Your till should do more than take payments
We supply and set up Square for UK businesses: the right hardware for how you actually trade, the item or menu list built for you, staff and stock configured, and someone to ring when it needs changing.
- £0 a month for the core Square POS software
- 1.75% per in‑person card payment (Square’s published UK rate, Sept 2026)
- No long‑term contract and no terminal rental
Where we are useful, and where we are not
Buying a Square reader and plugging it in is genuinely easy, and if that is all you need you do not need us. The work worth paying for is everything after that: getting the menu, stock, staff and reporting set up so the till is usable on the first busy Saturday.
Which piece of it you need
Square’s published prices are below so you can weigh it up before you ring anyone. What we add is telling you which of these actually suits the way you trade — and when the cheapest one is the right one.
Square Reader
£19 + VAT
The pocket card reader, paired with a phone or tablet. Chip and PIN and contactless. Suits market traders, mobile businesses and anyone taking payment away from a counter.
Square Terminal
£149 + VAT
An all in one handheld with a built in receipt printer. Works around a premises rather than at a fixed point, which is why it tends to suit table service.
Square Stand
£99 + VAT
Turns an iPad into a countertop till. A sensible route where a tablet is already in the business and the counter is the main point of sale.
Square Register
£699 + VAT
A dedicated two screen countertop till with a customer facing display. For a fixed counter doing steady volume where a tablet is not wanted.
Square Point of Sale
The software the hardware runs on: items, stock, discounts, refunds, receipts and reporting. This is the part that takes configuration, and the part that decides whether the system is any good on a busy day.
Square Online and Invoices
Selling and taking payment away from the counter, including click and collect, local delivery and invoicing business customers, with the same stock behind it.
Square Staff and reporting
Staff accounts with their own permissions, plus sales reporting and stock alerts. Connects out to accounting software such as Xero rather than being retyped every month.
What it costs, and what a POS actually is
There is no monthly fee for the core Square point of sale software, and no long‑term contract. You pay per transaction, plus the hardware, plus any sector plan you decide you want.
| In‑person card payments | 1.75% |
| Online payments and payment links | 1.4% + 25p |
| Invoices and keyed payments | 2.5% |
| Core POS software | £0 a month |
| Square for Retail Plus stock counts, purchase orders, labels, margin by product | £49 per location per month |
| Square for Restaurants Plus split bills, floor plans, kitchen displays, close of day | £69 per location per month |
| Square Appointments online booking, reminders, card on file | £0, or £29 / £69 per location per month |
Square’s published UK figures, correct at September 2026, and subject to change — check squareup.com before you commit. Hardware prices exclude VAT. Both Plus plans come with a 30‑day free trial. Your account and agreement are with Square.
A card machine takes payments. A POS runs the business.
| A card machine | A point of sale |
|---|---|
| Takes a payment | Takes the payment and records what was sold, by whom, at what time |
| Prints a slip | Holds your item list, tracks stock and tells you when you are running low |
| Sits on the counter | Runs on the counter, in your pocket, on an iPad or on your phone |
| Sends money to the bank | Sends the money and shows you what sells, what does not, and who your regulars are |
| One supplier for payments, another for the till | One system, one login, one support line |
If a straightforward card machine genuinely suits you better, we will say so. You can work out what your current card fees cost you first.
Where Square tends to fit
These are the businesses we work with most, and what usually decides it for each of them.
Convenience and off licence
Long item lists, age restricted lines and high volumes of small transactions. The stock and reporting side matters more here than the hardware does.
Restaurants and takeaways
Menus with modifiers, table service, tips and split bills. Usually a Terminal in hand rather than a fixed till, and the menu build is the real work.
Barbers and salons
Appointments, deposits against no shows and payment at the chair. Software features tend to decide it rather than the processing rate.
Market traders and events
No fixed connectivity and takings that swing week to week. A Reader on mobile data with no fixed monthly charge is usually the whole answer.
Trades and site work
Payment on completion rather than by invoice thirty days later. Taking a card on site shortens how long you wait to be paid.
Professional services
Invoicing and telephone payments rather than a counter. Invoices and the virtual terminal matter more than any piece of hardware.
Setup, not just supply
Work out what you need
How you trade, where payment is taken, how many staff and what the busy period looks like. That decides the hardware, not the other way round.
Build the system
Items or menu with modifiers, categories, prices, stock levels, staff accounts and permissions, receipt layout and reporting. This is the part that takes the time and the part most people underestimate.
Connect it to everything else
Accounting software, online ordering and click and collect where you want them, so the same stock and the same figures run through all of it.
Show your staff how to use it
A system nobody has been shown gets worked around by the third shift. We walk your team through it on the equipment they will actually use.
Stay reachable
Menus change, staff leave, a new line comes in. Ring us and we will change it, rather than leaving you inside a help centre at nine on a Friday night.
Being straight with you about this page
Everywhere else on this site we compare card payment options across a panel of providers and take a commission from whoever you end up with. This page is different, and you should know how: we supply and set up Square directly, so we have a commercial interest in it that we do not have in a straightforward comparison.
That does not make Square the right answer for your business. It suits businesses that want predictable pricing, quick setup and good software without a long contract. If your volumes or your card mix mean something on our panel would cost you less across a year, we will tell you that, exactly as we would if this page did not exist.
Square is a trademark of its owner. Jos Finserv Ltd is a broker and introducer. Your merchant account is held directly with Square and we do not hold or handle your funds at any point.
Square, answered plainly
Can I not just buy Square directly?
Yes, and for a simple setup that is often the right answer. What we add is the configuration work: building the item or menu list, setting up staff access and stock, connecting it to your accounting software, and being reachable afterwards when something needs changing.
Is Square right for every business?
No. It suits businesses that want predictable pricing, quick setup and strong software without a long contract. Higher volume businesses, or those with an unusual card mix, are sometimes better served by a different arrangement on our panel. We would rather say so than sell you the wrong thing.
How long does it take to get running?
The account and hardware can be ready quickly. The configuration is what takes time, and how long depends on how many items or menu lines you have. We agree a timescale with you before starting rather than guessing at it.
What does it cost?
Square publish their own hardware prices and processing rates, and they change them when they choose, so we do not repeat figures here that might be out of date by the time you read them. Tell us how you trade and we will go through the current numbers with you and what they mean across a year.
Who holds the merchant account?
You do, directly with Square. Settlement goes from Square into your business bank account. Jos Finserv does not hold or handle your money at any point.
I already use Square. Can you still help?
Yes. Cleaning up an item list that has grown messy, adding stock control or online ordering, or setting up reporting that someone will actually read, is often more useful than changing anything about the payments.
Before you sign anything
How UK customers actually pay, and what that means for the till you choose.
Tell us how you trade
What you sell, where you take payment and how many staff use the till. That is enough for us to say whether Square fits, and what setting it up properly would involve.
