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Square

Free online store builder linked to Square's payments and POS

Overview

Square Appointments is the booking product of Square, whose trademarks belong to Block, Inc. It combines an appointment calendar and online booking with Square’s point of sale, payments, banking, payroll and loans, which makes it a common first system for stylists, barbers and small salons[10].

Three plans are offered. The Free plan, aimed at solo professionals, includes online booking, appointment reminders and unlimited staff calendars. Plus adds cancellation and no-show fees, multi-staff booking and a waitlist; Premium adds resource management, service cost tracking and a future-bookings report for larger salons[10]. Square Pro offers custom pricing and processing for businesses processing more than US$250,000 a year[10].

Card rates fall with each plan: tap, dip or swipe costs 2.6% plus 15 cents on Free, 2.5% plus 15 cents on Plus and 2.4% plus 15 cents on Premium, while manually entered or card-on-file payments cost 3.5% plus 15 cents on every plan[10]. Square’s strengths are its free entry point and broad ecosystem; its limitations for salons include fewer salon-specific tools, such as colour formulas and tiered commissions, than dedicated vendors, and no consumer marketplace comparable to Booksy or Fresha.

Square features

  • Free POS app with item library and inventory tracking
  • Online store, booking site and invoicing on the free plan
  • ACH bank payments at 1% ($1 minimum)
  • EBT/SNAP acceptance at 1.8% + 5¢
  • Afterpay buy now, pay later at 6% + 30¢
  • Plus and Premium plans with lower in-person rates
  • Instant onboarding as a payment facilitator
  • Free POS, online store and invoices

Square pricing

Free plan: 2.6% + 15¢ in person; 3.3% + 30¢ online/invoice; 2.9% + 30¢ via API; 3.5% + 15¢ keyed. Plus: 2.5% + 15¢ in person, 2.9% + 30¢ online. Premium: 2.4% + 15¢ in person. Plus and Premium include a 30-day free trial; their monthly prices were not shown on the fee page consulted.

Square strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Complete rate card published
  • No monthly fee on the free plan
  • POS, online store and invoicing included
  • Lower rates available on paid plans
  • No application wait
  • Complete published rate card

Limitations

  • 3.3% + 30¢ online and invoice rate on the free plan
  • Keyed-in payments cost 3.5% + 15¢
  • Afterpay acceptance costs 6% + 30¢
  • Flat rate costly at high volume
  • Aggregated account can be held
  • 3.3% + 30¢ invoice rate on free plan

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