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

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

    Countries available

    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

    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: 81

    • 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
    • Catalogue Management
    • 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 Liquor Stores
    • For Retail
    • For iPad Devices
    • Gift Card Management
    • Historical Reporting
    • Inventory Management
    • Inventory Optimisation
    • Inventory Replenishment
    • Inventory Tracking
    • Invoice Management
    • Item Management
    • Label Templates
    • 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 Order Entry
    • Real-Time Data
    • 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 Order Management
    • Sales Reports
    • Sales Tax Management
    • Sales Trend Analysis
    • Search/Filter
    • Shipping Labels
    • Shipping Management
    • Stock Management
    • Supplier Management
    • Touch Screen
    • Transaction History
    • eCommerce Management

    Alternatives

    PayPal Zettle

    4.6
    #1 Alternative to Square for Retail
    The PayPal Here app is a mobile point of sale (POS) software designed to help businesses securely process debit or...

    Samsung Pay

    4.5
    #2 Alternative to Square for Retail
    Samsung Pay is a mobile banking software that helps businesses of all sizes add Visa, Mastercard, and American Express...

    Lightspeed Retail

    4.1
    #3 Alternative to Square for Retail
    From inventory management to advanced analytics, Lightspeed has the tools to bring your retail store to the next level.

    Venmo

    4.7
    #4 Alternative to Square for Retail
    Venmo is a digital wallet and payment gateway that allows customers to send money and make purchases via mobile device,...

    Reviews

    Overall rating

    4.7 /5
    (480)
    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 480
    Paige
    Paige
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Environmental Services
    • Company size: 2–10 Employees
    • Used Weekly for 6-12 months
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

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

    Awesome product!

    Reviewed on 25/02/2023

    Wonderful experience! Square for retail is easy and inexpensive!

    Wonderful experience! Square for retail is easy and inexpensive!

    Pros

    Square for retail is a very easy and inexpensive solution for any small business that uses a POS system.

    Cons

    There really are no cons. None at all. I don’t have anything negative to say about Square for retail.

    Coree
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Retail
    • Company size: Self Employed
    • Used for 2+ years
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

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

    Perfect On-the-Go Payment Solution!

    Reviewed on 18/11/2019

    When I first began using Square, it was simply for fundraisers. My husband and I would participate...

    When I first began using Square, it was simply for fundraisers. My husband and I would participate in events, and we would allow patrons to make donations to the charity we were fundraising for. Now, as I begin designing my online store for home decor and crafts that I sell, there was no guessing on where I would have my store set up. Square has truly made it that easy to work with, that I suggest using them to everyone I know!

    Pros

    I absolutely LOVE the ease of use of Square! The app allows you to literally set up your shop in mere minutes, and then allows you to input your products with prices for an easy tap to add it to your customer's cart. I especially love the Square business card that holds all my funds, which makes keeping business money separate from family funds so much easier!

    Cons

    I honestly cannot think of anything that I do not love about this software. It is designed in a way that allows even the least techy person to set up their store and products, and go through a checkout seamlessly.

    Daniel
    Daniel
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Leisure, Travel & Tourism
    • Company size: 2–10 Employees
    • Used Weekly for 1-5 months
    • Review Source

    Overall rating

    • Value for Money
    • Ease of Use
    • Customer Support
    • Likelihood to recommend 0.0 /10

    Square is not what they prented to be

    Reviewed on 16/08/2021

    Pros

    Nothing pure waste of time with clueless account representative. An intern would do a better job.

    Cons

    We went through the onboarding process and we used the services. We were able to use the card processing services but Square had been holding our funds. They said Square needed more financial documents to authorize the transaction. We provided the documents but no response for a week..

    Later, we got a note they could not support our business needs and they will deposit the funds into our account within 2 business days, probably because we are a tour operator and the pandemic places us in a high-risk business. Why they did tell us that before?? Customer service rating is 0. The account rep was clueless.

    Then they sent us another note a week later saying our funds will be held for 90 days with no explanation. This is not a 5* star company and we moved on to Stripe. Square has terrible customer service and poor crisis management. I wish we had never contacted this bad company. If you choose them be AWARE at your own risk they might hold your funds with no plausible reason .

    ABSOLUT SPORT INC.

    Craig
    Overall rating
    • Industry: Apparel & Fashion
    • 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 a great payment platform for retail stores.

    Reviewed on 12/05/2019

    This system works great for pop-ups and retail stores. You can also track what you sell and square...

    This system works great for pop-ups and retail stores. You can also track what you sell and square sends you emails when you are low on products. We will continue to use Square

    Pros

    How simple it is to set up. You know exactly how much you are being charged. There is no hidden extra add ons. Square updated the os, so now if your customer wants to return 1 item and they purchased two, you just pull up the item and hit return.

    Cons

    Just make sure you do all the updates for square and os system for any pad you are using. We use an Ipad and it works great! Not much to not like.

    Alternatives Considered

    Cloverleaf

    Reasons for Switching to Square for Retail

    I liked the way it looked. Especially when it was paired with Apple products. Most importantly it was easy to use. This made it very easy to train our employees.
    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.
    Showing 5 reviews of 480 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, QuickBooks Online Advanced, 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.