Square

Square has one of the biggest feature sets among POS solutions. It has the core POS functions you expect like taking payments and printing receipts. In addition, they have many mission-critical add-ons such as payroll and employee management.

Tailored solutions for different business types

If you are ready to dive in properly, you can choose between multiple solutions based on your business. They have restaurant, retail, and appointment/invoicing solutions that were built from the ground up for those specific business types. Each solution gives you deep business insights and allows you to work in a way that flows with your business rather than against it.

Customizable dashboard

Not all reports and tools are relevant to every business. With Square, you can drag and drop widgets onto your main dashboard to get a snapshot of the most important information right when you log in. They also have a complimentary mobile app dashboard.

Inventory management

Square comes built in with inventory management software. They are not as robust as specialized tools but you can create barcodes, item categories, inventory count, and set tax rates.

Add-ons

Square has a number of software products and services you can purchase for a small fee as an add-on. These range from employee and floor management to marketing tools and an Ecommerce storefront. Some of these include:

Gift Cards

Choose between premade cards or create your own custom cards.

Employee Management

Define roles, track point of sale data on a per employee basis, set up electronic time cards, and view employee performance/analytics.

Payroll

Sync employee management tools, access benefits, manage 401K, track time, and add contractors.

Email Marketing

Sync customer contact records, send out newsletters, set up email automation workflows, create coupons and track redemptions, and share on Facebook.

Loyalty

Create traditional punch card or tiered loyalty programs, access performance analytics, and send SMS messages to your members when they earn points.

Square Restaurants

This is a tailored restaurant solution that syncs the back of house and front of house. You can manage tables, menus, get staff analytics, and sales reports from a single dashboard.

Square also recently launched Square Kiosk for restaurant businesses, a self-serve ordering and payment solution. Sellers can maintain labor costs while enhancing the dining experience. Here are some key features of this new offer:

• Proprietary Payment-Processing Hardware and Software: Includes an iOS app for diner orders and
  backend desktop controls and reporting.
• POS Compatibility: Must be used with a POS and is compatible with Square Point of Sale and all tiers of
  Square for Restaurants.
• Built for Food-and-Beverage Sellers: Designed specifically for the needs of restaurant operators.
• Simple Setup: Easy for operators to install and configure.
• Fast Ordering and Payment: Provides a seamless 60-second ordering and payment experience with menu
  visuals for both items and modifiers.

Square Retail

This solution brings together inventory management, customer relationship management, and specialized retail analytics to help run your business.

The only hardware requirement is the initial free square reader that is compatible with an iPad, iPhone, and many android devices. They have an innovative solution which quickly transforms a compatible iPad into a full-featured point of sale system. Additional ones can be bought directly from Square or you can adapt your own devices.

You can also opt to get registers, terminals, stands, and other hardware as mentioned in the pricing section. The most expensive hardware comes with the ability to finance the purchase over the course of 12 – 24 months.

Square has add-ons like its email marketing suite, loyalty programs, and retail/restaurant platforms which we have already touched on. These are not necessary to utilize Square but increase its usefulness.

Apart from the add-ons produced by Square itself, they have an app marketplace to connect over a hundred apps to your Square account. These apps include everything from accounting tools like Quickbooks Online and Xero to marketing tools like ActiveCampaign and IFTTT.

After the simple registration process, you can start using Square immediately. It is made for small business owners, not programmers. The interface was built with that in mind.

If this is your first time using the application or any application like it, the clear navigation labels make it possible to click around and figure out the basic features. For the more advanced functionality, they have many resources available which walk you through everything step-by-step.

The retail and restaurant dashboards are a bit unique because they are built from the ground up for those business types. There may be a bit of a learning curve.