# Square for Restaurants Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Square for Restaurants the right Restaurant POS solution for you? Explore 52 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/175628/Square-Point-of-Sale/reviews --- Square for Restaurants 4.3 (52) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/175628/Square-Point-of-Sale/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of Square for Restaurants Ease of use 4.5 Customer Service 3.9 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews JL John L OwnerEntertainment, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “I have multiple types of businesses under my roof (retail, quick service restaurant and full service restaurant) and Square manages all of it, seemlessly.“ June 17, 2025 JS Julie S First LadyFood & Beverages, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Our hardware takes a lot of abuse as our bar/restaurant is outside“ November 20, 2024 DM Donnie M Multi-Unit ManagerRestaurants, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Square for Restaurants is the first Point of Sale that I found that I could fully customize for myself the way I wanted. “ November 19, 2024 LC Leah C OwnerFood & Beverages, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “We’ve spent thousands of dollars on staff trying to figure it out, but random glitches that have no explanation crash the iPads, QR codes and printing capacity.“ June 9, 2022 CS Clay S OwnerFood & Beverages, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Easy to manage website and make changes.“ October 9, 2025 SC Sam C Restaurant Owner Restaurants, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Unfortunately this is all overshadowed by the day-to-day experience of using the POS for an actual restaurant, especially if you are using a combination of online ordering from a Square website, and in-person dining. “ July 24, 2021 CS Clay S OwnerFood & Beverages, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Great device integration.“ October 9, 2025 AA Angela A Owner/managerFood & Beverages, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: I used a free trial. “Partial payment and leave tab open would be very difficult. And the support said even with paid software “it’s not set up for tab management“ I’m a bar“ May 25, 2021 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 52 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Ryan P. Office Assistant Financial Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Super easy to use and convenient!" January 7, 2020 5.0 I enjoy it a lot and will continue to use Pros I really love using this software! It is so easy to use and is always quick to use, never issues with it! This is important in the restaurant Cons The only con is that the fees get a little expensive at times, especially when you manually enter info Review Source JL John L. Owner Entertainment Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Square for Restaurants makes my diverse business operations seemless" June 17, 2025 5.0 It's been great. The system has been reliable and it's easy to use. The cloud based system makes it easy for me to manage my business, even when on the road. Pros The vast functionality allows me to run my business the way I need to. I have multiple types of businesses under my roof (retail, quick service restaurant and full service restaurant) and Square manages all of it, seemlessly. Cons The Loyalty and Marketing program is good, but not great. The system does a great job automating text and email sending, but I wish it had a bit more depth on the reporting side. Alternatives considered [Toast POS](https://www.capterra.com/p/136301/Toast-POS/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants The integration to QubicaAMF Conqueror POS made my choice easy. Review Source CS Clay S. Owner Food & Beverages Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "It’s Okay, not my favorite " October 9, 2025 3.0 Pros The ease of setting up and contacting customer service. Easy to manage website and make changes. Great device integration. Lower upfront cost, often making updates to improve the product Cons Customer service is not always helpful or good with resolution. There’s a fee for almost every additional feature that could benefit the business. Review Source DM Donnie M. Multi-Unit Manager Restaurants Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Square for Restaurants - The only real POS you can try before you buy for small restaurants." November 19, 2024 5.0 So, overall, It is excellent low cost way to get started. Paying for the upgrades is well worth it to manage staff, an online ordering site, and have all the registers and equipment you need. Other competitors are very good too, but the monthly charges for them greatly outweigh the processing of cards cost that square charges. You pick your poison sometimes, but for a small restaurant, it is a no brainer to start out with square for restaurants. Even a multi-location set up like mine really takes advantage of the packaging of services. Pros Square for Restaurants is the first Point of Sale that I found that I could fully customize for myself the way I wanted. Help was available if I needed it, but I like to throw away the instruction book and do it myself. I could use hardware/tablets I already had to use the software and the tight integration with the KDS was what I needed. I didn't have to run a bunch of wires to have a printer in the kitchen and a screen. Cons My 2 big caveats are the nature of cloud based kitchen display system. If the internet goes down you not only lose the tickets, but the printers won't print from the kds. It is not impossible, but for any pos I recommend a cellular backup for your business. It is necessary. The second thing is there are a few quirks with the system that have gotten updates, I just didn't know when it was going to change. I used to not be able to have photos on the display, but they are making it "prettier" as time goes on. Alternatives considered [Clover](https://www.capterra.com/p/226864/Clover/)[Toast POS](https://www.capterra.com/p/136301/Toast-POS/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants Ultimately, it was the cheapest to get started and had all the features I needed without some sales rep constantly after me. Review Source JS Julie S. First Lady Food & Beverages Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Square for Restaurants is a solid POS system. Glad its part of our team." November 20, 2024 5.0 It has been a good experience. I have had a few issues with hardware but the support team is helpful. Our hardware takes a lot of abuse as our bar/restaurant is outside so they get unplugged and put away at the end of each business day. Pros I have found it easy to manage, pull reports, and manage staff. The online menu options was super nice as well. The new addition of the pre-authorization feature is a GAME CHANGER at our establishment. Cons I would like a report that shows me my exact payout of credit card sales less the Square fees for each business day. I know the information is there and I can search for it but would like a page just for payouts. Alternatives considered [Clover](https://www.capterra.com/p/226864/Clover/)[Toast POS](https://www.capterra.com/p/136301/Toast-POS/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants We had used Square POS in our retail store and it made sense so we gave Square for Restaurants a try. Review Source DM Dannyelle M. Owner Food & Beverages Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Enough for what we need" March 24, 2023 5.0 8/10 overall, with unique issues to certain industries that makes it frustrating here and there. I'd suggest it, there's a reason it's the most popular POS system for small businesses on the market, but don't expect it to be perfect! Pros Easy to set up and adjust menus and such, does most everything we need it to do. Have to think outside the box to get it to do some of the things I need it to do, but overall, if you take the time to figure it out, you'll get there. Cons A few things are a bit narrow in customizability, I wish we could do more variation in things like loyalty programs and discount set-ups, and sometimes some adjustments can be a bit tedious to change. We're a brewery with a constantly changing menu of beer offerings, so having to make 5-10 clicks per beverage change every single week can be a bit frustrating, but it's overall pretty user friendly so I can't complain too much. Alternatives considered [Wix](https://www.capterra.com/p/169007/Wix/)[Clover](https://www.capterra.com/p/226864/Clover/)[Toast POS](https://www.capterra.com/p/136301/Toast-POS/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants Relatively within budget, and popular enough that I knew it would be easy to find solutions to issues within online forums and other business owners across the platform. Had also used it before at a previous job so I knew I could integrate it into some of the things I also wanted to use. Review Source KZ Kevin Z. Director Of Operations Food & Beverages Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "The Obivious choice for Payment processing " January 15, 2020 5.0 The major benefits we experience are as follow: Payment processing is a breeze, we are able to integrate our system with Quick books seamlessly, the many option for accepting payment means we never miss out on being able to receive payment at any time, Customer service is very helpful and they genuinely care about helping your business succeed and the most important for us is we never have to think about it, it just works. Pros Square has streamlined my credit card processing immensely, We were using a different merchant service before that had higher fees and less intuitive features. Square is very useful for our staff accepting payments on site, at events, Bar Tending and processing catering invoice payments. it is fully integrated with our Quickbooks software for a streamlined process. The speed in which receiving credit to our bank account is also pleasantly fast. Finally being able to accept a credit card while in an out of service area (No Wifi/Cellular) is an excellent feature we have already taken advantage of. Cons There are no issues in the two years I have been using Square to report. The addition of NFC payments has made my life even better! Alternatives considered [PayPal](https://www.capterra.com/p/207944/PayPal/)[Stripe](https://www.capterra.com/p/123889/Stripe/)[Flint Mobile Payments](https://www.capterra.com/p/136760/Flint-Mobile-Payments/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants When choosing Square I did a ton of research on other companies, from reading reviews and watching videos on how they work it was clear to me that Square was the no Nonsense approach we were looking for. If you are a small business looking to take control of your payment processing I highly recommend Square to you. Review Source CK Camila K. Manager Restaurants Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "the best POS for restaurants" December 2, 2020 4.0 Square was a huge help for us as a restaurant this year. With covid-19 businesses had to move really fast to the online market and Square provides the tools to get there really fast and easy. Pros It is really easy to set up, the price is way better than the other systems in the market, it works with wifi and you can use it on your laptop, Ipad, smartphone. I love how they offer the CRM tool and even more I love how easy is to create a website for your restaurant with them. Cons they could improve some of the features so It is even easier and faster to select the items. for example to add more options to the conditional words ( add, yes, No, extra, etc...) they could put the option to replace (ex: replace Ham for turkey) so when we have a customer who wants to customize a product we do not have to write long sentences all the time, instead we can just click a few buttons and is done. Alternatives considered [Clover](https://www.capterra.com/p/226864/Clover/)[Toast POS](https://www.capterra.com/p/136301/Toast-POS/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants The quality of the product was better and for a better price Switched from [Revel Systems](https://www.capterra.com/p/135040/Revel-iPad-POS/) Price, features, customer service. Review Source AA Angela A. Owner/manager Food & Beverages Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "An ok solution" May 25, 2021 3.0 It was easy to set up. Free version lacks features and credit card processing is a bit wacky. Plus or paid version send like it would fix most issues leaving a functional but lacking system. Pros Easy to buy local at Best Buy, easy to set up and great menu! I also love the daily sales report that I get via email. Cons Certain functions not available on free version (understandable) but even the paid version didn’t leave great options. Partial payment and leave tab open would be very difficult. And the support said even with paid software “it’s not set up for tab management“ I’m a bar all we do is run tabs. Also refunds don’t work well and to adjustment is extremely difficult! Oh and why only the white case? I didn’t want a proprietary system so their new black version didn’t work for me. Alternatives considered [Revel Systems](https://www.capterra.com/p/135040/Revel-iPad-POS/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants Revel misrepresented themselves as being able to function as a tab only bar with certain feature capabilities which they actually did not offer. Review Source SD Sayda D. Owner Food & Beverages Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Square for Restaurants is amazing " June 17, 2025 5.0 Square for restaurants has been absolutely amazing to use and absolutely easy in all of its reporting and adapta to the constant changes in the food industry. Pros The ease of use and the ability to set up your table settings in your dining area. It is absolutely easy to train new staff on it. Cons Switching between tickets and to go orders has to be the most frustrating. As well as adjusting items on entered tickets can be a bit tricky. Review Source JL Jarrod L. Manager Restaurants Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Super Intuitive" March 8, 2022 5.0 Pros We are a food truck and catering company. Square is by far the most intuitive and convenient P.O.S. for our business. I cannot say enough about how simple and effective square is as a P.O.S for a food truck. Cons Really and truly we have had no issues with square. Any time that we did rung into something it was solved by customer service and was usually user error. Alternatives considered [Clover](https://www.capterra.com/p/226864/Clover/) Review Source JB Janita B. Owner Food & Beverages Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Best system ever" March 24, 2023 5.0 I started with just the basic Square operation, and opened a coffee shop. It allows me to put everything in one place without hopping from screen to screen or just not knowing where things are. It worth everything to have Square Restaurant. Pros Many options to choose from and easy to learn. Cons I can’t take it out in the field when I do outside events. Review Source HB Harry B. General Manager Restaurants Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Not really for full service restaurants" January 30, 2020 3.0 The advantage is that you can get into to it inexpensively. But if you have experience in a full service restaurant, you will immediately find where it is lacking. No way to start tabs, back end reports are not helpful, occasional payments disappear, not real support set-up, no real-time off site reports available. Pros Easy to set up and inexpensive, financed equipment Cons Doesn't handle large volume well, back-end reporting lacking, customer support non-existant Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants Price Review Source KG Karen G. Owner Food & Beverages Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Advertises as free But takes high % and functions are extra" June 26, 2020 2.0 It works ok. If you purchase the full upgrades you try in the trial The reality of the free version is woefully inadequate Pros The integration to inventory management system and xero and payment system via online store too Cons Its expensive. Starts around 1.7% of your sales. The free version has massive limitations on functionality. Standard POS functions like end of day closing reports and having different users permissions /access are all part of the upgrade version. I feel they deliberately limit key functions to force you to upgrade whilst heavily promoting its free. Upgrade is Maybe another $200/mth. So 1.7% of your total sales plus $2400 p.a. Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants Integration with inventory system Review Source LO Laura O. Project Manager Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Simple, Small, and Easy to use" June 2, 2022 5.0 Small, simple, easy to use, and smart! Pros It is so small and easy to use no matter where you are servicing. Also, the end user gets their receipt sent to them with all the information they need and once entered once, it remembers the credit card and sends an email without having the re renter the email info for the reciept. Cons Not easy to print a small receipt. Takes an entire sheet of paper if printing. Review Source AW Anna W. Team member Restaurants Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "All in one!" May 10, 2021 5.0 This product is an all in one that you can not find anywhere else! Pros You will read that this product is all in one, and it really is! It is great for small businesses! Cons The only problem I've had is that the fee can get pricey at times, but in the end, it's worth it! Review Source dC donna C. owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "square " December 11, 2019 4.0 excellent and not had any breaches yet but always a worry Pros easy to use at any restaurant, dont have to carry cash when you are traveling convenient and easy to use Cons I am always worried about the security issue with such a mobile device using my information to make payments Review Source LT Louis T. CEO Construction Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Square for restaurants" January 5, 2021 4.0 I feel their is room for grow but experience is positive overall. Pros The software makes it more accessible for small businesses to stay competitive in the era of pick up and delivery. Cons Should work on integration with orher food delivery options to help fulfil customer orders. Review Source mV matthew V. Carpenter Construction Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Square for restaurants " November 30, 2024 5.0 Great! For parking lot and county fair gives everyone options and equal transactions grounds Pros Simple, out of location (parking lot)with all payment options as interior of brick and mortar Cons Fear of multiple transactions and fraud Not sure as to how safe and secure in long run Review Source YD Yuki D. Restaurant business Hospitality Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Lost of time and money big impact on small business" June 23, 2024 3.0 Not bad but would be better if square take responsibility when application not working and refund the customers for the lost Pros The system himself is not bad, when it is working! Cons The customer service and the way they treat the customer and never refund money Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Restaurant Owner Restaurants Used the software for: 6-12 months ### ""Square for Restaurants" is not for Restaurants. " July 24, 2021 3.0 They slapped the words 'For Restaurants' on a product that has not been properly optimized for restaurants. For very small, very simple operation (e.g. coffee shops) it is probably fine. Beyond that steer clear if you are a restaurant. The convenient tech on the backend does not justify to the awful day-today, and utterly useless reporting. Pros Setup is easy. HR, on-boarding, benefits, payroll, CC processing all built in is very convenient. Cons Unfortunately this is all overshadowed by the day-to-day experience of using the POS for an actual restaurant, especially if you are using a combination of online ordering from a Square website, and in-person dining. Creating new menu items is very tedious, even when duplicating. Drill-down reporting is almost non-existent, stops at the category level. E.g. I have a category called "Beer" that contains 8 different beers. I can see how much gross sales the category does, but I cannot look into the category to see any more detail than that. I have to look at the entire inventory itemized sales report and pick the beers out 1 by 1 to get info on which ones are selling. Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants Convenience. Review Source LC Leah C. Owner Food & Beverages Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Glitchy Hellish Nightmare" June 9, 2022 1.0 Traumatizing. Glitches crashed our restaurant multiple nights in a row. Can’t handle a complex restaurant. Fine for a 1 terminal retail operation, but RUN AWAY if you are a restaurant owner. Use Toast! Pros The price is the only good thing about this software. But you get what you pay for and it’s not worth the savings! Cons The software is so glitchy that it has been an epic fail! QR codes fail; printers randomly disconnect; the software double & triple prints tickets (but with delays so it seems like new tickets); tech support is terrible (often barely speaks English & can’t solve complex issues). No on-site support like competing products. We’ve spent thousands of dollars on staff trying to figure it out, but random glitches that have no explanation crash the iPads, QR codes and printing capacity. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of the issues we’ve had. The software cannot handle the complexity of a restaurant. NIGHTMARE! Alternatives considered [Toast POS](https://www.capterra.com/p/136301/Toast-POS/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants Price Review Source CT Christina T. Interim manager Food & Beverages Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Business owner’s best friend " December 20, 2020 5.0 The choice to use Square for our credit/debit transactions was the best choice for us financially. Signing up was stress free, without a ton of confusing paperwork, and the fees were more than manageable. In less than a week I received a card reader that was compatible with my device, and free of charge. Transactions are securely managed by the Square app that allows me to track sales any time I want. A very small percentage of each transaction goes to fees and is processed immediately eliminating the monthly bill process. The app also features tools that track inventory, set up promotional offers, loyalty rewards, and collect feedback from my customers. On app tutorials walk you through everything with outstanding customer service for the bigger issues. Pros The financial side of any business can be very stressful. Square offers a wide variety of tools and resources that help business owners monitor sales, track inventory, and reward customer loyalty. It’s free to join, and fees are a small percentage of each transaction. Using the app eliminates paperwork giving me more time to focus more on customer satisfaction. Cons Not a software, but a very minor inconvenience with the round jack. The reader would occasionally turn during a card swipe, causing a read error. I secured a thin piece of sturdy plastic on the back side of the reader that uses the back of my device as an anchor. Review Source JR Jonathen R. FoH Manager Restaurants Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great as long as you got it" August 20, 2021 5.0 Pros I loved how in depth and detailed one could get and that it considered things like substitutions and such. Cons Heaven forbid something wasn't working on the machine and we needed customer support. Always was a hassle, especially if it was an issue involving the POS system not wanting to be online. Review Source NS Nick S. Owner Food & Beverages Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Square For Restaurants is A+++" March 25, 2023 5.0 Pros Great features, easy to use, fast, great hardware and customer support Cons No cons come to mind. Square has pretty perfect for our needs Alternatives considered [Toast POS](https://www.capterra.com/p/136301/Toast-POS/) Reason for choosing Square for Restaurants Square rep was friendly and supportive. Switched from [talech](https://www.capterra.com/p/155256/talech/) Better hardware and support Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Related categories [Bar POS](https://www.capterra.com/bar-pos-software/)[Restaurant POS](https://www.capterra.com/restaurant-pos-software/)[Restaurant Management](https://www.capterra.com/restaurant-management-software/)