Square for Restaurants
squareup.com/us/en/point-of-sale/restaurantsBuild Difficulty: 4/5
A few focused days to build a solid replacement
A flexible restaurant POS, made for the rush
How to Replace Square for RestaurantsOverview
Features
92 features across 23 categories
Content Management(1)
Create professional-looking product images right from your POS with automatic background removal
Customer Acquisition(1)
Bring in new customers with digital and physical gift cards
Customer Communication(2)
Send automatic order-ready texts to keep customers informed and pickups running smoothly
Collect a guest's phone number to automatically send a text when their order is marked as complete in KDS
Customer Experience(2)
Offer self-service ordering with customizable welcome screens, picture-based categories, and persistent cart visibility
Customizable kiosk that lets customers submit their own orders in-store, speeding up service and freeing up staff
Customer Management(2)
Know your most valuable diners and tailor customer experiences based on guest profiles tracking purchase and order history
Create personalized profiles with patrons' contact details, purchase history, saved cards, and preferences
Customer Retention(1)
Reward returning customers and encourage future visits with loyalty programs
Device Management(1)
Set up, monitor, and manage devices, even when you're off-site; view device details and create printer profiles
E-commerce(2)
Take control of your online ordering with a branded online ordering page without monthly fees or commissions
Sell online and offer in-store pickup, shipping, and local delivery
Financial Management(7)
Access checking, savings, and loans for your business to control cashflow
Organize payments and pay bills and vendors using your Square Checking account with on-the-go access
Get real-time access to earnings from online marketplace and ordering platforms in your Square Checking account
Send invoices and estimates with automatic reminders to expand income potential, great for catering
Bank where you do business with a debit card and checking account to keep ambitions on track and get faster access to money
Confidently explore new opportunities, concepts, or locations with financial backing from Square Loans
Set aside a portion of every sale to budget for taxes, kitchen equipment, emergencies, and your next location
Hardware(4)
Portable POS device that fits in your pocket and gives you the freedom to roam while taking payments
Fully integrated, two-screen solution to run your entire business right out of the box
Simplify checkout with an iPad POS that swivels for easy interaction
Take orders and payments tableside with a compact, all-in-one device that also prints receipts
Integration(2)
Keep orders flowing beyond your doors by integrating with delivery partners like Uber Eats and DoorDash
Take reservations by integrating your system with apps like OpenTable and SevenRooms
Inventory Management(6)
Prevent overselling by automatically updating menu availability based on stock levels
Track stock, costs, and product availability; monitor inventory levels to maximize profitability
Mark items as sold out in real time across every sales channel to keep your team on the same page
See vendor prices side-by-side and compare costs per unit in real time; turn your menu into an ingredients list instantly
Maximize margins and reduce waste with real-time, ingredient-level inventory tracking through Square Restaurant Inventory by MarketMan
Upload food vendor price sheets to get a side-by-side view of cost per unit in real time across vendors
Kitchen Operations(3)
Organize checks and kitchen tickets so items are prepared and served at the right time
Instantly send orders to the kitchen, customize tickets for faster fulfillment, and use prep insights to optimize kitchen flow
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)
Run email and text message marketing campaigns to drive repeat sales
Promote new items, seasonal deals, and events with automated marketing campaigns that drive repeat business
Multi-Location Management(1)
Oversee your restaurants with tools designed for franchises and multiple locations, including managing each POS remotely
Order Management(9)
Capture complex orders easily with step-by-step flows, quantity controls, and smart sequencing for customizations
Organize orders, time dishes perfectly, and streamline communication with coursing features to serve every course at the perfect time
Create, edit, and save an order before completing the sale; create and manage customer accounts with running balances
Simplify flow and cut down errors by syncing orders that stay connected in-store, online, and across locations
Manage all your on-premise and online orders, including delivery-partner sites such as DoorDash, in one place
Enter orders quickly with customizable displays, menu photos, and an intuitive interface designed for fast service
Turn more tables, provide a better guest experience, and keep servers informed with real-time item and order updates
Speed up service by taking orders and payments at customers' tables, in line, or on the go
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 major payments through a swipe, dip, or tap — even when you're offline
Put more money in staff's pockets by charging gratuity automatically for larger parties
Add a fixed-percentage gratuity to your customer's check, manually or automatically based on party size
Allow customers to pay with Cash App Pay by scanning a QR code
Create percentage or dollar amount discounts; issue full or partial refunds to original payment or as store credit
Split single items across multiple checks down to fractional portions like one-third of a bottle of wine
Split individual items across multiple payment methods or customers
Manually enter a customer's card details or securely add cards to customer profiles for future use
Accept all payments including tap, dip, and swipe even when Wi-Fi is unavailable
Temporarily preauthorize a customer's credit card for a set amount to ensure it's valid
Enable QR code payments on receipts to speed up table turnover and free up staff time
Speed up order entry with running tabs for bars and breweries with fewer errors and quicker service
Enable customers to make payments by scanning QR codes for faster checkout
Add a percentage-based or fixed-amount service charge to a transaction to help offset operational costs
Easily divide checks for any party size — by item, by seat, or in equal payments
Split a check by items or seats, or split an amount into equal payments; reopen checks to adjust and void items
Take payments with just your phone by accepting contactless cards, Apple Pay, and digital wallets with no additional hardware
Accept payments with tap, chip, or swipe functionality including cards and digital wallets
Reporting(14)
See how your full menu is performing and consolidate item performance across seven different sales sources
Run close of day and team member shift reports to see daily sales activity, tip payouts, and payment method breakdown
Get close-of-day and live sales reports on POS to help with real-time staffing and operations decisions
Set your business week to start on any day so your sales and labor reports align with your actual shifts
Get a quick snapshot of your sales activity delivered daily via email
Separate when an order is placed from when it's fulfilled to get more accurate revenue recognition for pre-orders and catering
Get reports on everything from kitchen performance to sales trends to close-of-day to make smart money decisions
See completed ticket count and average completed ticket time across all devices and locations
Get details about open checks, closed checks, and total sales by restaurant section and shift
Zero in on top-performing drinks and snacks with detailed reporting that helps your bar grow
Filter reports by menu to compare performance between different menus like dinner versus lunch
The reconciliation report breaks down sales, refunds, fees, and deposits to show where your money is going
Select a date range to track a sales summary including payments and fees; check trends by item, category, timeframe, and location
Use sales vs. labor insights to fine-tune staffing and control costs
Restaurant Operations(3)
Design your restaurant layout for smoother seating, faster service, and better table turns
Add a cover count to your tables, including optional or required seat positions for dishes
Track tables, manage orders, and maximize covers with table & seat management system
Staff Management(7)
Employees can clock in and out with a passcode or badge at your POS
Control what your team can see and do by assigning permissions at different levels
Get payroll, automated tax filings, and employee benefits in one place
Manage your team's onboarding, time, schedule, and labor costs; enable team access to schedules, shift swaps, and payroll viewing
Schedule shifts, track your team's hours, and run payroll
Automatically track when employees clock in and out, including breaks and overtime
Equally divide each credit card tip across all tip-eligible employees and set custom commission rates
System Administration(1)
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)
Change display to dark background to decrease brightness in low-light dining, bar, or other areas
Pricing
Square Free
- ✓Item and menu management
- ✓Pickup and local delivery
- ✓Branded online ordering page
- ✓Payment processing
Square Plus
Popular- ✓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
- ✓All Square Plus features
- ✓Coursing and seat management
- ✓Square KDS app ($20/mo per device)
- ✓Square Kiosk app ($30/mo per device)
Square Pro
- ✓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 ValueBuild Your Own
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