You do not need to upgrade to a paid plan. Square offers:
Square POS (Free)
Square for Retail (Free)
Square for Retail (Paid)
You can use a bluetooth Scanner to IPAD but not sure if to Iphone. Some of the Bluetooth scanners can get expensive. You can also use your camera in your Ipad to scan barcodes no other equipment needed.
Here is a quick video showing it works with a QR code or Barcodes :
I use the Square for Retail (Free) with a 2D scanner and an Square Stand.
Below is a post I made for someone else asking about Barcode Scanners before.
Here is a link to the original:
Since you are just starting out to get the information you need to do this correctly the first time, let me ask you a few questions.
Which Square product are you using currently? Square POS or Square for retail (free version)
What type of hardware are you using for your POS system? (Android, Apple tablet phone etc, Square Stand, Square Register......etc)
You previously said you have a Mac (Apple) computer is it on site of your business?
To figure out barcodes please read this information because there are a lot of barcodes with different rules.
After reading that you can figure out what type of barcode you are using. Keep in mind Square lets you use up to 40 characters for a barcode. With 1D barcodes the more character you use the longer the barcode. If you use Libreoffice Calc, Google Sheets or Excel type in 3 different cells 5, 10, 15 characters in a cell and choose the same barcode font for these and you will see they are different lengths. So if you use a 1D barcode all your SKU's will have to be the same length so the barcodes are the same length to fit the label you choose. I got around this by using a QR code as my 'Barcode' to start. I have switched to an Aztec code. This can hold more information than a QR code and is actually a little smaller in size.... which means a smaller price label.
So now you figured out the type of Barcode you would prefer, but does your scanner read that barcode?
Figure out which Barcodes your current scanner reads and they may limit your choice also. I found out using the screen side camera on my Square Stand using Square for Retail free... the camera will read barcodes and QR codes.... but does not read m Aztec code. Think of a Barcode scanner as a multilingual interpreter.... first it needs to work with your hardware ( Android, Apple, Square Register....etc) and with Squares Software! I bought a cheap wireless 2D scanner, worked great on my PC but not with my Square Stand. So what the Scanner does is it reads the barcode sends that data to your Hardware then to Square. So the scanner you buy Interprets for your hardware the barcode to input it to square. The data in the barcode is just text the scanner reads to fill into Square the SKU to look up to find your price. For a free online barcode generator you can go to Free Barcode Generator . Just remember that Square only reads Lowercase letters and numbers, I tried the '&' sign in my barcodes and got "7" in my SKU when my scanner read it on Square, Ipad read it as & and my PC read it as &.... but Square read it as 7.
As for a label printer you could use a regular printer with Avery type labels but this will get expensive as your business grows with cost of ink and label sheets. The other option is to buy a Direct Thermal Label printer. The Zebra 420D I bought is a direct thermal printer which does not use ink but uses special labels that the text is basically burnt onto the labels. These printers cost more, but use no ink. There are multiple brands of direct thermal printers for labels. Zebra, Dymo, Brother etc. You can look on Amazon for your scanner and printer like I did and get used or refurbished ones at savings. Now since you wanted to use the Square for Retail FREE version you would need these Direct Thermal printers to be compatible with your computer (PC or Mac), because Square for Retail Free will not directly print barcode labels.
Now you will be asking what I use.
I have Square for Retail Free
Square Stand with Ipad
Zebra DS6878 (2D Scanner) this is USB to a cradle then wireless from scanner to cradle also Bluetooth capable .... have not tried Bluetooth yet. NOT SQUARE APPROVED in their approved list of Scanners but works for me and reads other 1D barcodes
and I have the Zebra GX420 D - Direct Thermal and GK420t - Thermal Transfer label printers. The 420D prints onto white Direct Thermal labels and the 420T prints on to my labels with Aztec code.
Below are pictures of my hardware and printed labels that I use to track inventory in Square
The Aztec code from the 420D on the white label is roughly 3/8" in size and always works.
The Aztec code on the preprinted label from the 420T is roughly 1/4" in size and mostly works but scanner has to be at the correct angel and the correct distance (ie A Lot closer) because of how small it is and how many characters are in the 2D code. My longest text for the Aztec code is 34 characters I believe, and at 1/4" square is a lot of data. The fewer character 1/4" Aztec codes work the best.
Square Stand with Zebra DS6878
GX420D for white label
Label from 420D
420T Thermal Transfer
420T Label only prints Scent and Aztec code... the rest of label is preprinted
