Article Square Restaurant POS Reviews (2024) How does Square’s restaurant POS compare to other restaurant software systems? Find out as we explore Square reviews from real restaurant owners. Searching for the perfect POS software system for your restaurant? Square offers business point-of-sale solutions for restaurants, retailers, and service providers, and supports quick service, full service, and fast casual restaurants along with bars, breweries, and ghost kitchens. Square started in 2009 and was known for their tiny credit card swipe add-on device for early smartphones, enabling retailers to sell on the go and accept credit card payments from anywhere. As one of the top choices for a restaurant POS platform, we analyzed Square reviews from restaurant customers to see how it stacks up against the competition. How does Square compare to the best restaurant POS systems on third party sites?When evaluating software for your restaurant tech stack, it’s important that it meets your individual needs as a business owner. Whether you’re running an intimate French bistro, a bustling quick service restaurant, or a franchise of ice cream shops, making sure that the systems you choose work for your specific restaurant or bar type will pay off in the long run. The software that you power your business with can impact the customers you’re able to reach, as well as the dining experience and your employee experience. At a time where hiring staff can be a challenge and many restaurants are operating with a lean crew, it’s essential to have the best possible technology available supporting your business.To explore how Square compares to other restaurant software platforms and what they have to offer, we turned to G2, a leader in business software ratings and analysis, powered by 1.7M+ authentic user reviews. For each specific software product category, like marketing automation platforms or restaurant POS software, G2 creates a G2 Grid® based on customer reviews and sentiments, plotting the top performing software platforms by user satisfaction and market presence. G2 Grid® for Restaurant POS Systems Resource The Restaurant POS Comparison Tool A free, customizable Restaurant POS Comparison Tool to research and compare point of sale systems in one Excel spreadsheet or editable PDF. RESOURCE Find the right POS for your restaurant's unique needs You must have Javascript enabled in order to submit forms on our website. If you'd like to contact Toast please call us at:(857) 301-6002 First and last name* First and last name* is required Email* Email* is required Phone number* Phone number* is required Restaurant Name Restaurant Name is required What is your current POS? 2Touch POS Advantix Agilysys Aldelo Aldelo Light Ambur Breadcrumb Breakaway International Brigade Brink Clover DigitalDining Dinerware Focus Foodtec Gusto Halo Harbortouch Hula Leaf Maitre' D Menusifu MICROS 3700 MICROS 9700 Microsale MICROS Simphony NCR - Aloha NCR - Compris NCR - RPOS NCR - Silver None - Cash Register None - Paper & Pencil Other Partech PDQ Pixel Point Positouch POS Lavu Revel Revention R Power Salido Sam4s Shopkeep Sicom Speedline Square Squirrel Talech Task Retail Technology TouchBistro Transax Treatware Trident Versitouch Vivonet Winrest XPIENT What is your current POS? What is your current POS? is required Zip Code Zip Code is required By requesting a demo, you agree to receive automated text messages from Toast. We’ll handle your info according to our privacy statement. Additional information for California residents available here. Toast ranks #1 in the restaurant POS system category based on consumer reviews. G2 examines over 15 data points to determine market presence, using a combination of proprietary and third party data, and exclusively uses consumer reviews to determine satisfaction. All of their scoring methodology is explained in more detail on the G2 website, but we’ll provide a bit more information below.How the G2 Grid Restaurant Review Scoring System WorksG2’s scoring system is based on thousands of customer reviews and a unique algorithm that helps to process the data and find meaningful patterns and results in real time. Here’s a breakdown of the different elements in the grid and scoring system.X Axis: Satisfaction, based on user reviews and feedbackY Axis: Market presence, based on proprietary usage data, third party data, and customer reviewsTop right quadrant — Leaders: The restaurant POS systems that have both strong customer satisfaction ratings and a strong market presence Ex. Toast, Square, LightspeedTop left quadrant — Contenders: POS systems with weak satisfaction scores and a strong market presence Ex. NCR Aloha POSBottom right quadrant — High performers: POS platforms with strong satisfaction scores, but a weak market presenceEx. Upserve, CAKEBottom left quadrant — Niche: These platforms have weak satisfaction scores and a weak market presenceEx. POSitouch, PayfactoThe G2 scoring methodology and grid system incorporates several attributes to surface the most helpful reviews for prospective technology customers. Some of the factors in satisfaction rates focus on product features, popularity, quality of reviews, age of reviews, net promoter scores (NPS), and more.Third Party Customer Ratings and Reviews of SquareHere’s what customers are saying in Square reviews on a variety of third party sites. We tried to incorporate restaurant owners using Square in a handful of different restaurant and bar types to provide the most context possible. In general, Square reviews are positive, citing that it’s easy for small businesses to use and that it works well for small transactions, due to fees. There’s a pattern in customer reviews mentioning poor customer service, complex software that continues to grow more complicated, and issues with Square withholding large amounts of money for up to seven days.Let’s take a look at a handful of Square restaurant POS customer reviews. Source: GetAppSource: TrustPilot Source: CapterraSource: Capterra Source: CapterraSource: Capterra Square Reviews: StrengthsUsers report that Square is “easy to set up,” has a “good invoicing system,” and that it can be customized for small businesses. Here are the main things that Square users love about the product.Great for small businessesA Capterra review of Square from user Jess says, “Simple POS for small shops. Enabled us to add a POS to replace our old cash register for the minimum expense. Much more affordable than competing products but also has far fewer features and poor support for tip handling”. Easy to set upOne anonymous reviewer on GetApp says, “This is an incredibly simple system that can be implemented in any restaurant or bar, and for the most part is reliable enough to get the job done.”Good invoicing systemCapterra reviewer Jess says, “Good invoicing system, easy to customize, simple”. Square Reviews: WeaknessesUser reviews mention time delays in receiving large sums of money, a challenging user interface for some, and fees that don’t align with small business (or large enterprise) budgets.Of note, Square charges 2.6% processing fees + $0.10 per payment for mobile, chip, and magstripe payments. Here’s what the Square reviews say could use some improvement.Fees are limiting for some businessesTrustPilot review from Square user Dakota says, “I love Square but the fees are way too much”. Organizations handling large sums of money may be subject to longer waiting periods to get funds than other platformsIn a Capterra review, Square user Travis mentions that “It put me in a pinch trying to wait for the payment processing…all said and done this will be a 3-4 week process. They hold onto your money if it’s a large amount for over seven days”. Limited integrations with other restaurant tech toolsOne Capterra review from user Jennifer says, “I wish that there was more functionality between Square and our reservations software. We’ve tried to integrate the two without success”. Poor tip handlingSquare user Jess says in her Capterra review, “Terrible at handling shifts and tips. If you have multiple shift workers sharing a register and pooled tips it turns into a custom report nightmare”. Complex user experienceCamila, a restaurant manager and Square user, says in a Capterra review, “They could improve some of the features so it’s easier and faster to select the items, or to add more options to conditional words. When we have a customer who wants to customize, we have to write long sentences”.Square vs. ToastHow does Square compare to Toast, the #1 restaurant POS software system on the G2 comparison grid? Both platforms support restaurant point of sales operations and more. Both Square and Toast offer online ordering, contactless payments, delivery service, and app integrations with other restaurant operations software platforms. However, it’s important to note that these specific integrations vary — take a look at Toast’s integration partners and API capabilities to see how it fits in with your tech setup. Both platforms offer online education, cloud backup, offline payments, digital receipts, and integrated credit card processing. But for restaurant operations beyond this, Toast is able to provide restaurant-specific POS features, where Square has a standardized system. And Toast has 24/7/365 customer support, which Square doesn’t currently offer. Another important feature that Toast supports is reliable Ethernet connectivity and restaurant hardware for any operating system. Square currently has this option for Android devices only.Square features online ordering, but Toast offers that plus delivery management, a takeout and delivery app, and kiosks. Another handy feature that Toast provides is handheld payment processing with Toast Mobile Order & PayTM.For team management specifically, Square provides time cards and payroll capabilities, but many reviews mentioned the request for features like employee scheduling (which is available with Toast), and better tip handling options. Take a look at how Toast and Square compare as restaurant POS platforms, and which one is the best choice for your restaurant or bar to help you boost sales, improve team productivity and morale, and accelerate your business growth.Related Restaurant POS ReviewsLightspeed POS ReviewsTouchBistro POS ReviewsUpserve POS ReviewsClover POS ReviewsSpoton POS ReviewsToast POS Reviews Resource The Restaurant POS Comparison Tool A free, customizable Restaurant POS Comparison Tool to research and compare point of sale systems in one Excel spreadsheet or editable PDF. RESOURCE Find the right POS for your restaurant's unique needs You must have Javascript enabled in order to submit forms on our website. If you'd like to contact Toast please call us at:(857) 301-6002 First and last name* First and last name* is required Email* Email* is required Phone number* Phone number* is required Restaurant Name Restaurant Name is required What is your current POS? 2Touch POS Advantix Agilysys Aldelo Aldelo Light Ambur Breadcrumb Breakaway International Brigade Brink Clover DigitalDining Dinerware Focus Foodtec Gusto Halo Harbortouch Hula Leaf Maitre' D Menusifu MICROS 3700 MICROS 9700 Microsale MICROS Simphony NCR - Aloha NCR - Compris NCR - RPOS NCR - Silver None - Cash Register None - Paper & Pencil Other Partech PDQ Pixel Point Positouch POS Lavu Revel Revention R Power Salido Sam4s Shopkeep Sicom Speedline Square Squirrel Talech Task Retail Technology TouchBistro Transax Treatware Trident Versitouch Vivonet Winrest XPIENT What is your current POS? What is your current POS? is required Zip Code Zip Code is required By requesting a demo, you agree to receive automated text messages from Toast. We’ll handle your info according to our privacy statement. Additional information for California residents available here. DISCLAIMER: This information is provided for general informational purposes only, and publication does not constitute an endorsement. Toast does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information, text, graphics, links, or other items contained within this content. Toast does not guarantee you will achieve any specific results if you follow any advice herein. It may be advisable for you to consult with a professional such as a lawyer, accountant, or business advisor for advice specific to your situation.