site first. This means you create a coming soon page as your home page, then you have to deactivate the nav, create other pages and sections, publish them and then turn the nav. on to test, then turn it off again.
7. You cannot create links to simple attached documents like PDF's (catalogs, help documents for your products etc.)
8. You cannot build an HTML block on a page to craft specific messages.
9. You cannot change your theme once the site is created. To do so, you have to reset the site and loose all your work.
10. The product design is to have a Shop ALL product page as the default. Totally impractical for large inventory retailers that would have traditional category trees.

Pros

The merchant service fit my business industry, products and services. The upgrade of services and feature are awesome!

Cons

Need a easy shipping on the online website shipping admin with the weight, shipping prices and a easier one time payment link just for businesses without the campaign because it is political. So make a separate link that fits embed code on the features and make it easier to embed. And I can not receive what ever business sales amount of a purchase over 50,000.00 each transactions. I have to make partial payments through the website for one purchase transaction (For Example: if a sale is 115,000 and the transaction only excepts 50,000.00 per transaction; so there will have to be 3 purchase transactions. That's horrible. I need only one transaction per purchase at any price and they can still add other purchases if selected and add to total.

Pros

Ease of use and an excellent support team makes Square Online a fabulous option. The templates are designed to look good on both desktops and mobile devices. Very modern and intuitive. Super easy to set up and learn. Integration with Square Retail catalog is good.

Cons

I wish I could copy design elements from one web page to another. The template layouts are also a bit restrictive. Would be nice to have CSS access to fully customize. Would also like the item description to sync with Square Retail without losing the design elements.

Alternatives Considered

Revel Systems and Lightspeed Retail

Reasons for Choosing Square Online

Integrated credit card processing, ease of use, excellent price point, accessible customer support/

Switched From

Vend

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

Integration with Square Retail for our brick and mortar business.

Pros

Great value for the money, templates make starting up easier than you can imagine, time saving and organization right at your fingertips.

Cons

Some editing features are difficult to understand when adding pages or sections to online platform. Would like to see more instructions or easier to understand instructions when adding products and customization to pages and sections.

Alternatives Considered

PayPal

Reasons for Choosing Square Online

I did not like the cost of the fees associated with PayPal nor did I like the invoicing as compared to Square.

Switched From

PayPal

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

Easier to use, better invoicing, better and more widely used devices for payment and a brand everyone knows.

Pros

I like how easy it is to add a customer & create/send/edit invoices for them.

Cons

I wish square was compatible with my online gallery service (pixieset) and I wish that I could see invoices from HoneyBook in my square dashboard! It is difficult having everything in different sites.

Pros

Easy to use, affordable, quick to manage inventory, professional templates.

Cons

I wish there were a multi-select option when Bulk Editing items onto the website (as in, putting in category and marking visible at the same time).

Alternatives Considered

Shopify Plus and Shopify

Reasons for Choosing Square Online

Inventory Management and syncing in-store and online sales.

Switched From

Squarespace

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

Ease of template/use, inventory management

Pros

It helps my business by selling more products and classes with ease.

Cons

I cant think of any critical feedback Square is a very user-friendly app/website

Pros

Really enjoy the point of sale software & hardware, the invoicing ability and the CRM tools that are available with the marketing tools that you can subscribe for.

Cons

The inability to do instant transfers until you've processed a certain amount of payments, payroll fees being deducted per payment versus per service.

Alternatives Considered

Wix, QuickBooks Payroll, WooCommerce, PayPal, Clover, WordPress, Stripe, Squarespace, Shopify POS and QuickBooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

To combine all of those needs and be able to have a process whereby I can pay people, build a website and process invoices.

Pros

Square reminds me of Google when it was an early start up - I say this because I remember how clean and polished google was compared to other search engines and tech companies at the time. Square is no different - they have things down to a science, and make it extremely easy to sell items and run a business. There is no other service like it. And I appreciate that they don't gouge the price with fees and confusing extra subscriptions like Ebay or Etsy. That would be a major turn off for me. Simply put, I love how clean Square is to use. No Drama.

Cons

I wish there were more website templates to choose from, but this is a minor complaint. It's really a good service either way. Also, it would be nice if Square could allow for purchases of direct downloads. This has been a feature in the works for literally years and I think it should be a priority. Artists like me can't sell printables or patterns until this feature is reinstated!

Pros

Square is user friendly and reasonably priced. I’ve tried other systems and ultimately came back to Square every time.

Cons

Square is a little difficult to integrate with websites that are built on other platforms but overall still the best to use.

Alternatives Considered

PayPal, QuickBooks Online Advanced and Shopify

Switched From

PayPal

Pros

I have been using Square online to run my small business for eight months now and it has been extremely helpful. I use it to input all of my customers information and quickly and easily build out invoices for them, send invoices, accept payments and send customers receipts. I run a service-based business where I have to travel to and from my clients, Square has allowed me to set up and use their item catalogue so that I can bill all of my services on the fly and send to my customers even while I'm out of the office on my mobile device. It allows my customers to make payments to me easily, so I don't even have to have a part in the payment processing and takes out one more step for me as I am travelling to the next client.

Cons

I wish that it had a little bit more customization and design for my invoices and would allow me to personalize the messages it sends to my customers. I'd like to have more of my social media highlighted on the invoices and ways for my customers to connect with me more. I also which that Square was a little more tailored to service based businesses, as the items list always shows as an inventory item and asks about shipping, which is not something I need for my business and I wish I could tailor the experience to my service based business better.

Pros

In the world of publishing, there are countless ways to access or sell books and magazines. Square makes it easy to place a book up for sale on our site, with full description. Too, the purchasers are able to access the book for purchase even if they are not very familiar with computers or purchase sites.

Cons

It might be a tad easier to work with a template that allows for some changes editorially. For example, there is not a Free Shipping button.

Pros

As a small retail business that is growing rapidly, Square has given me the ability to start with basics and expand as my business has grown. Love that I can manage inventory, marketing, payroll, my online store and loyalty program all in one place. Such a time-saver.

Cons

The online store features have continued to grow this past year, but even being fairly knowledgeable about web design, it has taken some time to find ways to add bells and whistles that take the website to a more professional level.

Pros

For how feature-packed the product is, It's very user-friendly to navigate and set up. For how great the complete product looks, it shouldn't be so simple to use.

Cons

Connecting my Square Online site a subdomain was not a simple task. Establishing the SSL certificate credentials with my web host took a little extra time.

Pros

Square is great to use at your mobile location or in your brick and mortar store. I love how it sends customers receipts if they choose and syncs my inventory automatically when an item is sold. The Shippo integration is wonderful and automatically populates the customers information for shipping labels. It helps me stay organized and I love the ability to create reports showing me category sales as well as so many other aspects of my business. The deposits made to my account are timely as well.

Cons

The mobile app doesn’t work most of the time unfortunately. It would be helpful if it was reliable so I can edit my website on the go when I need to.

Alternatives Considered

Shopify

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

Price and ease of use

Pros

The ability to add multiple photos and contiually edit photos is probably what I like best. Description of product tells only some about the product. Buyers want to see it. I can easily edit the photos and rearrange them for renewed interest.

Cons

My products need a numbering system that a buyer can easily see and add when asking me questions about the product. Many customers want to use Pay Pal.

Pros

Ease of use, free reader and initially lower cost.

Cons

The added per transaction fee. When I signed in, there was no per transaction fee. I see fruits at Farmers' Market which means relatively low sales per transaction.

Alternatives Considered

PayPal

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

low cost

Pros

Very easy to use. Affordable. Good customer support.

Cons

The price for their POS subscription, on top of taking a processing fee is a bit much. Sometimes customer service isn't available during major issues.

Alternatives Considered

Wix and Shopify

Pros

I like how its so easy to transfer funds.

Cons

the customer support is absolute trash. contact rate.

Pros

This software does everything I need it to do. It is simple to use. I did not need any additional training or education. It meets all my business needs.

Cons

Nothing. It exceeds all my business needs and is user friendly

Alternatives Considered

PayPal and GlossGenius

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

More convenient and cost effective.

Pros

It is easy to learn and use. It is straight forward.

Cons

It is pay to play. Subscription to open up all the parts of the service adds up quick.

Alternatives Considered

Shopify

Reasons for Choosing Square Online

Needed something better

Reasons for Switching to Square Online

Just was my first choice

Pros

This software is generally easy to use and I would recommend it to anyone starting a new business. It is pretty straightforward and we do not have a lot of issues with the system.

Cons

We really wish we could make notes on an invoice after it has been paid! Even if it is just an internal note for our records. Also, Adding a new location was not very straight forward.

Pros

The software was very easy to setup. I was able to configure a website, add items to sell, and get up and running quickly.

Cons

Inventory management is a mess if you want to provide bundles or bulk discounts automatically. Square Online has coupons, but the user must apply them. There is no way to provide bulk discounts or bundled discounts. Manually creating such bundles is possible, but adds to inventory complexity. My Square inventory never matches my real counts because I have to manually adjust for bundles.