Square Register Review

Pros

• Set up in minutes
• Cost-effective
• Feature-rich
• Access to App Marketplace

Cons

• Fund holds still an issue
• Occasional software bugs

What Is Square Register?

Square Register POS is a fully integrated point of sale system that you can have up and running in minutes. It has a large touchscreen that is easy for employees to navigate and a customer-facing screen that gives customers the ability to see what they’re purchasing, the total cost, and a place to scan or insert their cards.

Square has made Register its go-to product, running all of Square’s current POS systems (Square for Retail, Square for Restaurants, Square Appointments, and Square POS). Square Register is frankly impressive and will appeal to vendors that want a simple, all-in-one solution that is also relatively affordable.

Businesses That Would Benefit From Square Register

While Square Register is a significant investment, businesses of virtually all sizes could benefit from it.

The financing options make it affordable even if you have very little upfront cash, and it is a truly all-in-one piece of hardware that can run nearly all aspects of your business. With its compatibility with all of Square’s POS platforms, restaurants, retail stores, and salons should all at least consider Square Register. If you’re a very small retailer or a business like a food truck, it’s probably a bit bulky for your needs, but if you’re looking to invest in a standalone POS system, Square Register is about as good as it gets.

Square Register Pricing

Square’s simple pricing structure has always been one of its more appealing selling points.

Square Register costs $39/month for 24 months, or $799 paid in full. Processing is also easy to calculate: 2.6% + $0.10 per tap, dip, or swipe. It can also accept Afterpay at a rate of 6% + $0.30 per transaction. Square Register is also equipped to take Cash App payments.

Square scores well in our ratings for its industry-standard processing rates, which become slightly cheaper if you sign up for some of its paid plans. It also receives high marks when compared to similar products like Clover Station, which has a higher upfront cost.

Square says it can work with vendors to create a custom rate for high-volume businesses that do more than $250K in annual credit card sales and have an average ticket size of over $15.

Overall Design

Square Register, despite obviously being larger and bulkier than Square’s other hardware offerings, still very much fits in with the overall brand. The built-in card reader is intuitive, and the touch screen is responsive on both ends. As is the case with many products similar to Register, it can come across as being a bit top-heavy, but the stand is durable, and it would take something pretty significant to knock it off a counter. Square Register is intended to be a stationary device, but the customer-facing tablet is portable. The Register device must also be connected to a power source at all times to function.

• Connectivity: Register connects either via Wi-Fi or Ethernet, and it has a USB hub with five ports. From there, you can easily attach a wide variety of printers, scanners, cash drawers, etc. Square has a list of compatible hardware on its website and items you can purchase as well.
• Dimensions:
  • Register Display: 13.25 inches diagonally
  • Customer Display: 7 inches diagonally
  • Width: 6.9 inches
  • Depth: 5 inches
  • Total Height: 10 inches
  • Register Weight: 3.9 pounds
  • Customer Display Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Payment Types:
  • Magnetic stripe cards
  • EMV chip cards
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • Samsung Pay
  • NFC cards
• Supported Software:
  • Square POS included
  • Square for Retail
  • Square for Restaurants free plan
• Mounting Options:
  • Drill mount
  • Adhesive mount

Ease Of Use

Convenience has always been the name of the game for Square, yet, somehow, Square Register has been able to simplify things even further. Once you log in with your Square account, you are walked through a quick and simple tutorial. Then you’re in. Square Register gets a nearly perfect score in this category because you can set it up with no help from a representative, and all of its hardware syncs quickly and efficiently.

You can import your inventory via a CSV file, and thanks to a recent update, you can now add pictures of your items, making it easier for employees or customers to search through your products. Square Register’s layout is easy to navigate, and the larger screen is helpful when you’re navigating through various pages.

With Square Register, the product’s primary goal is to give control to customers. The customer-facing screen, which can be anchored to the device or tethered for added mobility, allows customers to see the exact totals of their purchases and do their own card swiping/scanning/inserting. This cuts down on potential errors and can move lines along with more efficiency.

Getting Started With Square Register

If you have experience with any of Square’s other products, it will come as no surprise that getting Square Register up and running is a snap. That’s always been one of its major selling points as one of the best POS systems we recommend. Even a product as hefty as Register can be taken out of the box and ready to make sales in a matter of minutes. This is especially true if you already have a Square account.

If you don’t, no problem — that process is also simple. Once you’ve plugged Register in and turned it on (and it should take less than a minute to load), you can simply enter your account information, and it will sync all your information in seconds. If you have inventory that you need to import, it can be done quickly via a CSV file.

There is a brief tutorial that can run you through the basics of processing payments through the built-in reader. If you need to attach additional hardware, the ports can be found easily and, assuming they are compatible with Register, should sync quickly and be up and ready to use almost immediately.

Square Register Features

With Square Register, you get access to a full range of point of sale features.

Square has also made Register compatible with Square for Retail, and Square for Restaurants as well. I’ll highlight a few of the basics along with some of its standout offerings that show why it receives high marks in our ratings system:

Customer Service & Support

Square’s customer service can be a bit frustrating if you need immediate assistance as its business hours for most customers are not 24/7. The good news for Square Register users is that all plans come with 24/7 support, which is a major plus.

Square also has an impressive customer support page where you can troubleshoot some basic questions; there are dozens of articles on various topics if you have time to do some research. Square also has one of the best community forums I’ve seen, with an easy-to-use search function for the threads.

Square’s support is friendly and very knowledgeable. They are happy to walk you through any issue that you’re having and are committed to making sure that your problems are completely resolved. Square keeps up a current blog and is fairly active on its social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).

Its YouTube channel also has some valuable information, plus walkthroughs and tutorials.

Square Register User Reviews

Negative Reviews & Complaints

• Bugs: A few people who received early versions of the product talked about bugs in the software but were also quick to point out that some of Square’s automatic updates had already solved the issues.
• Fund Holds: A large number of complaints to the Better Business Bureau revolve around Square placing immediate holds on funds when it deems a suspicious transaction has occurred. These holds can come without notice and can take a while to resolve, causing understandable frustration for vendors.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

• Modern Design: The fortunate few who have been able to get their hands on Square Register have been very impressed with its interface. Reviewers comment on its sleek look and its easy-to-read display for both employees and customers.
• Feature-Rich: Square has never been lacking in its breadth of features. Retailers enjoy inventory and reporting functions along with simple employee management offerings.
• Low Cost & Simple Pricing: Business owners appreciate how much you get from an affordable package, and a few commented on how easy it is to predict your costs.
• Integrations: Customers like having access to the impressive App Marketplace and appreciate that add-ons were at a minimum.

Square Register Vs Clover Station

The closest competitor to Square Register is Clover Station, which also functions as an all-in-one desktop POS system. Both Station and Register can handle the needs of most retail and restaurant establishments, and both are exceptionally easy to use. Square stands out because of its affordability. Clover Stations are signifcantly more expensive than Register, and while Clover also offers financing options, that can be a steep price for businesses just starting out, especially if you want more than one device. Clover Station’s feature offerings are excellent and may even exceed Square’s slightly. You may also be able to get slightly cheaper processing with Clover.

Just make sure you purchase through a verified Clover retailer, as Clover has a poor reputation for getting customers locked into unfavorable contracts.

Final Verdict

It’s tough not to be impressed by a system with so many features that can be set up in its entirety practically on a coffee break.

The Square Register interface is ridiculously easy to maneuver, and the ability for customers to interact easily with the POS is a huge and unique benefit.

While Square’s appeal has always been aimed at people who value simplicity and ease of use, the company’s open API and ever-expanding App Marketplace make it worth a look to more adventurous business owners who might want to customize their own apps. Square is continuously updating and appears to have resolved some of the complaints that customers had in the past. There are no early termination fees, and the costs for add-on features are pretty clearly laid out.

And, if Square Register isn’t the right fit for your business, there are plenty of other Square hardware options to check out.

POS Hardware & Mobile Credit Card Reader Rating Methodology

We spend hours researching and evaluating each POS hardware and mobile payments device that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our product ratings.

When rating POS hardware (which might include registers, mobile card readers, and other similar devices), we use a 38-point rubric that looks at pricing, ease of use, features, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.

• Pricing: 40% of the total star rating
• Ease of Use: 20% of the total star rating
• Features: 25% of the total star rating
• Customer Service: 10% of the total star rating
• User Reviews: 5% of the total star rating

Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we look at specific attributes, like whether reduced fees are available for multiple terminals, which payment processing options are available, and how well the hardware integrates with POS or payment processing software apps. We’re also paying careful attention to hardware’s relative cost, any associated fees, and whether financing is available, among other things.

Learn more about how we rate POS hardware.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Square Register	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Square Register for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Square Register	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Square Register for yourself.

Sources