Square for Retail

POS & inventory management for retail businesses

About Square for Retail

Square for Retail is a cloud-based point of sale (POS) system designed for retail businesses, which includes tools for inventory, customer, and employee management. The system allows users to track and manage multiple store inventories, create customer profiles, and includes an integrated time clock, enabling employees to clock in and out at the cash register.

Square for Retail’s inventory management tools allow users to track, transfer, and adjust stock over multiple store locations, with automatic alerts for low stock levels. Users can create purchase orders and send these to vendors, and generate cost of goods sold (COGS) and margin reports. For sales, product barcodes can be scanned, or product keywords can be searched.

Customer profiles are automatically created for each card transaction, allowing users to record customer details, track purchase histories, and also add notes or customer preferences to profiles to offer a more personalized service. Square for Retail automatically sorts customers into groups based on whether they are casual, loyal, or lapsed customers, and users can also create their own custom groups. Customer payment details can also be added, enabling users to charge customers with a single click. All payment types can be accepted through Square, including cash, gift cards, credit and debit cards, and NFC (near-field communication) methods such as Apple Pay, Android Pay, and contactless cards. Digital receipts can be sent to customers by email or SMS, using contact detailed stored in their profile.

Pricing starting from:

US$60.00/month

  • Free Version
  • Free Trial
  • Subscription

Top 5 alternatives to Square for Retail

Key benefits of Square for Retail

  • Stock can be managed, adjusted, and transferred across multiple locations, with users automatically alerted to low stock levels and able to create purchase orders to be sent to vendors.

  • Customer profiles are automatically created from card transactions, allowing users to track purchase histories, record customer preferences, and add notes.

  • Item barcodes can be scanned, or users can search for items using keywords, and payments can be accepted in multiple forms, including cash, contactless, chip-and-pin, or magstripe cards, Android Pay, and Apple Pay.

  • Individual employee accounts can be created, granting access to POS features while maintaining control over settings and sensitive information.

  • The integrated time clock allows employees to clock in and clock out at the register, and users can track and edit employee timecards at any time.
  • Typical Customers

    • Freelancers
    • Small Businesses (2-50)
    • Mid-size Companies (51-500)
    • Large enterprises (500 and more)

    Deployment

    • Cloud-based
    • On-premise

    Markets

    Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan and 3 others

    Supported Languages

    English, French, Japanese, Spanish

    Pricing starting from:

    US$60.00/month

    • Free Version
    • Free Trial
    • Subscription

    Top 5 alternatives to Square for Retail

    Images

    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail edit price and inventory
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail search
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail search inventory items
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail tax
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail search customers
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail payment details
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail digital receipts
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail pricing
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail search functionality
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail inventory item details
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    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail edit price and inventory
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail search
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail search inventory items
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail tax
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail search customers
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail payment details
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail digital receipts
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail pricing
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail search functionality
    Square for Retail Software - Square for Retail inventory item details

    Features

    Total features of Square for Retail: 82

    • ACH Payment Processing
    • Access Controls/Permissions
    • Accounting Integration
    • Activity Tracking
    • Alerts/Notifications
    • Appointment Management
    • Backorder Management
    • Barcode Recognition
    • Barcode/Ticket Scanning
    • Barcoding/RFID
    • Billing & Invoicing
    • CRM
    • Cataloging/Categorization
    • Clock In/Out
    • Commission Management
    • Cost Tracking
    • Credit Card Processing
    • Customer Accounts
    • Customer Database
    • Customer History
    • Customization
    • Delivery Management
    • Discount Management
    • Electronic Payments
    • Electronic Signature
    • Email Marketing
    • Employee Management
    • For Retail
    • For iPad Devices
    • Gift Card Management
    • Historical Reporting
    • Inventory Management
    • Inventory Optimization
    • Inventory Replenishment
    • Inventory Tracking
    • Invoice Management
    • Item Management
    • Label Templates
    • Location Tracking
    • Loyalty Program
    • Mail Order
    • Merchandise Management
    • Mobile Access
    • Multi-Channel Management
    • Multi-Location
    • Order Entry
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Order Management
    • Order Processing
    • Payment Processing
    • Point of Sale (POS)
    • Pricing Management
    • Product Identification
    • Purchase Order Management
    • Purchasing & Receiving
    • QuickBooks Integration
    • Real Time Data
    • Real Time Order Entry
    • Real-time Updates
    • Receipt Management
    • Remote Order Entry
    • Reorder Management
    • Reporting/Analytics
    • Retail Inventory Management
    • Retail Management
    • Retail POS
    • Returns Management
    • Returns Tracking
    • SKU/UPC Codes
    • Sales Reports
    • Sales Tax Management
    • Sales Trend Analysis
    • Search/Filter
    • Shipping Labels
    • Shipping Management
    • Stock Management
    • Supplier Management
    • Time Clock
    • Touch Screen
    • Transaction History
    • Transaction Management
    • eCommerce Management

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    Reviews

    Overall rating

    4.7 /5
    (464)
    Value for Money
    4.5/5
    Features
    4.6/5
    Ease of Use
    4.7/5
    Customer Support
    4.4/5

    Already have Square for Retail?

    Software buyers need your help! Product reviews help the rest of us make great decisions.

    Showing 5 reviews of 464
    Maddie
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Health, Wellness & Fitness
    • Company size: Self Employed
    • Used Daily for 2+ years
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Customer Support
    • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

    Square for small business retail

    Reviewed on 22/08/2018

    Square was a cheap way for me to reach a larger demographic of people at the markets, it adds to...

    Square was a cheap way for me to reach a larger demographic of people at the markets, it adds to my business's professionalism and I would recommend it to anyone.

    Pros

    I love the convenience of swiping a card, I love that it pays out quickly (far quicker than over my website) and it keeps peoples information from past square interactions they've done so you can send them a receipt.

    Cons

    I would love to have an offline setting so it could save the cards and charge when you reconnect. I don't always have a connection at the markets I'm working. I'm working currently with the smallest square phone connection so I also look forward to updating to the version that accepts debit cards too

    Daniel
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Nonprofit Organization Management
    • Company size: 2–10 Employees
    • Used Weekly for 2+ years
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

    Excellent Software with Hardware Shortcomings

    Reviewed on 29/04/2021

    Overall, Square for Retail is a powerful software that allows you to take sales portably with a...

    Overall, Square for Retail is a powerful software that allows you to take sales portably with a very small footprint. However, the hardware has catching up to do.

    Pros

    Square easily handles transactions for our church book stall. It provides up-to-date inventory and online reporting for tax purposes. You can easily add sales, promotions, and other tailor-made functions.

    Cons

    What I like least about this software is the hardware. We utilize the Square Terminal, which was attractive as a portable register in that it takes credit cards via swipe and chip, but also prints receipts. The optional scanner is even nicer to use. However, for the scanner to work, the terminal must be plugged into an outlet, which robs it of its portable nature. Additionally, adding inventory via the Terminal is cumbersome and slow. Imagine typing in inventory titles using a small smart phone that is slower than a smart phone.

    Alternatives Considered

    Clover

    Reasons for Switching to Square for Retail

    Square for Retail was a more reputable brand with better rates via the Terminal and had more attractive hardware in its Terminal product.
    Carrie
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Health, Wellness & Fitness
    • Company size: 2–10 Employees
    • Used Monthly for 2+ years
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Customer Support
    • Likelihood to recommend 3.0 /10

    Terrible Customer Service

    Reviewed on 16/11/2022

    Square has served it's purpose and opened a new way for transaction processing. Luckily there are...

    Square has served it's purpose and opened a new way for transaction processing. Luckily there are now many other options.

    Pros

    Simple enough to add products and check out.

    Cons

    After using square POS for a few years, we switched to Shopify bc we also had an online store and needed to consolidate systems. We continued to pay for Square for a year although we were no longer using the system for anything other than to access old orders. When our office manager canceled the paid account, Square no longer allowed us to access the account at all. Our office manager spent several hours and finally got access. We were not informed that all other user accounts would be closed and that the only way to access old records would be through the owner email account. I called square to ask about being locked out of my account and the customer service rep ([SENSITIVE CONTENT]?) was incredibly rude, unhelpful, and sarcastic. I'm happy that we no longer use Square solely based on the customer service. Additionally, the processing fees went up drastically for us when we began offering one CBD product (THC free) out of several hundred products in our store.

    Marc
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Retail
    • Company size: Self Employed
    • Used Daily for 1+ year
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Customer Support
    • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

    Daily User

    Reviewed on 25/09/2020

    Totally love it. i'm happy with the features, and I'm sure that by being well funded I will...

    Totally love it. i'm happy with the features, and I'm sure that by being well funded I will continue to see new features come up, unlike software I previously used that wasn't as well funded.

    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.

    Janna
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Arts & Crafts
    • Company size: 2–10 Employees
    • Used Daily for 2+ years
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Customer Support
    • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

    Square is super easy and I love it.

    Reviewed on 02/04/2020

    Overall, it's awesome, super easy to use and I love it.

    Overall, it's awesome, super easy to use and I love it.

    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.

    Showing 5 reviews of 464 Read all reviews

    Square for Retail FAQs

    Below are some frequently asked questions for Square for Retail.

    Square for Retail offers the following pricing plans:

    • Starting from: US$60.00/month
    • Pricing model: Free Version, Subscription
    • Free Trial: Available

    $60 per register, per month. 2.75% payment processing fee per transaction. 30-day free trial available.

    Square for Retail has the following typical customers:

    Self Employed, 2–10, 11–50, 51–200, 201–500

    Square for Retail supports the following languages:

    English, French, Japanese, Spanish

    Square for Retail supports the following devices:

    iPad (Mobile)

    Square for Retail integrates with the following applications:

    Instagram, QuickBooks Online Advanced, Quickbooks Online, Square Appointments, Square Invoices, Square Payroll, Square Point of Sale

    Square for Retail offers the following support options:

    Email/Help Desk, FAQs/Forum, Knowledge Base, Phone Support, Chat

    Related categories

    See all software categories found for Square for Retail.