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[New] Introducing Square Shifts

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Square is now offering a stand-alone labor management subscription called Square Shifts, which allows you to easily manage your team with POS-integrated time tracking, tip-management solutions, scheduling, and payroll prep. Shifts features were previously available only through Square Team Management. Breaking out Shifts features provides more optionality, so you can subscribe only to the products you need. Square Shifts offers two subscriptions, depending on your team size. Shifts Free, available for teams of five employees or less, offers basic scheduling, time tracking, and payroll prep, while Shifts Plus offers advanced features such as tip pooling, cash tip tracking, team member-initiated shift swapping, and more. Shifts Plus features are included in the Team Plus, Square for Restaurants Plus, Square for Retail Plus, and Square Appointments Premium subscriptions. 

 

Note: If you are already actively using the free labor-management features through Square Team Management, you will need to select a new Shifts plan. You have until January 31, 2023, to do so. Until then, you will continue to have access to these features in the current Square Team Management product. Learn more about the new Shifts plan and make your selection in Square Dashboard.

 

Features included in Square Shifts:

 

Time tracking

  • POS-integrated time tracking so you can accurately track your team’s time and view and edit their timecards in Square Dashboard. 

Scheduling

  • Track your team’s availability, assign upcoming shifts, and ensure everyone on the team knows when and where they are working via email and notifications in the Square Team App. 

Labor alerts

  • Prevent early and unscheduled clock-ins and track breaks and overtime to effectively manage your labor costs.

Tips and commissions

  • Track the tips your team accrues during their shifts, including tip pooling and cash tip tracking. You can also incentivize employees with unique commission rates to reward them for their sales.

Payroll Prep

  • Easily track your team’s wage data and export timecards that can be imported to Square Payroll or another payroll provider.

Analytics and reporting

  • Get access to reports like sales versus labor so you can make better staffing decisions. 

 

Check out all the features included in Shifts

 

Pricing: 

 

Shifts Free 

Shifts Plus 

Free for up to five team members


  • 1–10 team members: $4/month per team member
  • 11–20  team members: $3.50/month per team member
  • 21–50  team members: $3.00/month per team member
  • 51+ team members: $2.50/month per team member

 

How to get started:

 

Visit the Shifts Dashboard to learn more and pick the best plan for your team.

 

Get Started →

 

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33 REPLIES 33
Super Seller

We've been using Square shift management via Teams for a while. A solid tool that allowed us to shift from a far more expensive solution a year or so back. With this pricing model, the tool becomes almost as expensive as our old easier to use option. Hoping that this being carved out as a separate service will also create new intensity around advanced features and increased ability to interact with all features via mobile app.

Take care of yourself and, as life provides, someone else too.
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Square

Hi @AnthemWe're happy to hear you've been using Square Shift features for your team! Your intuition is correct as we have plans to enhance the Square Team App experience feature set for Shifts in the coming months. If you would like, we would love to hop on a call to hear more about your business and needs to ensure we are building the best features and experiences.


To address your concerns about pricing, we still offer the option to sign up for Team Plus for $35/mo per location, and that plan still includes Shifts Plus features. We also offer scaled pricing with Shifts Plus, which provides discounted rates as your team grows.

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Super Seller

Thanks for the feedback; glad to hear of the new plans. We are always willing to support where we can and would be happy to jump on a call or join any beta group you might have started already.

Take care of yourself and, as life provides, someone else too.
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Super Seller

@Anthem I think the new pricing model is that "Shifts" is a new feature set  of teams plus, restaurants plus, & retail plus, BUT if you want only this feature set and are a small shop or  have a bunch of small locations, you can still buy it al la carte.  

 

I still think teams plus at $35 a month is the best value going forward as the permission sets and true team management are worth it.

Donnie
Multi-Unit Manager
Order Up Cafe/Tombras Cafe/Riverview Cafe/City County Cafe
Roddy Vending Company, Inc.
www.OrderUpCafe.com

Using Square since July, 2017
Square Super Seller
Square Beta Team

"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment."

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." Z.Z.
Do you want to have great restaurant menus that are easy to edit and don't cost a fortune? I use MustHaveMenus and you can too!
MustHaveMenus
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Super Seller

I second @Anthem, in it's current form Teams isn't worth the price, the competition is miles ahead in features for a similar price point. I hope this means that some real effort is going to be put behind developing new features quickly. For us we'd be paying the same cost as 7Shifts based on that pricing structure and they have a:

  • Manager Log
  • Task Management
  • Predictive Budgets
  • Onboarding
  • True Tip Pool Tracking that accounts for every scenario
  • Employee File Storage
  • and the list goes on.. 

Homebase comes with almost as many features as 7shifts and is even cheaper..

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I am a new client and I am disappointed to hear about this recent upgrade and new pricing initiative. We are a small new business and don't have a need for direct oversight of our contractors but need access to the reports in which are now a requirement under this new strategy. I would think that seeing the reports of our numbers should be included. Very disappointing. 

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Square Community Moderator

We appreciate your feedback on this, @BigIslandAloha, for clarification, which reports specifically are you no longer able to access? 

Ellie
Community Moderator, Square
Sign in and click Mark as Best Answer if my reply answers your question.
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I have only been a customer for about a month so I am not aware of all the features we lost. One of the reasons we chose square over other platforms was because of the easy integration. Our business utilizes contractors in which do not receive an hourly wage or salary, but rather commission on all sales. After the update, I was no longer able to access the commission reports, integrate their commission to be paid out for payroll, or see their tips. 

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Square

Hi @BigIslandAloha,

 

We looked into why you were having access issues. I sent you a direct message with an explanation. Let us know if you have any other questions.

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Beta Member

Disappointed in this.  Only need the most basic clock in, clock out function not everything else you're trying to force us to use.   I justify paying more in processing fees because things like this are free.  May need to look elsewhere at this point.

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Super Seller

This may sound rude...Still, if the lowest point of entry, providing the most basic of features is all you're looking for, I feel you'll constantly be bouncing from one free thing to the next - always getting what you pay for. There are many free clock-in and clock-out options in the market. They are separate solutions, don't create connecting points to other parts of your business, and often require additional work.

 

Maybe there is an option Square could consider for basic clock-in/out features without scheduling that could be free; I like the idea. I'd suggest, the best way to advocate for such an option is to be active and vocal on these boards. Submit the idea on this thread, spell it out clearly, and paint a picture for the product team to understand your idea for separating paid/non-paid. You being a positive advocate for meaningful updates and change is the best way to be part of creating what you want. 

Take care of yourself and, as life provides, someone else too.
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Super Seller

Thanks for the update.  We use this feature for my boyfriend's cleaning and towel service business.  I'm going to go over and review the features so that I can make sure we pick the right subscription as well make sure we're utilizing all the features Square Shifts offers (and that we're using them correctly 🙂

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Super Seller

Next year I'll need to look into this feature more as I'll began hiring.  Thanks for the update.

Jacqueline
Owner of Jackie's Uniquely U Boutique
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Beta Member

Does Square Payroll encompass Square shifts, or are these two separate monthly payments? 

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Super Seller

It looks like only the basic version is included with payroll. 

My Girlfriend's Wardrobe est. 2012

Preston & jayne est. 2023


Downtown York Pa


Square user since 2012
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Square

Hi @Shannon74, if you are using full service Square Payroll and paying W-2 employees, Shifts Free is included for unlimited team members. This includes access to basic labor management features such as timecards, publishing schedules up to 10 days, direct tip tracking and basic labor reports. The cap of 5 team members for Shifts Free does not apply to Square Payroll. 

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Admin

@Shannon74 

@LaurenSQ said it well! These are two separate payments. This is part of the change in subscriptions. Sellers who subscribe to Payroll will not longer automatically get Shifts Plus features like commissions.  Payroll Sellers who subscribe to Shifts free will not be subject to the 1-5 employee cap like other sellers.

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Super Seller

Really unhappy about this as someone who pays for Square to handle their payroll. 

I schedule employees for an entire month at a time. Under this new feature I would have to pay for the upgraded plan because the free will be limited to just 10 days. 

You remove the option for employees to set their availability under the free plan & manage time off. You're requiring payment for the team member sales reporting information.

Frustrated here guys. I don't feel like this was a move that benefits the users, but Square's pockets. While I understand you need to be profitable I don't know that this move is the right one.

My Girlfriend's Wardrobe est. 2012

Preston & jayne est. 2023


Downtown York Pa


Square user since 2012
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This is frustrating for me as a small business that only has 10 employees and only utilizes the clock in and out function and report.  I feel stuck because I've already got the thousands of dollars invested in the square equipment, with the understanding that the much higher CC processing rates include more services, and paying an extra $60/month literally puts me back to what I spent so much time and energy escaping.  I literally only need clock in and out times which was touted as included very loudly when I was researching square.  I've worked for larger companies and do see the benefits of the product for them, but not for me and my 10 employees who all work set schedules.

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Super Seller

@cumberlandfoodc do you have multiple locations or just 1?  The teams plus subscription is only $35 a month currently and would cover all 10 employees and give you all the features, in addition to team management with permissions.

Donnie
Multi-Unit Manager
Order Up Cafe/Tombras Cafe/Riverview Cafe/City County Cafe
Roddy Vending Company, Inc.
www.OrderUpCafe.com

Using Square since July, 2017
Square Super Seller
Square Beta Team

"Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment."

"You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want." Z.Z.
Do you want to have great restaurant menus that are easy to edit and don't cost a fortune? I use MustHaveMenus and you can too!
MustHaveMenus
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