Square for Restaurants Reviews
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49 Reviews
- Industry: Financial Services
- Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Super easy to use and convenient!
Reviewed on 2020/01/07
I enjoy it a lot and will continue to use
I enjoy it a lot and will continue to use
Pros
I really love using this software! It is so easy to use and is always quick to use, never issues with it! This is important in the restaurant
Cons
The only con is that the fees get a little expensive at times, especially when you manually enter info
- Industry: Restaurants
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Square for Restaurants - The only real POS you can try before you buy for small restaurants.
Reviewed on 2024/11/19
So, overall, It is excellent low cost way to get started. Paying for the upgrades is well worth it...
So, overall, It is excellent low cost way to get started. Paying for the upgrades is well worth it to manage staff, an online ordering site, and have all the registers and equipment you need. Other competitors are very good too, but the monthly charges for them greatly outweigh the processing of cards cost that square charges. You pick your poison sometimes, but for a small restaurant, it is a no brainer to start out with square for restaurants. Even a multi-location set up like mine really takes advantage of the packaging of services.
Pros
Square for Restaurants is the first Point of Sale that I found that I could fully customize for myself the way I wanted. Help was available if I needed it, but I like to throw away the instruction book and do it myself. I could use hardware/tablets I already had to use the software and the tight integration with the KDS was what I needed. I didn't have to run a bunch of wires to have a printer in the kitchen and a screen.
Cons
My 2 big caveats are the nature of cloud based kitchen display system. If the internet goes down you not only lose the tickets, but the printers won't print from the kds. It is not impossible, but for any pos I recommend a cellular backup for your business. It is necessary. The second thing is there are a few quirks with the system that have gotten updates, I just didn't know when it was going to change. I used to not be able to have photos on the display, but they are making it "prettier" as time goes on.
Reasons for Choosing Square for Restaurants
So much better in so many ways. I can't say I missed the old system one bit. I was glad to start over with my new restaurant and roll it out to all locations.Reasons for Switching to Square for Restaurants
Ultimately, it was the cheapest to get started and had all the features I needed without some sales rep constantly after me.- Industry: Hospitality
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 1.0 /10
Lost of time and money big impact on small business
Reviewed on 2024/06/23
Not bad but would be better if square take responsibility when application not working and refund...
Not bad but would be better if square take responsibility when application not working and refund the customers for the lost
Pros
The system himself is not bad, when it is working!
Cons
The customer service and the way they treat the customer and never refund money
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10
Square for Restaurants is a solid POS system. Glad its part of our team.
Reviewed on 2024/11/20
It has been a good experience. I have had a few issues with hardware but the support team is...
It has been a good experience. I have had a few issues with hardware but the support team is helpful. Our hardware takes a lot of abuse as our bar/restaurant is outside so they get unplugged and put away at the end of each business day.
Pros
I have found it easy to manage, pull reports, and manage staff. The online menu options was super nice as well. The new addition of the pre-authorization feature is a GAME CHANGER at our establishment.
Cons
I would like a report that shows me my exact payout of credit card sales less the Square fees for each business day. I know the information is there and I can search for it but would like a page just for payouts.
Reasons for Choosing Square for Restaurants
it was HORRIBLE! As the user, you couldn't make any changes. it was not intuitive to use. The cost was absurd. It was a system we inherited.Switched From
Priority1 POSReasons for Switching to Square for Restaurants
We had used Square POS in our retail store and it made sense so we gave Square for Restaurants a try.- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Enough for what we need
Reviewed on 2023/03/24
8/10 overall, with unique issues to certain industries that makes it frustrating here and there....
8/10 overall, with unique issues to certain industries that makes it frustrating here and there. I'd suggest it, there's a reason it's the most popular POS system for small businesses on the market, but don't expect it to be perfect!
Pros
Easy to set up and adjust menus and such, does most everything we need it to do. Have to think outside the box to get it to do some of the things I need it to do, but overall, if you take the time to figure it out, you'll get there.
Cons
A few things are a bit narrow in customizability, I wish we could do more variation in things like loyalty programs and discount set-ups, and sometimes some adjustments can be a bit tedious to change. We're a brewery with a constantly changing menu of beer offerings, so having to make 5-10 clicks per beverage change every single week can be a bit frustrating, but it's overall pretty user friendly so I can't complain too much.
Reasons for Switching to Square for Restaurants
Relatively within budget, and popular enough that I knew it would be easy to find solutions to issues within online forums and other business owners across the platform. Had also used it before at a previous job so I knew I could integrate it into some of the things I also wanted to use.- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
The Obivious choice for Payment processing
Reviewed on 2020/01/15
The major benefits we experience are as follow: Payment processing is a breeze, we are able to...
The major benefits we experience are as follow: Payment processing is a breeze, we are able to integrate our system with Quick books seamlessly, the many option for accepting payment means we never miss out on being able to receive payment at any time, Customer service is very helpful and they genuinely care about helping your business succeed and the most important for us is we never have to think about it, it just works.
Pros
Square has streamlined my credit card processing immensely, We were using a different merchant service before that had higher fees and less intuitive features. Square is very useful for our staff accepting payments on site, at events, Bar Tending and processing catering invoice payments. it is fully integrated with our Quickbooks software for a streamlined process. The speed in which receiving credit to our bank account is also pleasantly fast. Finally being able to accept a credit card while in an out of service area (No Wifi/Cellular) is an excellent feature we have already taken advantage of.
Cons
There are no issues in the two years I have been using Square to report. The addition of NFC payments has made my life even better!
Reasons for Choosing Square for Restaurants
Merchant Services LTD was our Payment processing company for over 15 years, At the beginning it was a great investment. As time went on the fees were increasing and the reliability/Customer service was decreasing. We reached out to see if there were a way to make it viable again but in the end we decided to give Square a chance and we have never looked back.Reasons for Switching to Square for Restaurants
When choosing Square I did a ton of research on other companies, from reading reviews and watching videos on how they work it was clear to me that Square was the no Nonsense approach we were looking for. If you are a small business looking to take control of your payment processing I highly recommend Square to you.- Industry: Restaurants
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
the best POS for restaurants
Reviewed on 2020/12/02
Square was a huge help for us as a restaurant this year. With covid-19 businesses had to move...
Square was a huge help for us as a restaurant this year. With covid-19 businesses had to move really fast to the online market and Square provides the tools to get there really fast and easy.
Pros
It is really easy to set up, the price is way better than the other systems in the market, it works with wifi and you can use it on your laptop, Ipad, smartphone.
I love how they offer the CRM tool and even more I love how easy is to create a website for your restaurant with them.
Cons
they could improve some of the features so It is even easier and faster to select the items. for example to add more options to the conditional words ( add, yes, No, extra, etc...) they could put the option to replace (ex: replace Ham for turkey) so when we have a customer who wants to customize a product we do not have to write long sentences all the time, instead we can just click a few buttons and is done.
Reasons for Choosing Square for Restaurants
Price, features, customer service.Switched From
Revel SystemsReasons for Switching to Square for Restaurants
The quality of the product was better and for a better price- Industry: Hospitality
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10
Really great system
Reviewed on 2024/03/07
Pros
Easy to use, add and update products, very easy as well to train staff on how to use.
Cons
There's a few limitations with regards to comping/discounting
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Square for restaurants
Reviewed on 2024/11/30
Great! For parking lot and county fair gives everyone options and equal transactions grounds
Great! For parking lot and county fair gives everyone options and equal transactions grounds
Pros
Simple, out of location (parking lot)with all payment options as interior of brick and mortar
Cons
Fear of multiple transactions and fraud
Not sure as to how safe and secure in long run
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Square For Restaurants is A+++
Reviewed on 2023/03/25
Pros
Great features, easy to use, fast, great hardware and customer support
Cons
No cons come to mind. Square has pretty perfect for our needs
Alternatives Considered
Toast POSReasons for Choosing Square for Restaurants
Better hardware and supportSwitched From
talechReasons for Switching to Square for Restaurants
Square rep was friendly and supportive.- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Square for Restaurants
Reviewed on 2023/03/24
Pros
POS is easy to use and set up. Its a straight forward POS that my employees have no problem using.
Cons
Orders are in a list view by date ordered. If they could be in a calendar for by date and time of pick up it would be game changing for my business. I currently use appointments embedded in my website which has its own issues but because it presents in a calendar it keeps me organized for preparation and pick up.
- Industry: Restaurants
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Great for my small business
Reviewed on 2023/03/24
Pros
Inexpensive, very easy to set up and use.
Cons
Some of the software features on the Square terminal can be clunky would be great if certain features could be turned off/customized by the end user.
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Hot mess
Reviewed on 2023/03/24
Great all around system
Great all around system
Pros
Easy system to use and made to where anyone.
Cons
Not enough loan options when you really need them
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Love Our Square POS
Reviewed on 2023/03/24
Great
Great
Pros
How easy it is to use and how it changed our lives
Cons
Started charging for staff scheduling for the basic program.
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Best system ever
Reviewed on 2023/03/24
I started with just the basic Square operation, and opened a coffee shop. It allows me to put...
I started with just the basic Square operation, and opened a coffee shop. It allows me to put everything in one place without hopping from screen to screen or just not knowing where things are. It worth everything to have Square Restaurant.
Pros
Many options to choose from and easy to learn.
Cons
I can’t take it out in the field when I do outside events.
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10
Great addition to our food truck
Reviewed on 2023/03/25
Pros
Ease of UseCompact size and portable POSSimply display and user friendly
Cons
More payment options needed. Ie cashapp. Need reporting that shows alternative payment options
- Industry: Restaurants
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 0.0 /10
"Square for Restaurants" is not for Restaurants.
Reviewed on 2021/07/24
They slapped the words 'For Restaurants' on a product that has not been properly optimized for...
They slapped the words 'For Restaurants' on a product that has not been properly optimized for restaurants. For very small, very simple operation (e.g. coffee shops) it is probably fine. Beyond that steer clear if you are a restaurant. The convenient tech on the backend does not justify to the awful day-today, and utterly useless reporting.
Pros
Setup is easy. HR, on-boarding, benefits, payroll, CC processing all built in is very convenient.
Cons
Unfortunately this is all overshadowed by the day-to-day experience of using the POS for an actual restaurant, especially if you are using a combination of online ordering from a Square website, and in-person dining. Creating new menu items is very tedious, even when duplicating. Drill-down reporting is almost non-existent, stops at the category level. E.g. I have a category called "Beer" that contains 8 different beers. I can see how much gross sales the category does, but I cannot look into the category to see any more detail than that. I have to look at the entire inventory itemized sales report and pick the beers out 1 by 1 to get info on which ones are selling.
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 0.0 /10
Glitchy Hellish Nightmare
Reviewed on 2022/06/09
Traumatizing. Glitches crashed our restaurant multiple nights in a row.
Can’t handle a complex...
Traumatizing. Glitches crashed our restaurant multiple nights in a row.
Can’t handle a complex restaurant. Fine for a 1 terminal retail operation, but RUN AWAY if you are a restaurant owner. Use Toast!
Pros
The price is the only good thing about this software. But you get what you pay for and it’s not worth the savings!
Cons
The software is so glitchy that it has been an epic fail! QR codes fail; printers randomly disconnect; the software double & triple prints tickets (but with delays so it seems like new tickets); tech support is terrible (often barely speaks English & can’t solve complex issues). No on-site support like competing products. We’ve spent thousands of dollars on staff trying to figure it out, but random glitches that have no explanation crash the iPads, QR codes and printing capacity. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of the issues we’ve had. The software cannot handle the complexity of a restaurant. NIGHTMARE!
Alternatives Considered
Toast POSReasons for Choosing Square for Restaurants
Price. But it was not worth it. Get different software!Reasons for Switching to Square for Restaurants
Price- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Business owner’s best friend
Reviewed on 2020/12/20
The choice to use Square for our credit/debit transactions was the best choice for us financially....
The choice to use Square for our credit/debit transactions was the best choice for us financially. Signing up was stress free, without a ton of confusing paperwork, and the fees were more than manageable. In less than a week I received a card reader that was compatible with my device, and free of charge. Transactions are securely managed by the Square app that allows me to track sales any time I want. A very small percentage of each transaction goes to fees and is processed immediately eliminating the monthly bill process. The app also features tools that track inventory, set up promotional offers, loyalty rewards, and collect feedback from my customers. On app tutorials walk you through everything with outstanding customer service for the bigger issues.
Pros
The financial side of any business can be very stressful. Square offers a wide variety of tools and resources that help business owners monitor sales, track inventory, and reward customer loyalty. It’s free to join, and fees are a small percentage of each transaction. Using the app eliminates paperwork giving me more time to focus more on customer satisfaction.
Cons
Not a software, but a very minor inconvenience with the round jack. The reader would occasionally turn during a card swipe, causing a read error. I secured a thin piece of sturdy plastic on the back side of the reader that uses the back of my device as an anchor.
- Industry: Restaurants
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Great as long as you got it
Reviewed on 2021/08/20
Pros
I loved how in depth and detailed one could get and that it considered things like substitutions and such.
Cons
Heaven forbid something wasn't working on the machine and we needed customer support. Always was a hassle, especially if it was an issue involving the POS system not wanting to be online.
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 0.0 /10
Not Ready For Prime Time
Reviewed on 2020/01/16
All the good things about Square exist with other systems that lack the bad things. They are new to...
All the good things about Square exist with other systems that lack the bad things. They are new to the restaurant space and they are evolving, but they are not there yet.
Pros
The user interface is clear and simple. It works perfectly well for our servers.
Cons
The back of house reporting is a disaster. I’ve never worked with a more complicated, obtuse, confusing reporting function. They say you can customize your reports, but that’s true in only the simplest sense. We can’t customize reports so that all the info we want is in one place. We still need to bounce from report to report to find the data we need. It takes my bookkeeper far longer to reconcile sales to receivables than ever before, and occasionally we spend hours trying to make sense, on the phone with support personnel who also can’t make sense of the reports. Any positive reviews of the reporting functions are from customers that really use the reports seriously or diligently. If you care that your receipts are correct, Square makes it virtually impossible.
- Industry: Restaurants
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Love it!
Reviewed on 2019/07/29
Pros
The ease of entering in new items and organizing the screens is great and easy enough for even staff to do. We have worked with them to get certain end of day reports we needed but overall the accessibility to access what you need whether it be item sales per day, hour, category, etc. is really simple. Sending refunds, looking up transactions, or sending coupons is super fast and way easier than any other system I have used. The staff loves it because their tips have tripled with the suggested percentage buttons on the customer screen.
Cons
At first it was hard for me to gain access to troubleshooting help as a manager because I am not the owner of the company. They seem to have changed protocol lately so now when I call it is no problem. There are constant updates so sometimes there are changes in the system and certain ones we don't like or want. However, I have been able to call and they can talk me through how to change the settings.
- Industry: Market Research
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10
Swipe right material
Reviewed on 2019/03/13
Overall ok. Worked most of the time and I like that you can hook up your phone to the little...
Overall ok. Worked most of the time and I like that you can hook up your phone to the little swiping dude. Fix the tipping section at a buyer's checkout stage and you will do wonders. Lower CC fees please.
Pros
Working at a restaurant, this software made life easy for everybody (most of the time). Easy to set up a menu and add images, calculate tax, and reports.
Cons
When wifi went down so did our morale. However, the worst thing about this program was the Tipping Section. Customer's can't read the fine text at the tip checkout phase. They are deer in headlights. "Where do i sign?!" "What do I do" There is a big hiccup at this stage of the check out. Please bring up to your UX team. Square needs to make it simpler for end users. Bless them. I heard the fees are higher than most competitors.
- Industry: Food & Beverages
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for Free Trial
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Value for Money
- Ease of Use
- Customer Support
- Likelihood to recommend 5.0 /10
An ok solution
Reviewed on 2021/05/25
It was easy to set up. Free version lacks features and credit card processing is a bit wacky. Plus...
It was easy to set up. Free version lacks features and credit card processing is a bit wacky. Plus or paid version send like it would fix most issues leaving a functional but lacking system.
Pros
Easy to buy local at Best Buy, easy to set up and great menu! I also love the daily sales report that I get via email.
Cons
Certain functions not available on free version (understandable) but even the paid version didn’t leave great options. Partial payment and leave tab open would be very difficult. And the support said even with paid software “it’s not set up for tab management“ I’m a bar all we do is run tabs. Also refunds don’t work well and to adjustment is extremely difficult! Oh and why only the white case? I didn’t want a proprietary system so their new black version didn’t work for me.
Alternatives Considered
Revel SystemsReasons for Choosing Square for Restaurants
Lightspeed integrated payments doesn’t want to approve me because I am a bar type 48 license and don’t sell food.Reasons for Switching to Square for Restaurants
Revel misrepresented themselves as being able to function as a tab only bar with certain feature capabilities which they actually did not offer.- Industry: Restaurants
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Overall rating
- Ease of Use
- Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10
Super Intuitive
Reviewed on 2022/03/08
Pros
We are a food truck and catering company. Square is by far the most intuitive and convenient P.O.S. for our business.
I cannot say enough about how simple and effective square is as a P.O.S for a food truck.
Cons
Really and truly we have had no issues with square. Any time that we did rung into something it was solved by customer service and was usually user error.