Square POS System 101: The Complete Guide 2025

Square is a technology solutions leader supporting retail, beauty, and restaurant businesses. For the restaurant industry, it provides free plans, an extensive tool collection, cloud-based POS systems appropriate for restaurants of all sizes, and reasonably priced hardware with financing options.

A strategic alliance allows restaurants to connect their Square account with Deliverect Restaurants and automate online orders. Incoming requests from various delivery apps are directed to Square’s POS system for streamlined management.

By using Square and Deliverect Restaurants, restaurants can reduce the number of tablets at the location, save space, improve efficiency, and manage several operations from a single screen.

Available in eight countries, Square processed $209.6 billion in payments in 2023. In this article, we will explore how it functions, examine its features for restaurants, and offer some handy tips.

ABOUT SQUARE POS 

What is Square POS?

Square is an all-in-one restaurant solution with tailored software and hardware. Its user-friendly interface facilitates payment processing and order management. The platform also offers features for e-commerce, marketing, customer bookings, kitchen and staff management, and third-party app compatibility.

Since its founding in 2009 by Jack Dorsey and Jim McKelvey, Square has expanded its presence through offices in the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, and five European countries. Over time, it has introduced over 36 products and received significant recognition, such as Adweek’s Best POS System in 2022.

Pros:

• Free plan available

• User-friendly

• Financial services, including loans

• Cost-effective with payment plans

• Customizable app dashboard to display frequently used features

• No long-term contract is required

• Loyalty and Marketing tools

• Online sales integrate with Google Orders

PRICING PLANS 

Square is set apart by its reasonably priced and flexible contracts. Restaurants can try any plan for free for a whole month. Businesses can cancel at any moment or pause subscriptions for months once a plan is signed up. 

Three factors determine the price that a restaurant pays to Square.

• Subscription costs: Square charges a monthly fee to access its platform’s features and software.

• Add-on costs are extra services, such as specific integrations and the addition of more staff members or locations, beyond the scope outlined in the current plan.

• Processing rates per transaction: It’s important to note that processing costs apply to all plans, with rates divided into four categories:

In-person: 2.6% + 10 cents

Online: 2.9% + 30 cents (2.6% for the Essentials Bundle Plan)

Invoices: 3.3% + 30 cents

Manually entered and card on file: 3.5% + 15 cents

Note about payment processing:
The Square app accepts card payments in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the U.K., Ireland, France, and Spain.

PLANS 

Square offers three monthly subscription plans. All plans include features such as next-business-day fund transfers, active fraud prevention, live phone support, dispute management, offline payments, sales reports, menu management, table management, auto 86ing, and item count. However, all plans are subject to processing rates per transaction.

Plans offered by Square:

1. Free

2. Plus

3. Essentials Bundle

Free Plan

Businesses can access a wide range of platform features and only pay for processing fees. This plan is ideal for restaurants that don’t require additional features.  

• Monthly fee: $0.00 + processing fees 

• This plan includes Unlimited countertop POS devices, unlimited locations, and support from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Plus

Gain access to essential Square platform features, along with advanced features like course management.

• Monthly fee: $60 + processing fees

• This plan includes one countertop POS device per location and unlimited Square KDS devices. Additional services are available as add-ons.

Essentials Bundle

Square’s comprehensive plan is ideal for restaurants that require advanced functionality.

• Monthly fee: $153 + processing fees

• This plan includes Square for Restaurants Plus, Square Online Ordering Premium, Advanced Access, Square Shifts Plus, Square Team Communication, Branded website, Square Payroll, and more. 

Square’s website’s pricing section provides a comparative list of restaurant plans. Hardware is purchased separately.

Note: The mentioned prices are for the United States. To view prices in other countries, select the country on the website. Some plans may vary by country.

HARDWARE

Square offers a wide range of hardware for different types of businesses, such as registers, Square Stands for iPads, terminals, contactless and magstripe readers, accessories, and even seven kit options, three specially designed for restaurants.

These products can be purchased on the Square website with free shipping. Some are also available on Amazon and at retail stores such as the Apple Store, Staples, and Best Buy.

Kit No. 1 - Square Stand Restaurant Station 

This kit is a complete point-of-sale station with integrated payments, including:

• Square Stand 

• 16 in. Printer-Driven Cash Drawer 

• Ethernet Kitchen Printer

• Kitchen Printer Paper

• Receipt Printer Paper

• USB Receipt Printer

• It also includes the option to buy an iPad with the kit 

• Price: $1,089.00 (Financing available)

Kit No. 2 - Square Stand Restaurant Station with Square Terminal 

This kit comes with a terminal and all Square Stand Restaurant Station items. 

• Price: $1,389.00 (Financing available) 

Kit No. 3 - Restaurant Mobile POS Kit 

A tool designed to streamline order-taking and payment processing at restaurant tables. It includes: 

• Square Reader for contactless and chip 

• L7 Phone Case for Samsung Galaxy A32

• RST Mobile POS Kit Insert Guide

• Samsung Galaxy A32 5G 64GB Black

• Price: $259.00 (Financing available)

This kit is compatible with the Square for Restaurants app and requires a Plus or Essentials Bundle subscription.

In addition to the kits, Square also sells devices that can help your business run more smoothly. Among them, we will highlight:

Square Reader for Magstripe 

Square offers a free card reader compatible with its app, which can be requested from the company’s website. 

Compact and battery-free, this hardware operates on a transaction-based fee structure (2.6% + 10¢). Additional units can be purchased for just $10. It is compatible with various Apple or Android devices.

REGISTERING AND SET UP

To get started with Square and their POS system, follow these steps:

1. Visit the Square website and click on ‘Get Started’.

2. Fill out the registration form and follow the prompts.

3. Download the Square for Restaurants app. It’s available on the App Store or Google Play Store.

POS INTEGRATIONS 

The partnership between Square and Deliverect Restaurants integrates online ordering channels and delivery applications directly with the Square POS, providing restaurants with a comprehensive overview of all orders on one screen. This integration eliminates manual order entry, saving time, reducing errors, and streamlining the management of online menus, inventory, and analytics.

Deliverect Restaurants offers a 14-day free trial for a single location for Square users.

TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING SQUARE 

Tip 1: Promote sales by leveraging Square Loyalty

Create a rewards and promotions program with Square Loyalty Promotions to motivate customers to return. When integrated with Square Email Marketing, businesses can send targeted promotions to increase sales, promote dishes to manage inventory or reward loyal customers. 

You can set up promotions in the Square panel or Square POS app, specifying rules like minimum purchase amounts and durations. For 30 days, you can try Square Loyalty for free.

Tip 2: Update your menu photos with the Photo Studio app

Save time on photo editing with Square Photo Studio, a free app for iOS devices. 

This app enhances your brand by editing photos for social media, online menus, and email marketing campaigns. Using artificial intelligence, you can easily remove backgrounds, adjust contrasts, add shadows, and more. Plus, it integrates with Instagram, allowing you to import images from your feed.

After editing a photo, you can easily refresh the image of your menu or promotion on multiple delivery platforms and brands using that content. The Deliverect Restaurants menu management feature—which you can access via the Square integration— makes this updating easy and only a few clicks.

Tip 3: Check your reports for opportunities

Make data-driven decisions with Square Dashboard. Access real-time or historical information on sales, discounts, payment methods, and more. For instance, you can identify low-performing items in the “item sales” or “category sales” sections and promote them with specific discounts or combo offers. Plus, you can export reports or integrate with accounting apps thanks to Square's integrations.

Beyond the information you can obtain from Square, the Deliverect Restaurants analytics dashboard feature enables you to access more insights by linking your account. Along with many other features, the Deliverect Restaurants-Square integration offers comprehensive information on order issue reports, digital order performance, revenue reports from several locations, and real-time alerts.

Conclusion

Square delivers a comprehensive restaurant management solution featuring state-of-the-art hardware, flexible payment options, and advanced software. In collaboration with Deliverect Restaurants, this system streamlines operations by integrating online orders into Square’s POS, enhancing efficiency and reducing manual errors.

Embrace digital transformation with Square to elevate your business management, equip your staff with intuitive tools, and unlock powerful insights to navigate today’s culinary challenges.

Contact us to arrange a demonstration and discover the transformative potential Square and Deliverect Restaurants offer your business.