Matt Sherman

A mobile POS system can be a game-changer for a business, regardless of the industry. Here are six great mobile systems for restaurants, retailers, service businesses, and more!

Square’s business model is to be many things to many different types of businesses, but at its core, it is a solution to help businesses manage how they process payments from transactions both online and in-person. In this post, we’ll answer all of your most basic questions about Square for small business, including how Square works.

Square POS is free and packed with features that any business owner can benefit from. But if you run a food-service business, is Square For Restaurants, the premium iPad POS app, a better choice? Check out the key differences between these two Square offerings and see which is right for you!

With Square, the overall value is astounding — you get a free POS app, free software for invoicing, inventory management, a virtual terminal, and the ability to add loyalty programs, marketing tools, employee management, and payroll features.

Square’s reader comes free when you sign up for Square point of sale only accepts magstripe payments, while Square contactless and chip reader takes chip and contactless payments and can also accept Google Pay and Apple Pay.

Harbortouch has a decent interface and a feature-set that certainly checks the majority of boxes you would expect from a solid POS offering. If you can find a way to make sure that you’re getting the processing rate you’re promised and can negotiate out of some of the hidden fees, you might end up with a strong and affordable system.

Square’s phone customer service hours are from 6 am to 6 pm Pacific time, Monday through Friday. Note that with higher paid subscription tiers, like Square for Restaurants Pro, you have access to Square’s phone support 24/7. Getting a human isn’t always simple, however, as the system will often try and funnel you through its live chat option. If you do have a very specific question and you are two-step verified, you can generally reach someone within a few minutes during business hours or opt to receive a call back. Square has also largely done away with its customer code system for receiving support.

Pros Low cost Included free from Payment Depot Incredibly easy to use Good customer service Offline mode Free card reader Cons Lack of integrations Limited backend Overview SwipeSimple (offered by Payment Depot) is one of the more unique POS products I’ve come across. For one, you can’t simply buy the product outright; you can only get […]

Very few, if any, free POS offerings will give you inventory features as easy to use or as robust as Square delivers. Its trademark functionality makes Square breeze to set up and use but, if your business has extensive or complicated inventory needs, you may need to spring for something a little more advanced.

Square Terminal combines Square’s mobile POS app with an integrated card reader, all in a compact handheld device. Check out our in-depth review to see if it’s really worth the investment.