Square vs Intuit
Square and QuickBooks are both quality POS systems offering tons of services to help businesses streamline their operations. Of course, with so many great features in each, choosing the right one for your business can get confusing.
Luckily, we've done the hard research for you.
Continue reading as we explain the differences between these two top-notch business solutions in our Square vs. Intuit QuickBooks guide.
Choose Square If...
Square is a much better choice for small business owners and new businesses that are just getting established. It's one of the most popular payment processors on the market today, and comes with many free services, including Square Inventory, Square Invoices, Square App Marketplace, and gift card/loyalty programs.
Choose Intuit If...
Intuit QuickBooks relies more heavily on third-party software providers. It is best-known for its accounting software packages which are highly popular among small businesses.
As with many merchant services providers, you'll find a wide range of products and services within Intuit's systems, including credit card processing, QuickBooks mobile app, and QuickBooks invoicing.
Square VS Intuit Comparison Chart
Square | Intuit | |
|---|---|---|
Ideal For | New sellers, small retailers, or restaurants | Non-restaurant small businesses that need good accounting software |
Hardware Cost | $49 to $799 | $49 to $900 |
Software Cost | $0 per month starting | $1,200 to $1,900 one-time fees |
Online Transactions | 2.9% +$0.30 | 3.5% flat rate |
In-Person Transactions | 2.6% +$0.10 | 2.7% flat rate |
Mobile Device | Yes | Yes |
Customer Service | Customer support from 6 AM to 6 PM PST over the phone, email, and live chat. 24/7 support for Premium plan users | Online chat support from Monday to Friday, 6 AM to 6 PM P.T. Phone calls only come with paid plans |
Contract | No contract | No contract |
What’s Missing | Age-restricted purchasing tools for online, 24/7 support hours with free plan, vendor management tools in the free plan,and tiered payment processing fees | Versatile eCommerce integrations, monthly fees, limited hardware options |
Digging Into The Details
Square's Best Features:
Built-In eCommerce Features
Lack of an eCommerce platform is the Achilles' heel of QuickBooks. However, Square offers a high-quality eCommerce platform that will allow you to work from A-Z.
With Square Online, you can create an eCommerce store, then start taking orders and selling online right away. Even the free version of Square comes with a free website which you can add payment links to using Square's several secure integrations.
If you already have a website, you can integrate with your own custom website using the developer API.
Some of the main eCommerce features found in Square's system include:
Best POS System For Small BusinessIntuitive Hardware Options
Square comes with several different hardware options to fulfill the needs of just about any business. The main flagship option for Square is the Square Stand, which is a full-fledged iPad POS that you can install anywhere. This powerful piece of hardware comes with integrated payments and custom-driven checkout design.
You can also get the Square Register, a more complete point-of-sale that comes with dual-facing displays, built-in payments, and intuitive software.
If your business needs more portable options, you can use the Square Terminal, the Square Reader for contactless and chip payments, and the magstripe card reader, which is included for free when you sign up with Square.
Beyond that, there are tons of compatible accessories for retailers, restaurants, appointment-based businesses, and more.
Expansive Third-Party Integrations
Though Square POS is already a versatile system, it's nice to know that the company also has a wide variety of third-party integrations that you can use to expand your point-of-sale system's functionality.
Some of the third-party integration categories that you'll find in Square include:
Of course, you'll have to pay extra for these Square POS features, though they can be extremely helpful if you're working a very specific business.
Included Payment Processing
Square offers included payment processing as part of its robust POS system.
Plus, unlike many companies on the market, the fees and payment processing rates are very transparent.
Right off the bat, Square offers flat-rate fees, which is great for retail businesses or low-volume restaurants that need simple and predictable payments each month.
If you eventually grow into a high-volume business, Square can offer you better payment processing rates to save money over the long run. Head over to Square POS system cost for more detailed pricing.
Square Appointments
One of the best features that comes out of Square is the Appointments software. It's a great piece of software for an appointment-based business, such as a spa, nail salon, personal trainer, or barbershop.
The online appointment app makes it easy to organize your schedule, create profiles for your customers, send out reminders via email or text, and take the overall customer experience to the next level. Your customers can then log onto the Square Appointments app to get real-time updates about their appointments and make changes.
Intuit's Best Features:
Built-In Accounting Software
As you could have probably could have guessed based on the focus of Intuit, the QuickBooks Accounting software is one of the best features found in this POS system. If you've ever found yourself using QuickBooks Online, then you'll know that the software is incredibly versatile.
From accounting payment processing to payroll to time-tracking, all aspects of your point-of-sale system can be streamlined to work with one another.
Being able to consolidate all of the elements of your POS system makes life easier.
It should be noted that Square's POS system does not provide this level of functionality, which is the main reason that Intuit QuickBooks comes out as the clear winner in this category.
Flexible Mobile Solution
One of Intuit's biggest strengths is the QuickBooks Payments software, which comes with the GoPayment App. This app is easy to use and very refreshing, providing you with all of the information that you need, wherever in the world you are. Check out employee management data, see what products are in stock, and process transactions without a card reader using the key-in feature.
QuickBooks Payments is one of the most high-end mobile solutions in the point-of-sale realm, offering an affordable, feature-rich mobile system for all kinds of businesses.
MailChimp
Not too long ago, Intuit purchased Mailchimp, bolstering its marketing abilities. While Square POS certainly has plenty of integrations, this particular integration with QuickBooks Online and Mailchimp gives you a wildly impressive range of features to play around with.
For those who aren't familiar, Mailchimp started as a basic email marketing software, though now allows users to create professional marketing templates, optimize content, reach customers with new forms of communication, and send emails based on interactions and customer internet behavior.
Plus, Mailchimp comes with a very in-depth reporting and analytics solution, so you can make sure that every marketing campaign you run is the best it can.
Invoicing Features
Intuit has been providing high-quality service for small businesses for more than ten years at this point.
This is one of the reasons that Intuit offers a wide range of options for customization.
One of those options is invoicing.
While Square point-of-sale has a wide range of features compared to Intuit, the invoicing features found in Intuit QuickBooks are pretty impressive.
There are several things that you can do with the invoicing found in the Intuit QuickBooks Payments software, including keeping track of payments, split-up payments, track estimates, and easily stay on schedule.
Custom Processing Rates
While both of these providers offer excellent payment processing rates, the rates found in Intuit can help you save money if you run a business that processes more than $7,500 per month.
Intuit is known for working with close business owners to deliver completely custom plans that are financially practical.
Square Drawbacks:
We often see two main complaints when it comes to Square Point-of-Sale system, neither of which has to do with the features found in the software. Instead, the main drawbacks have to do with the account holds and the customer service.
In several instances, there are overlaps between these two main complaints. Remember that Square is a very large point-of-sale company with several vendors spread across the nation. As with most major companies out there, it can be difficult trying to get in touch with someone when you need to troubleshoot an issue. Expecting someone from the Square customer support team to get in touch with you right away could be a lot to ask.
It's also worth noting that Square, as with Intuit, does not offer customer support out of 6 AM and 6 PM, which can make it difficult for bars and nightclubs to operate.
The other main drawback is that Square works as an integrated payment processor for small businesses through Square Payments. Because Square Payments is in charge of your payment processing, the company can put your funds on hold if they notice anything unusual or potentially fraudulent going on. In the worst-case scenario, Square can terminate your account to leave you without the ability to process transactions for a few days while you figure things out.
Intuit Drawbacks:
Intuit does not offer small business customer support outside of normal business hours, meaning 6 AM to 6 PM. If you run any type of after-hours business, such as a bar or nightclub, or work unconventional weekend hours, you won't be able to get ahold of the customer support team at Intuit to help.
Not many small business owners consider the importance of customer support when looking for a point-of-sale system.
One of the main drawbacks of Intuit is that it does not offer high-end point-of-sale hardware. While you will find basic point-of-sale hardware, such as cash drawers, barcode scanner devices, and receipt printers, you won't find any pieces of POS hardware that offer complex requirements.
You won't find any POS system hardware for restaurants either, including kitchen display systems and customer-facing displays. For restaurant owners, this can be a major deal breaker.
It's also worth noting that you will have to pay extra to set up an Intuit QuickBooks Online Account, which is a major drawback when you consider the fact that Square Point-of-Sale offers a free Square account that comes with an online store and a card reader.
Which is A Better Value?
Square and Intuit offer some of the most recognizable POS system brands in the industry today.
There are a number of reasons to choose Intuit, including:
On the other hand, we recommend Square if:
At the end of the day, both of these providers offer flat-rate pricing with similar fees, so cost won't be the deciding factor when choosing between the two. Instead, the individual needs of your business is what will determine which of these systems to choose.
Tyler Connaghan
Contributing Author
