Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

The company’s suite of products can help you transact with your customers in a snap

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

Starting a business is hard. Growing one can be even harder. From managing staff rotas and keeping track of inventory to taking bookings and reservations and processing payments quickly and efficiently, whether you’re running an online shop, a restaurant or a pop-up stall, there are countless things you need to keep on top of. 

But financial services platform Square is on a mission to help make running a business simple and easy, allowing you to forget about the menial work and focus on the things you’re good at. The company provides a suite of tools and products that will get businesses scaling up their operations.

For most businesses who want to take payments and manage day-to-day operations, Square’s ecosystem is totally free, with the only cost being the low flat-rate fee for processing payments. But Square also sells point of sale (POS) gadgets for taking your business to the next level, ideal for mobile, retail and e-commerce transactions.

As well as offering up a virtual terminal which turns your computer into a card machine, helping business owners take payments remotely or over the phone, Square’s roster of products also include an all-in-one register; a card terminal; an intuitive stand for your existing iPad setup and a nifty card reader, all syncing seamlessly across your Square account.

Here’s everything you need to know about Square’s products and what the company promises they can do to take the pain out of payments for any growing business in the UK. 

The Square reader is Square’s chip and pin and contactless card reader, letting customers pay however they like, including with Apple Pay and Google Pay. The tiny square terminal has a slot for debit and credit cards, and customers can tap their contactless card for quick and easy payments. It also comes with a magnetic stripe for international card payments.

The device connects wirelessly via Bluetooth to your Apple or Android device and the Square point-of-sale app. You just select an item from your library or enter a payment amount inside the app and your customer can then quickly tap their phone or their card on the Square reader to pay.

Square says that one full charge should last a whole day, and you can easily see the battery level by clicking the power button on the side. Square also sells a dock (£30, Squareup.com) perfect for countertops, which also keeps the machine charged up and ready to go. As well as the £16 cost for the device, Square takes a flat-rate 1.75 per cent fee from each payment.

If you own an iPad and want to turn it into an all-in-one payments machine, then the Square stand might be the product your business needs. It essentially turns your iPad into a quick and easy POS terminal.

The new Square stand, which was released in April this year, features a checkout and built-in card reader with guiding LED lights. Once you’ve put in a customer’s order, you can rotate the iPad on the stand so that the customer can confirm that all is correct and pay. The stand features specialised software for your specific business, whether it’s a restaurant, a retail store or an appointment-based business. 

You can also connect a range of Square accessories, including a receipt printer, barcode scanner, cash drawer and more. Again, the only added cost on top of the device itself is the 1.75 per cent flat-rate fee.

The Square terminal is an all-in-one card machine that can take payments and print receipts. It allows businesses to easily charge customers either with a custom amount or by selecting items from the library. The customer can then confirm the order amount, add a tip, pay, and then request their receipt to be printed or delivered by text or email.

The terminal also allows you to record cash payments, cheque payments and gift card payments, plus it works for remote orders taken over the phone with manual credit card payments using your customer’s credit card details. You can see transaction history, use it in offline mode, issue refunds and much more to boot. Customers can pay by contactless, chip and pin or Apple Pay and Android Pay. There’s a 1.75 per cent flat-rate fee on top of the cost of the device itself, and you can add extra rolls of receipt paper at checkout.

Square’s register is an all-in-one till with an integrated POS. You can manage card and contactless payments, online sales, click and collect orders and even delivery orders, directly from one integrated Square touch screen POS system.

There are two screens – one for yourself and one for your customer. The customer display can be customised to display an exact order and allow your customers to make contactless payments and chip and pin payments.

All the backend magic takes place on your own display, letting you ring up items, add discounts and gift cards, edit item prices, view past transactions, send invoices and issue refunds. It also features a customer management system, so you can add new customers and see who your regular customers are, as well as view sales reports and create employee timecards so that they can clock in and out on the register.           

It comes with an accessory hub, which allows you to connect a receipt printer, a cash drawer, and a barcode scanner with ease. Again, the only extra cost is the 1.75 per cent flat-rate fee taken for each payment.   

Learn more about Square on their website here

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

{{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}

By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

{{#verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}} {{^verifyErrors}} {{message}} {{/verifyErrors}}

By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

Or if you would prefer: