Is it Time to Graduate from Square to a Full POS System?

Square has been a popular choice for small businesses and mobile vendors thanks to its simplicity and affordable flat-rate pricing. However, as your business grows and operations become more complex, you may start to hit limitations with Square. That is when it may be time to "graduate" to a more robust point of sale (POS) system designed for your specific business type. Here are several reasons to consider making the switch:

Functionality Tailored to Your Needs

While Square is a solid basic POS, full-fledged POS systems offer much deeper functionality tailored specifically for retailers, restaurants, salons, and other verticals. This could include advanced inventory management, customer tracking and loyalty programs, detailed employee management and payroll, tableside ordering and kitchen printer integration for restaurants, and so much more. A specialized system streamlines your operations versus trying to tack on third-party app integrations.

Integrated Ecosystem

Speaking of integrations, POS systems are designed to integrate seamlessly with other systems you use like accounting software, e-commerce platforms, CRM databases, vendor management tools and more. This allows data to flow automatically between systems instead of manually re-entering information. Some POS companies have their own back-end systems with these features included. Others can integrate with other software to accomplish this.

Customized to Your Brand

Many POS platforms allow extensive customization of the interface, checkout process, reporting and analytics to perfectly fit your business model and operational needs. You can also choose hardware scanners, printers, payment terminals, and self-service kiosks versus Square's more limited reader accessories. Many POS systems will also allow you to customize how your receipt prints out. You can include logos or current promotions.

Robust Reporting

In-depth reporting and analytics are critical for making smarter inventory, pricing, promotions and other decisions for your business. POS systems generate detailed reporting tailored to your specific key metrics versus Square's more basic reporting. This data-driven visibility lets you maximize profitability.

Negotiate Payment Processing Rates

While Square is transparent with its flat-rate payment processing fees, dedicated POS systems may allow you to negotiate lower credit card processing rates with payment processors, potentially saving you thousands per year as transaction volumes grow. Many also offer cash discounting (also known as dual pricing) programs.

Offline Capabilities

Unlike Square which requires an internet connection, some POS systems can operate in offline mode during connectivity disruptions and re-sync all transaction data once the connection is restored. This ensures you never miss a sale. It is to be noted that there is some risk to processing offline. You have to ask yourself if the risk is worth the reward. Not knowing how long your internet will be down, is it worth it to lose sales due to customers not having the cash to pay for a transaction.

As your business expands, you may simply outgrow the functionality of Square and require a more powerful retail management solution. Make sure to invest the time evaluating your operational requirements and long-term goals to select the right specialized POS system as a technological foundation for efficiently scaling your business.

Don’t hesitate to reach out for a free consultation about the different options we work with to better serve your needs. We can help whether it is retail, restaurant, food truck, farmer’s market stand and many others.