Square For Restaurants Review 2022

Pros

• Free plan available
• Month-to-month agreement
• Accepts multiple payment options
• Strong user community

Cons

• Occasional fund holds
• Limited inventory management
• Limited customer support

Square For Restaurants POS Overview

Well, it was only a matter of time. After coming out with Square for Retail and the game-changing Square Register, it seemed imminent that the wildly popular company would break out with a Square POS for restaurants. Voila! Now we have Square for Restaurants, an all-in-one restaurant POS, complete with online ordering and an iPad kitchen display system.

Square has very much stayed on brand here with an exceptionally simple and functional program. Anyone who has even a passing familiarity with Square or iPads will be able to master Square for Restaurants POS with very little training. Small business owners know that easy-to-learn systems are vital during this time of historically high staff turnover.

Along with Square’s trademark ease of use and straightforward processing fees, the Square Restaurant POS system also includes restaurant-specific features for quick-serve and full-service, as well as your own online ordering website, menu management, and employee time tracking — and that’s just on the free plan.

Square’s appeal is always going to be its simplicity and affordability. It’s not a system you’re going to have to spend a lot of time thinking about. Are there other small business POS systems with more bells and whistles for only slightly more money? Absolutely. Square for Restaurants has areas where it can improve, which it probably will. But in terms of ease of use and functionality, Square has another success on its hands.

What Is Square For Restaurants?

Square for Restaurants is a cloud-based restaurant POS for quick-serve restaurants, full-service restaurants, and bars. Square for Restaurants has free and paid plans, with built-in online ordering and delivery integration on all plans.

The only equipment you need to start using the Square for Restaurants POS app is an iPad and Square Stand ($169) or an all-in-one Square Register ($799). However, you can also add a Square Terminal ($299) for tableside ordering, as well as a cash register and additional iPad to use as a kitchen display system (KDS).

Square For Restaurants Pricing

Square for Restaurants’ pricing platform is clearly laid out and separated into three tiers.

• Square For Restaurants Free: $0/month
• Square For Restaurants Plus: $60/month per location; $40/month per location for additional POS devices
• Square For Restaurants Premium: $299/month per location

Get Started With Square For Restaurants

Square For Restaurants POS Features

Square for Restaurants doesn’t have many holes; it features all the essentials for a restaurant POS, minus a few things, such as advanced inventory management. Even the free plan comes with a slew of features, along with support for unlimited devices and locations. However, you’ll need a Plus subscription to access most of the program’s POS reports and other neat features, such as color-coded table timers.

Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect under each plan:

Square For Restaurants Free

• Open Checks: Keep checks open in case customers want to add more items to their meal or bar tab. It’s also easy to edit and repeat items on an open check.
• Split Tender: Customers can pay their check using multiple forms of tender (for example, cash and card) or split checks across multiple credit cards.
• Square KDS For Ghost Kitchen: Square’s integrated iPad kitchen display system is available on the Free plan for $10/month per KDS device. Square KDS seamlessly integrates with your Square ordering system and includes ticket routing and timers, plus real-time order updates. You also get the ability to sync to multiple devices and kitchen performance reports. Any restaurant can benefit from a KDS, but Square KDS may be of especial interest to ghost kitchens without physical premises since it does not require a paid monthly POS plan.

• Full Square Register Compatibility: Run your entire POS system on an all-in-one Square Register without the need for an iPad. If you use a Square Register with the Free plan, you’ll also receive 24/7 customer support.
• Multiple Location Management: Manage multiple restaurant locations for no additional fee.
• Square Online Ordering: All Square accounts come with a free mobile-optimized online ordering website that allows you to take online food orders for pickup, delivery, and contactless in-person dining. Online ordering options also include QR code ordering and QR code payments.
• Tableside Ordering & Payments: Use an iPad or Square Terminal for tableside ordering and payments. Note that Square Terminal does not support all restaurant-specific features (it does not include support for conversational modifiers, coursing, seat tracking, or auto-gratuity).
• Basic Inventory Management: Square’s restaurant inventory tracking includes smart features, such as auto-86ing and inventory alerts that let you know when items are running low.
• Menu Management: Organize your menu from any location with an easy color-coded system and add purchasing and payment options on the interface.
• Table Layout: Lay your tables out according to your specifications and easily move them with a simple click and a drag.
• Auto Gratuity: This feature allows you to automatically add a gratuity, although the free plan does not include party size thresholds.
• Third-Party Delivery App Integration: In addition to online orders placed on your Square online ordering website, your business can use Square for Restaurants Free to accept online orders from third-party food delivery apps, such as UberEats, DoorDash, and others. All delivery orders are automatically sent to your Square for Restaurants POS and routed to the kitchen with the rest of your orders.

• Advanced Discounts: Set discount prices by item or by category for promotions or specials.
• Basic Reporting: The Free plan comes with a solid but basic reporting suite that gives you information on top-selling products and key metrics that you can navigate from your dashboard.
• Basic Employee Management: The Free plan of Square Teams includes time tracking, clock in/out, and one set of permissions. You can add Teams Plus for $35/month.
• Customer Support During Business Hours: Customer support hours under the Free plan are M-F, 6 AM to 6 PM PT.

Square For Restaurants Plus

Square for Restaurants includes all features in the Free plan as well as additional features, such as unlimited KDS devices and advanced employee management. Not all Plus features are available on the Square Register, though, so you’ll need an iPad to take full advantage of Square For Restaurants Plus. Here are the additional features you’ll receive on the Plus plan:

• Unlimited KDS Devices: This is one of the big differences between Square for Restaurants’ Plus and Free plans. Unlimited KDS devices are included in this plan at no extra charge.
• Advanced Table Management: Customize your floor plan layout and use the easy color-coded timer system to see table status. Assign checks either per table or per customer with a simple tap. Since you can assign and track orders per seat, this ensures the correct order is delivered to the correct person and makes it easier to split checks.

• Course Management: Higher-end restaurants can plot out coursing, switching items between courses before sending them to the kitchen. You can also track how long customers have been at the table and check on the status of their meals.
• Advanced Reporting: Among other standard reports for managing your business, this plan lets you check exactly what type of discounts are being given to customers and the amounts. You can review sales by floor plan and by bulk or individual modifier sets and review labor costs quickly in a simple-to-process layout. You can also set up a variety of customized reports for your unique needs. Shift reports and close-of-day reports are included, as is a “live sales” view.
• Advanced Employee Management: A major benefit of the Plus plan is that it comes with Square Teams Plus, which gives employees their own login passcodes and lets you assign permissions to give different employees different levels of access. With Teams Plus, you can track voids and discounts to cut down on fraud, check employee sales reports to review per-labor-hour reports and reward your top-selling employees. The system also records cash drawer openings and can detect suspicious activity. Employees can sign in at the register, and their hours can be managed from anywhere and transferred to Square Payroll.
• 24/7 Customer Support: Restaurants on the Plus plan can access Square customer support any time, day or night, even outside of standard business hours.
• Party-Size Thresholds For Automatic Gratuity: Automatically add specific percentages for large groups with party-size thresholds.
• Reopen Closed Checks: Under the paid version of the app, you can go back into a closed check to reopen and edit it.

Note that even under the Plus plan, Square for Restaurants does not include advanced inventory management. Square says that if you need advanced inventory features for your restaurant, you should take a look at Square for Retail.

Square For Restaurants Premium

This premium plan for large, multilocation restaurants includes everything in the Free plan, plus discounts on the following Square add-ons:

• Square Loyalty
• Square Marketing
• Square Payroll

Get Started With Square For Restaurants

Square Customer Service & Support

Square for Restaurants offers 24/7 technical support with its Plus and Premium plans, but on the Free plan, you’ll only be able to access support M-F from 6 AM to 6 PM Pacific Time.* This can be a slight hassle if you have an emergency that needs immediate assistance on the Free plan but is one of the bigger benefits of the Plus plan.

Once you get in touch with a live person, Square’s support is friendly and very knowledgeable. They are happy to walk you through any issues you’re having and are committed to ensuring that your problems are completely resolved. During off-hours, email support is also available.

Square also has an impressive customer support page where you can troubleshoot some basic questions. There are dozens of articles on various topics if you have time to do some research. Square also has one of the best community forums I’ve seen where you can look up various topics.

*A notable exception is that if you use Square Register with any Square for Restaurants plan, you will receive 24/7 support.

Payment Processing With Square For Restaurants

Square acts as a processor and is compatible with almost any form of payment available. Square accepts Apple Pay, Android Pay, Cash App Pay, and all major credit cards. With the right hardware, you can accept swipe, dip, and tap payments — Square Register has all three built right into its customer-facing POS screen.

For processing on the Free and Plus plans, Square charges 2.6% plus $0.10 per tap, dip, or swipe. For all online payments, such as QR code payments and orders placed on your Square website, Square charges 2.9% plus $0.30.

There are also custom processing rates available on the Premium plan and for businesses that process more than $250,000 per year with an average ticket size of $15 or more.

Can I Use A Separate Credit Card Processor With Square?

No, it is not possible to use a separate credit card processor with Square. Square for Restaurants users can only process payments using Square’s in-house processing.

Square For Restaurants Integrations & Add-Ons

Square for Restaurants integrates directly with Postmates and DoorDash, as well as Chowly and Deliverect, which can pull and consolidate online orders from UberEats, GrubHub, and other online ordering apps.

Square App Marketplace also offers numerous other integrations for delivery and order management, restaurant management, inventory management, customer loyalty, employee management, and more. Square even has an open API if you’re feeling enterprising and want to create an app specifically for your business.

Some notable Square for Restaurants integrations include:

• QuickBooks 
• Xero
• TouchBistro 
• SalesVu 
• PeachWorks
• MarketMan
• 7Shifts
• TapMango
• BevSpot
• Ritual
• OrdrSlip
• Digital Pour
• Fresh KDS

It’s worth checking out Square’s website for a complete listing, as Square adds new integrations practically every week. Square does not charge any added fees to integrate third-party apps (though, of course, services typically charge their own fees).

Square also has numerous in-house add-ons available for purchase, all of which (naturally) integrate with Square for Restaurants:

• Square Loyalty: From $45/month per location on the Free or Plus plan; custom pricing on the Premium plan
• Square Marketing: From $15/month per location on the Free or Plus plan; custom pricing on the Premium plan
• Square Teams Plus: $35/month per location on the Free plan; included in Plus and Premium plans
• Square Payroll: $35/month + $5/month per employee on the Free and Plus plans; custom pricing on the Premium plan
• Square KDS: $10/month per device on the Free plan ($20/month per device beginning 1/1/22); included in Plus and Premium plans

Square’s Most Popular Services

Reader	eCommerce	Retail	Food Service
Free App & Reader	Square eCommerce	Square for Retail	Square for Restaurants
Get Started	Get Started	Get Started	Get Started
Free, general-purpose POS software and reader for iOS and Android	Easy integration with popular platforms plus API for customization	Specialized software for more complex retail stores	Specialized software for full-service restaurants
$0/month	$0/month	$0-60/month	$0-60/month
Always Free	Always Free	Free Trial	Free Trial

Square For Restaurants Reviews

Square for Restaurants enjoys overwhelmingly positive reviews. Being a huge processor, Square as a whole definitely has some negative reviews (mainly pertaining to payment processing), but there are few complaints to be found for Square for Restaurants in particular.

There is no dedicated Trustpilot Square for Restaurants review page or Square for Restaurants BBB profile, but Square US has a rating of 4.6/5 stars on Trustpilot. Square, Inc. is accredited and has an A+ rating on the BBB website, with 5,000+ complaints closed in the last three years.

Negative Square Restaurant POS Reviews & Complaints

Square for Restaurants is still pretty new to the market, but a handful of complaints and a few of the standard issues with Square have cropped up.

• Fund Holds: A large number of complaints to the Better Business Bureau revolve around Square placing immediate holds on funds when it deems a suspicious transaction has occurred. These holds often come without notice and can take a while to resolve, causing understandable frustration for vendors. Check out our article on how to avoid merchant account holds, freezes, and terminations to learn more about how to prevent trouble with accessing your funds.
• Live Customer Service Lacking: This has been something of a recurring theme for Square. While you can now get a live technical support agent 24/7 with a customer code, a few customers haven’t been overly impressed with the support they received. However, more than one customer said that through Square’s troubleshooting resources online, they were able to fix the problem themselves.
• Reports Aren’t Robust: A few minor complaints wished that the software came with a more complete set of reports, and some mentioned that the reports were often difficult to read.
• Limited Inventory Management: While Square for Restaurants does include basic item tracking, it cannot track raw ingredients. That means Square for Restaurants users who want raw ingredient tracking will have to integrate (and pay for) a separate restaurant inventory management system. At least one Square Restaurant review has mentioned this issue.

Positive Square Restaurant POS Reviews & Testimonials

• Ease Of Use: There aren’t a ton of reviews in yet, but, by far, the number one aspect that users are raving about is how easy the system is to use. Multiple restaurant managers were amazed at how simple it was to train even brand new employees, saving countless hours in the process.
• Cost: Multiple Square for Restaurant reviews from customers have praised its affordable cost. A few customers mentioned shopping around and finding that Square met every one of their basic needs at a significantly lower price than its competitors.
• Online Ordering & Delivery: People seem to particularly love that Square’s online ordering and delivery integrations make it hassle-free to set up delivery and pickup options, a growing necessity for all restaurants.

Final Verdict Of Square For Restaurants POS

Square For Restaurants POS	Visit Site

With Square for Restaurants, Square has managed to stay true to its brand of being highly intuitive and easy to learn while incorporating some complex elements. Square’s table mapping, check-splitting, and menu creation functions are exceptionally easy to use, if not particularly flashy. However, if you need a more advanced feature such as raw ingredient tracking, you will likely find Square for Restaurants lacking. The POS does have excellent integrations to fill in the gaps in its functionality, but those integrations will, of course, drive up your monthly cost.

Still, Square for Restaurants is a pretty amazing value, especially considering it has a free plan that allows unlimited devices and locations. While full-service sit-down restaurants should probably go with the Plus plan, a quick-serve eatery or bar may get by just fine on the Free plan. Even if you add a $10/month kitchen display system, your total cost is still incredibly affordable. I also love that the Free plan is now fully compatible with the Square Register, which is ideal for a quick-serve or fast-casual setup and adds 24/7 support to your Square for Restaurants account. (Full Square Register compatibility with Square for Restaurants Plus features is coming soon as well.)

For all that you get, it’s going to be tough to beat Square for Restaurants’ pricing, not to mention the convenience of its built-in processing, online ordering and delivery integrations, and KDS. Best of all, the free price tag means you can try out the POS indefinitely at no cost or take advantage of the 30-day free trial for the Plus plan.

Want to check out some other free POS systems? Read our post, What To Expect In Free POS Software & How To Find The Right Fit For Your Small Business.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Square For Restaurants POS	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Square For Restaurants POS for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Square For Restaurants POS	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Square For Restaurants POS for yourself.

Sources

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