Square for Restaurants

squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurants
Point of Sale
Few Days

A flexible restaurant POS, made for the rush

How to Replace Square for Restaurants

Overview

Square is a cloud-based POS system and business technology solution built for single- and multi-location restaurants including full-service, quick-service, fast-casual, bars, breweries, and multi-concept establishments. It provides integrated order management, payment processing, kitchen operations, and team management tools designed to streamline restaurant operations from front-of-house to back-of-house.

Features

92 features across 23 categories

Content Management(1)

Auto-polish item imageAI

Create professional-looking product images right from your POS with automatic background removal

Also in: Juro, Notion, WordPress.com

Customer Acquisition(1)

Gift cards

Bring in new customers with digital and physical gift cards

Customer Communication(2)

Order-ready notifications

Send automatic order-ready texts to keep customers informed and pickups running smoothly

Order-ready text notifications

Collect a guest's phone number to automatically send a text when their order is marked as complete in KDS

Customer Experience(2)

Square Kiosk appPremium

Offer self-service ordering with customizable welcome screens, picture-based categories, and persistent cart visibility

Square Kiosk self-service orderingPremium

Customizable kiosk that lets customers submit their own orders in-store, speeding up service and freeing up staff

Customer Management(2)

Customer directory

Know your most valuable diners and tailor customer experiences based on guest profiles tracking purchase and order history

Customer profiles and personalization

Create personalized profiles with patrons' contact details, purchase history, saved cards, and preferences

Also in: Jobber, QuickBooks, Setmore

Customer Retention(1)

Loyalty programs

Reward returning customers and encourage future visits with loyalty programs

Device Management(1)

Remote device management

Set up, monitor, and manage devices, even when you're off-site; view device details and create printer profiles

E-commerce(2)

Branded online ordering page

Take control of your online ordering with a branded online ordering page without monthly fees or commissions

Online store (Square Websites)

Sell online and offer in-store pickup, shipping, and local delivery

Financial Management(7)

Banking solutions (Square Banking)

Access checking, savings, and loans for your business to control cashflow

Bill Pay

Organize payments and pay bills and vendors using your Square Checking account with on-the-go access

Instant payouts

Get real-time access to earnings from online marketplace and ordering platforms in your Square Checking account

Invoices and estimates

Send invoices and estimates with automatic reminders to expand income potential, great for catering

Square Checking

Bank where you do business with a debit card and checking account to keep ambitions on track and get faster access to money

Square Loans

Confidently explore new opportunities, concepts, or locations with financial backing from Square Loans

Square Savings

Set aside a portion of every sale to budget for taxes, kitchen equipment, emergencies, and your next location

Hardware(4)

Square Handheld device

Portable POS device that fits in your pocket and gives you the freedom to roam while taking payments

Square Register

Fully integrated, two-screen solution to run your entire business right out of the box

Square Stand

Simplify checkout with an iPad POS that swivels for easy interaction

Square Terminal

Take orders and payments tableside with a compact, all-in-one device that also prints receipts

Integration(2)

Delivery platform integration

Keep orders flowing beyond your doors by integrating with delivery partners like Uber Eats and DoorDash

Reservation integrations

Take reservations by integrating your system with apps like OpenTable and SevenRooms

Inventory Management(6)

Auto 86 and item counts

Prevent overselling by automatically updating menu availability based on stock levels

Inventory tracking

Track stock, costs, and product availability; monitor inventory levels to maximize profitability

Item availability management

Mark items as sold out in real time across every sales channel to keep your team on the same page

Order guide

See vendor prices side-by-side and compare costs per unit in real time; turn your menu into an ingredients list instantly

Real-time inventory tracking

Maximize margins and reduce waste with real-time, ingredient-level inventory tracking through Square Restaurant Inventory by MarketMan

Vendor cost comparison

Upload food vendor price sheets to get a side-by-side view of cost per unit in real time across vendors

Kitchen Operations(3)

Course managementPremium

Organize checks and kitchen tickets so items are prepared and served at the right time

Square KDS (Kitchen Display System)Premium

Instantly send orders to the kitchen, customize tickets for faster fulfillment, and use prep insights to optimize kitchen flow

Square KDS appPremium

Connect front and back of house with features for ticket routing, customizable ticket layouts, real-time order updates, ticket timers, and performance reports

Marketing(2)

Email and text marketing (Square Marketing)

Run email and text message marketing campaigns to drive repeat sales

Square Marketing automation

Promote new items, seasonal deals, and events with automated marketing campaigns that drive repeat business

Menu Management(2)

Bulk edits for menu items

Use bulk edits to quickly manage item availability or visibility

Item and menu management

Update your on-premise and online menus in real time and sync changes to all locations and channels

Multi-Location Management(1)

Square for Franchises

Oversee your restaurants with tools designed for franchises and multiple locations, including managing each POS remotely

Order Management(9)

Advanced modifiers

Capture complex orders easily with step-by-step flows, quantity controls, and smart sequencing for customizations

Coursing featuresPremium

Organize orders, time dishes perfectly, and streamline communication with coursing features to serve every course at the perfect time

Open checks and house accounts

Create, edit, and save an order before completing the sale; create and manage customer accounts with running balances

Order synchronization

Simplify flow and cut down errors by syncing orders that stay connected in-store, online, and across locations

Orders tab

Manage all your on-premise and online orders, including delivery-partner sites such as DoorDash, in one place

Speed up order entry

Enter orders quickly with customizable displays, menu photos, and an intuitive interface designed for fast service

Tableside order taking

Turn more tables, provide a better guest experience, and keep servers informed with real-time item and order updates

Tableside ordering

Speed up service by taking orders and payments at customers' tables, in line, or on the go

Third-party order management

Consolidate all your online menus and orders, including those from delivery partners like Grubhub and Door Dash, in one platform

Payment Processing(18)

Accept all payment methods

Accept all major payments through a swipe, dip, or tap — even when you're offline

Auto-gratuity

Put more money in staff's pockets by charging gratuity automatically for larger parties

Automatic gratuity

Add a fixed-percentage gratuity to your customer's check, manually or automatically based on party size

Cash App Pay

Allow customers to pay with Cash App Pay by scanning a QR code

Discounts and refunds

Create percentage or dollar amount discounts; issue full or partial refunds to original payment or as store credit

Fractional check splitting

Split single items across multiple checks down to fractional portions like one-third of a bottle of wine

Item split payments

Split individual items across multiple payment methods or customers

Manual entry or card on file

Manually enter a customer's card details or securely add cards to customer profiles for future use

Offline payment acceptance

Accept all payments including tap, dip, and swipe even when Wi-Fi is unavailable

Preauthorize bar tabs

Temporarily preauthorize a customer's credit card for a set amount to ensure it's valid

QR code payments

Enable QR code payments on receipts to speed up table turnover and free up staff time

Running tabs

Speed up order entry with running tabs for bars and breweries with fewer errors and quicker service

Scan to pay

Enable customers to make payments by scanning QR codes for faster checkout

Service charges

Add a percentage-based or fixed-amount service charge to a transaction to help offset operational costs

Split checks

Easily divide checks for any party size — by item, by seat, or in equal payments

Split or reopen checks

Split a check by items or seats, or split an amount into equal payments; reopen checks to adjust and void items

Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android

Take payments with just your phone by accepting contactless cards, Apple Pay, and digital wallets with no additional hardware

Tap, dip, or swipe payments

Accept payments with tap, chip, or swipe functionality including cards and digital wallets

Reporting(14)

Catalog reporting

See how your full menu is performing and consolidate item performance across seven different sales sources

Close of day procedures and reporting

Run close of day and team member shift reports to see daily sales activity, tip payouts, and payment method breakdown

Close-of-day and live sales reports

Get close-of-day and live sales reports on POS to help with real-time staffing and operations decisions

Custom work week

Set your business week to start on any day so your sales and labor reports align with your actual shifts

Daily sales summary email

Get a quick snapshot of your sales activity delivered daily via email

Deferred sales tracking

Separate when an order is placed from when it's fulfilled to get more accurate revenue recognition for pre-orders and catering

Kitchen performance analytics

Get reports on everything from kitchen performance to sales trends to close-of-day to make smart money decisions

Kitchen performance reporting

See completed ticket count and average completed ticket time across all devices and locations

Live section and shift reporting

Get details about open checks, closed checks, and total sales by restaurant section and shift

Menu reporting

Zero in on top-performing drinks and snacks with detailed reporting that helps your bar grow

Menu reports

Filter reports by menu to compare performance between different menus like dinner versus lunch

Reconciliation report

The reconciliation report breaks down sales, refunds, fees, and deposits to show where your money is going

Sales insights

Select a date range to track a sales summary including payments and fees; check trends by item, category, timeframe, and location

Sales vs labor insights

Use sales vs. labor insights to fine-tune staffing and control costs

Restaurant Operations(3)

Custom floor plan designPremium

Design your restaurant layout for smoother seating, faster service, and better table turns

Seat managementPremium

Add a cover count to your tables, including optional or required seat positions for dishes

Table and seat managementPremium

Track tables, manage orders, and maximize covers with table & seat management system

Staff Management(7)

Clock in and out with passcodes or badges

Employees can clock in and out with a passcode or badge at your POS

Square Advanced Access

Control what your team can see and do by assigning permissions at different levels

Square Payroll

Get payroll, automated tax filings, and employee benefits in one place

Square Shifts

Manage your team's onboarding, time, schedule, and labor costs; enable team access to schedules, shift swaps, and payroll viewing

Team scheduling and payroll (Square Staff)

Schedule shifts, track your team's hours, and run payroll

Timecards with break and overtime tracking

Automatically track when employees clock in and out, including breaks and overtime

Tip pooling and commissions tracking

Equally divide each credit card tip across all tip-eligible employees and set custom commission rates

System Administration(1)

Release manager

Turn on new features and decide when you want to roll out new updates so there are no surprises for your staff

User Interface(1)

Dark mode display

Change display to dark background to decrease brightness in low-light dining, bar, or other areas

Pricing

Square Free

Free
  • Item and menu management
  • Pickup and local delivery
  • Branded online ordering page
  • Payment processing

Square Plus

Popular
Custom pricing
  • Item and menu management
  • Pickup and local delivery
  • Branded online ordering page
  • Integrated inventory tracking
  • Close of day reports
  • Square KDS app ($30/mo per device)
  • Square Kiosk app ($50/mo per device)

Square Premium

Custom pricing
  • All Square Plus features
  • Coursing and seat management
  • Square KDS app ($20/mo per device)
  • Square Kiosk app ($30/mo per device)

Square Pro

Custom pricing
  • All features
  • For processing over $250,000/year
  • Custom pricing and processing fees
  • Hardware discounts
  • Onboarding and implementation support
  • Technical specialists
  • Account management

Cost Calculator

Pricing data not available for Square for Restaurants. Check their website for current pricing.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Square for Restaurants alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 92 features.

Buy Square for Restaurants

Better Value
Monthly costContact Sales
3-year totalVaries
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$72,000
Maintenance$1,080/mo
3-year total$110,880
Dev time~6 months

Buying Square for Restaurants saves ~$110,880 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 92 features and a BuildScore of 4/5. Actual costs vary.

Integrations

6 known integrations

DoorDashGrubhubOpenTableSevenRoomsSquare Restaurant Inventory by MarketManUber Eats