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Scheduling software review

Square Shifts

Scheduling and time clock module of the Square POS, included in Square Plus at $49 a month per location. Staff clock in at the register or in the Square Team app, and timecards sync with Square Payroll or export to another provider.

By SquareParent company: Block, Inc.

RTC SCORE

7.4

#6 of 14 with enough data

Square also offers: POS systems, Card processing, Online ordering, and 4 more

Our verdict

A good fit for a restaurant already on Square POS: scheduling, time clock and tips come in a published per-location plan. If you're not on Square, it isn't an option on its own.

What we like

  • Published price per location with no per-user charge: $49 a month on Square Plus, billed month to month.
  • Shift swaps, open shifts, time off, tip pooling and team chat come in the same plan.
  • Clock-ins at the register or in the app, with an optional geofence and missed-break alerts.

What to watch

  • Only works with Square POS; the free Square plan has no scheduling or time clock.
  • Shows labor against sales in reports, but documents no sales forecast or automatic schedule builder.
  • Phone support on Square Plus is weekdays only; around-the-clock phone support needs Square Premium.
  • Other payroll providers only get an exported file; the direct sync is with Square Payroll, which costs extra.

How the score breaks down

RTC Score7.4out of 10

Methodology v1.0.0

Data completeness99%

We could verify 99% of the scoring data

Strongest points
12-month cost (reference restaurant), Time clock, Hours into payroll
Weakest point
POS systems it connects to

Score by criterion

  • 12-month cost (reference restaurant)Weight 22%Strongest8.9 out of 10

    $588 over 12 months

  • Time clockWeight 8%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • POS systems it connects toWeight 8%Weakest1.4 out of 10
  • Hours into payrollWeight 7%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Labor cost against salesWeight 6%5.0 out of 10
  • Published pricingWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Shift swaps and open shiftsWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • POS sales on the scheduleWeight 5%1.4 out of 10
  • Initial termWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Refund when you cancelWeight 4%0.0 out of 10
  • Free planWeight 3%0.0 out of 10
  • Availability and time offWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Labor law alertsWeight 3%6.0 out of 10
  • Location check at clock-inWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Notice to avoid renewalWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Breaks and overtimeWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Tip pooling and payoutsWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Phone supportWeight 2%10.0 out of 10
  • Automatic schedule builderWeight 2%No data
  • Team messagingWeight 2%10.0 out of 10

All the data, with sources

Each value links to its source. "Not published" means the vendor doesn't disclose it; "Unconfirmed" means we looked and couldn't confirm it. Data points we have for fewer than four vendors are left out until we can compare them.

Pricing
Data pointValue
How the price is countedIncluded in a POS planSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Base fee$49/moSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square Plus, per location. It's the whole POS plan, not a scheduling-only price. Square Premium costs $149 a month per location.
Per user, each month$0/moSource: Square (opens in a new tab)The pricing page shows no per-user charge for staff features on Square Plus.
Who counts as a paid userDoesn't charge per userSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Published pricingPublishedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Paying for the yearUnconfirmedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square's US pricing page shows monthly prices only and doesn't mention a yearly option.
Free planNo free planSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square Free ($0) has no staff features in the US: scheduling, timecards and clock-in are marked as not included.
Free plan limitN/ASource: Square (opens in a new tab)No free plan.
Setup feeUnconfirmedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)The pricing page doesn't mention a setup fee for Square Plus.
Minimums and other feesSquare Plus is a POS plan that runs on Square payment processing (2.5% + 15¢ per in-person card payment on Plus). Hardware is bought separately.Source: Square (opens in a new tab)
Scheduling
Data pointValue
Shift swaps and open shifts in the appYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Availability and time-off requestsYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Labor cost against salesLabor cost on the schedule, without salesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square has labor-versus-sales reports from the POS, but documents no sales forecast on the schedule.
Automatic schedule builderUnconfirmedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square documents schedule duplication week over week, not an automatic schedule builder.
Team messagingYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Labor law alertsOvertime and break alertsSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square also tracks overtime by state settings. It documents no predictive scheduling (fair workweek) rules.
Time clock and attendance
Data pointValue
Time clockIncluded in the comparable planSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Ways to clock inAt the POS, Phone appSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Location check (GPS or geofence)YesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Photo at clock-inUnconfirmedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Not documented on Square's US Shifts pages.
Breaks and overtime on timesheetsYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Tip pooling and payoutsIncludedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
POS and payroll
Data pointValue
POS systems it connects toSquareSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
POS that send salesSquareSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
POS that send clock-ins or employeesSquareSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Getting hours into payrollIts own payroll (paid add-on)Source: Square (opens in a new tab)Square Payroll is a separate paid product. Other payroll providers get an exported file.
Payroll providers it connects toSquare PayrollSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Several locations in one accountYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square Plus is billed per location.
Contract and exit
Data pointValue
Initial termMonth to monthSource: Square (opens in a new tab)General Terms §10: month to month.
Automatic renewal1 monthSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Notice to avoid renewal0 daysSource: Square (opens in a new tab)You cancel from your account settings and keep access until the end of the billing period.
Refund when you cancelNo refund of the period already paidSource: Square (opens in a new tab)General Terms §10. You keep access until the end of the billing period.
Leaving earlyNo fee to cancel; the month already paid isn't refunded.Source: Square (opens in a new tab)
Right to raise pricesSquare can change any subscription fee with reasonable advance notice; using the service after the notice means you accept the new price.Source: Square (opens in a new tab)General Terms §10. No fixed number of days.
Your records when you leaveYou can download them yourselfSource: Square (opens in a new tab)You export timecards yourself from the Square Dashboard. After the account closes, Square's terms let it delete account data (§13), so export before you leave.
Support
Data pointValue
Phone supportYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)On Square Plus: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific, Monday to Friday. Square Premium has 24/7 phone support.
Live chat supportYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Chat support is marked on every plan; Square doesn't publish chat hours.
Live support hours a week60Source: Square (opens in a new tab)Phone hours on Square Plus: 12 hours a day, five days a week.
Language
Data pointValue
Employee app in SpanishUnconfirmedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square's US Spanish help explains clocking in with the Team app, but we didn't find a Square page saying the Team app itself works in Spanish.
Manager dashboard in SpanishUnconfirmedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square says the Dashboard follows your browser's language, but doesn't list the languages it supports.
Help articles in SpanishYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Website in Spanish for the USYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)

More about Square Shifts

How we score