The Square Register is a new release here in Canada, so I thought those of us who already have it could share what we love most about it and what are some things that grind our gears a little.
The raves can help those who are on the fence on going the way of the Register and the rants can maybe provide an opportunity for those who have already encountered and resolved those issues!
Maybe also include the type of business you run for context.
I'll start!
I run a bakery/cafe that operates on a take-out only model. We were previously using the Stand and Terminal connection which mimicked the Register.
Raves:
1. Customers love the new display. We no longer have anyone squinting in an attempt to see the tip options ("I forgot my glasses!") or anything else on the screen. They love that they can see the items we're putting in one by one (helps them keep track too!).
2. The register just looks SO good. Like, beautiful. We have a mostly white shop, so the Stand looked nice too, but the gun metal grey really makes it seem like we have our sh*t together. (And many of us as small business owners know that's not always the case lol).
3. There are only 2 cables! One going from customer display to register and one going from register to power. With the Stand/Terminal combo it seemed like there were 1 million various cords and no way to sort them.
4. Paying with gift card or splitting any payments with the Stand/Terminal combo meant that we needed the little contactless block to finish the payments since the Terminal couldn't split payments. It was confusing for some customers because we had to pull out this random block and say, "No, touch here. Not there like you've done every other time."
Rants:
1. I actually preferred when we couldn't see the tip amount when it was selected on the terminal. That information didn't show up on the Stand. Blind tips ensure that everyone gets treated exactly the same (which I know should be the case anyway but...we're human).
2. We can no longer edit items on the checkout screen. As we're often selling out and restocking what we have available in the case, making more things, etc. etc. it was really nice to see "oh this cookie is sold out, but we've just put out 10 more", long pressing on the item, and having the item details show up. That's no longer possible and something that we sorely miss just 1 week into using the register. Considering keeping our iPad under the counter just so we have a quick way of updating stock. Going into the "Items" tab is just too many steps for us.
3. As it's not an iPad, if you had any other apps that you're used to using (Spotify, Google Drive for images for new products, a sign-in clock that allows you to track COVID-19 screening questions (the only reason we had to stop using Square sign-in)), etc. you'll still need to have your iPad or some other technology around for those things and somewhere it can be easily accessed for staff.
That's all I can remember for now. I'd love to hear how everyone else is experiencing the Register!
