What Is Square For Bars & How Does It Compare To Other Bar Software?

Running a bar or nightclub can be one of the more stressful jobs in the food industry. You need a POS system that can handle heavy turnover and a large number of tickets.

Using Square POS for bars, one of the most widely used and best-rated point of sale and processing systems on the market, can help alleviate many of your issues. Read on to find out how.

What Is Square POS For Bars & Nightclubs?

Square POS is a solid choice for bars and nightclubs because it has industry-specific integrations, a free entry point, and intuitive hardware to help you manage your busy establishment.

Square can take mobile POS payments and set up online ordering and delivery, along with features to manage your employees and inventory.

Square For Bars Pricing

The nice thing about Square is that you can access its software for free.

Square also makes it easy to tap into more advanced features with paid monthly subscriptions if your business expands. In short, you have options.

Here’s what you can expect to pay.

The free POS app is just that, free.

There are no long-term contracts, and you can use its basic feature set that includes payment processing, inventory, and employee management, access to the Square App store, and more with no upfront costs. All you can expect to pay are the processing fees.

Paid plans are also available, which come with lower processing costs and more advanced features.

Processing costs are 2.4% - 2.6% + $0.15 for in-person transactions and 2.9% - 3.3% + $0.30 for online transactions.

You can also choose paid add-ons, including Square Marketing and Square Payroll.

Square For Bars Features

While Square is one of the simplest and more intuitive POS systems around, it doesn’t skimp on features. And the nice thing is that you can choose to expand your access to features at any time, either by purchasing a higher subscription plan or by upgrading your Square hardware. Here’s a look at what Square for bars has to offer.

Square Free POS Bar Features

• Mobile Payment Options: Square allows you to take orders and payments from anywhere in your bar or nightclub. This can free up those long lines and ease the stress on your bartenders and kitchen staff.
• Real-time Inventory Updates: Square can automatically inform employees when certain items are running low or are out of stock, cutting down on frustration from customers and helping managers know what needs to be replenished.
• Square Online Store: Square offers a free website with Square Online, allowing you to create your own website for free to show off your menu and other unique aspects of your business.
• Real-time Reporting: Square offers a basic reporting package that can keep you informed about what items are selling well, when customers are visiting your establishment, and cost analysis on products.

Square Restaurant Features

• Online Ordering: You can add online ordering in conjunction with your online store to set up food delivery either with your own carriers or through a third-party service. If you want to offer alcohol delivery, you can add an age verification pop-up on your site.
• Kitchen Display System: With Square KDS, you can easily manage your orders from a single screen. You can also set up how your tickets are laid out and add customized notifications. It takes minutes to set up and is fully customizable to your staff’s preferences.
• Simple Modifiers: Square’s modifier system quickly and efficiently walks employees through items, helping them with potential upselling opportunities and cutting down on oversights on orders.
• Menu Management: Square Plus and Premium offer menu creation and management to help you brand your establishment and provide a visually pleasing experience for customers.
• Social Media Integrations: Square easily syncs up with popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, allowing you to both advertise and sell through those sites.
• Marketing: You can build custom marketing campaigns with Square’s unique templates and send out tailored email blasts to customers while storing their information for future promotions.

Square For Bars Hardware Options

One of Square’s best features is its proprietary hardware that can help take selling to the next level. Square offers its convenient reader for contactless and chip payments, but it also has excellent options for countertop service.

Square Stand

The Square Stand is simple but effective and, for $149, turns your tablet into a fully functional POS system. Square Stand takes all forms of payment and can be used both customer and employee-facing. It is compatible with all of Square’s major software offerings and can now be purchased with Square Stand Mount, giving business owners more versatility with where they place their systems.

Square tablet POS iPad stand with built-in card reader.

Square Terminal

For bars that want to emphasize the ability to take mobile payments, Square Terminal might be an excellent choice. Square Terminal can function as a countertop POS but can also be used remotely by servers to take payments on the go. It accepts all forms of payments and now functions with all of Square’s software. Square Terminal costs $299 per unit and comes with a built-in receipt printer, and can also connect to any other device running Square POS.

Square Terminal Contactless Payments

Square Register

The most powerful offering in Square’s hardware line-up is Square Register. This all-in-one POS system costs $799 and features a separate screen for employees and customers. It takes all forms of payments, including Cash App. Syncing Square Register to other products like Square KDS, receipt printers, and scanners gives you the ability to run your entire business from one easy location.

Square Register

Square For Bars Is Best For…

Alternatives To Square For Bars

While Square is an excellent choice for many bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, there are plenty of other options that might fit your individual needs slightly better. Here are some other POS options you may want to consider.

Final Verdict

Square combines its incredibly simple software with enough features to fully operate a busy bar or restaurant. While there may still be other options that are better if you have more advanced needs, like rich inventory management, it more than holds its own for small businesses and single-location establishments.

Square’s paid plans and available add-ons also make it highly scalable if you think you’ll be expanding in the near future.