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Loyalty and gift card software review

Square Loyalty

Square's points, visits or items loyalty program, built into Square's POS and included in the Square Plus plan along with email and text campaigns, a customer directory and gift cards.

By SquareParent company: Block, Inc.

RTC SCORE

8.3

#1 of 13 with enough data

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

What we like

  • Published price: loyalty comes inside Square Plus at $49 a month per location, billed month to month with a 30-day free trial.
  • Guests earn by points, visits or items, with VIP tiers, and redeem in the restaurant or online.
  • Unlimited email campaigns and 500 texts a month included, with automated welcome, birthday and win-back campaigns.
  • You can download your customer directory as a CSV yourself.

What to watch

  • Only works with Square's own POS.
  • Gift card loads cost up to 2.5% on Square Plus, on top of card processing.
  • Phone support on Square Plus only on weekdays, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific; 24/7 support needs Square Premium.
  • Square does not document an app with your restaurant's brand.

How the score breaks down

RTC Score8.3out of 10

Methodology v1.0.0

Data completeness94%

We could verify 94% of the scoring data

Strongest points
12-month cost (reference restaurant), Ways to earn rewards, Rewards on your online orders
Weakest point
POS systems it connects to

Score by criterion

  • 12-month cost (reference restaurant)Weight 20%Strongest10.0 out of 10

    $588 over 12 months

  • Ways to earn rewardsWeight 8%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • Rewards on your online ordersWeight 6%Strongest10.0 out of 10
  • App with your brandWeight 6%No data
  • Digital gift cardsWeight 6%10.0 out of 10
  • Published pricingWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Automatic campaignsWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Text message campaignsWeight 5%10.0 out of 10
  • Not tied to one POSWeight 5%2.0 out of 10
  • POS systems it connects toWeight 5%Weakest1.4 out of 10
  • Guest profiles with historyWeight 4%10.0 out of 10
  • Email campaignsWeight 4%10.0 out of 10
  • Physical gift cardsWeight 4%6.0 out of 10
  • Initial termWeight 4%10.0 out of 10
  • Live support hours a weekWeight 4%3.6 out of 10
  • Early termination feeWeight 3%10.0 out of 10
  • Guest feedbackWeight 2%10.0 out of 10
  • Your guest list when you leaveWeight 2%10.0 out of 10
  • Notice to avoid renewalWeight 1%10.0 out of 10
  • Dedicated specialistWeight 1%0.0 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
Monthly price$49/moSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Loyalty is not in Square Free ($0); it starts with Square Plus, which also includes email and text marketing, restaurant tools and lower card rates than Square Free.
Published pricingPublishedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Sold only with a POS planYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Loyalty comes inside Square's Plus or Premium plan; the pricing grid shows it as not available on Square Free.
Text messages included a month500Source: Square (opens in a new tab)500 texts a month on Square Plus; Square Premium includes 2,500.
Price per extra text message3¢Source: Square (opens in a new tab)On Square Plus. Square Premium charges 1.5¢ after its 2,500 included texts.
Setup fee$0 one-timeSource: Square (opens in a new tab)The pricing page shows no setup fee for any plan.
Other feesGift cards: up to a 2.5% load fee each time a card is loaded on Square Plus (0% on Premium), plus the normal card processing fee when a guest buys one; physical cards are bought from Square, priced by quantity. Card processing on Plus: 2.5% + 15¢ in person.Source: Square (opens in a new tab)
Loyalty program
Data pointValue
Loyalty programIncludedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Included in Square Plus and Premium at no extra charge.
How guests earnPoints for spending, Visits, Items bought, Tiers or levels, Birthday rewardsSource: Square (opens in a new tab)The same page offers customizable VIP tiers, and Square Plus's automated campaigns send birthday offers.
Earn and redeem on online ordersYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Guests can also sign up through the restaurant's Square website.
App with your brandUnconfirmedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Neither the loyalty page nor the pricing grid offers an app with your restaurant's brand; guests track points with a digital pass in Apple Wallet.
Customer list and campaigns
Data pointValue
Guest profiles with historyYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Automatic campaignsYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Text message campaignsIncluded with an allowanceSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Email campaignsIncludedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Guest feedbackYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Guests leave feedback from the digital receipt or by replying to an email campaign.
Gift cards
Data pointValue
Digital gift cardsIncludedSource: Square (opens in a new tab)No setup cost, but each load carries the load fee on Square Plus.
Physical gift cardsYou buy the cards or pay an add-onSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Fee on gift card sales2.5%Source: Square (opens in a new tab)2.5% of each load on Square Free and Plus; Square Premium charges no load fee.
POS and equipment
Data pointValue
Works with which POSOnly with its own POSSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square Loyalty runs on Square's own POS and Square Online.
POS systems it connects toSquareSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Extra equipmentNone neededSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Square's POS app runs on a phone or tablet; Square hardware is optional.
Contract and exit
Data pointValue
Initial termMonth to monthSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Month to month: billed on the first of each month until you cancel.
Automatic renewalMonth to monthSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Billed month to month.
Notice to avoid renewal0 daysSource: Square (opens in a new tab)You cancel from your Square account settings; access continues to the end of the billing period, with no refund.
Early termination feeNoneSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Early termination clauseNo early termination fee.Source: Square (opens in a new tab)
Right to raise pricesSquare can change subscription fees with reasonable advance notice; using the service after the notice means you accept the change.Source: Square (opens in a new tab)
Your guest list when you leaveYou can download it yourselfSource: Square (opens in a new tab)You download your customer directory as a CSV yourself; the help center does not say the file carries loyalty point balances.
Support
Data pointValue
Support 24/7NoSource: Square (opens in a new tab)On Square Plus, phone support runs weekdays 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific; 24/7 phone support comes with Square Premium ($149 a month per location).
Live support hours a week60Source: Square (opens in a new tab)12 hours a day, Monday to Friday, on Square Plus.
Dedicated specialistNoSource: Square (opens in a new tab)Account management is offered only through Square Pro, for businesses processing over $250,000 a year.
Language
Data pointValue
Support in SpanishSays it serves you in SpanishSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Website or help center in Spanish for the USYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)
Contract or terms in SpanishYesSource: Square (opens in a new tab)

More about Square Loyalty

How we score