What Is Square Appointments?
The foundation of Square Appointments is its platform that allows clients to book appointments for your service-based business. However, the scheduling app includes many more features that extend its functionality, including:
- Flat-rate payment processing built into the service, so you don’t need to find a separate merchant services provider (MSP) to run your business
- Automated reminders and confirmations, depending on the plan you choose, to help reduce chances of cancellation
- Booking website and integrations with social media so clients can easily book appointments online
- Client portal, which makes it easy for customers to manage their contact information, add a card on file and manage their appointments
Square Appointments tops our list of the best scheduling apps.
The setup screen shows a progress bar so you can see how much more you need to do until complete.
Featured Partners
1
Connecteam
Up to 10
Available
Yes
2
Acuity
7 days
Save 20% on Annual Plans
Yes
3
ClockShark
Yes
Included
GPS verification
4
Homebase
Yes
Yes
Yes
What Sets Square Appointments Apart
Most scheduling software includes the basics you need for a service-based business, but Square Appointments goes beyond booking pages and calendar syncs. There’s real-time tracking of appointments, built-in payment processing and no-show protection.
Pros
Square Appointments is easy to use, and includes automated notifications via texts, emails and calendars and built-in payment processing you can use for in-person, online or card on file payments. Plus, Square includes alternative payment options such as Afterpay and Cash App.
You can set up no-show protection, which is a valuable feature not typically available in scheduling apps. It allows you to set up a cancellation policy and require customers to add a credit card to pay for any cancellation fees. This helps ensure clients keep appointments so you don’t lose money.
Square Appointments integrates with social media giants Instagram and Facebook, so you can accept appointments from your business pages. It also works with Google, so clients can book with your business after finding it in local business listings.
In the online booking setting screen, there are options to connect to social channels such as Instagram, Facebook and Google.
Cons
Square Appointments requires you to use its payment processing system with its booking system, so you’re stuck with flat-rate transaction fees. Not being able to choose your own payment processor could mean higher rates in the long run.
Also, while Square Appointments offers more than two dozen apps that integrate with its platform, it may not have apps you already use.
Square Appointments Core Features
As a scheduling app, Square Appointments gives you most of the basic features you need, even if you only opt for the free version. Some core functionality is locked behind paid plans, so if you need Google calendar synchronization for easy visibility, you need at least the entry-level paid plan. Here’s what to expect of Square Appointments’ core features:
Availability
Square gives you control over your calendar so you can show clients your true availability (or fake it a little). From the app’s settings, you can easily block time so you don’t get requests for appointments at times when you’re not available. You can also flip a switch to make it appear as though you have more booked appointments than is true to create a sense of exclusivity.
The fake-it filter can be toggled on or off to show your business as busy when you have few appointments.
Calendar Sync
Square Appointments includes calendar sync with Google Calendar on its paid plans. This is helpful if you run multiple businesses or you or staff have personal appointments that you want to reflect on your booking calendar. It’s worth noting that Square Appointments only syncs with Google Calendar and it’s only a one-way sync, in a way. Personal appointments made on your personal calendar will be added to your app calendar; blocked time in the app won’t appear on your Google Calendar.
The calendar shows hourly appointments per couple of days in a week.
Booking Page
Every plan includes a booking page, which you can customize with Square Online, a website builder. The page is free and customizable, so you can add images to make it look unique for your business. You can also create a QR code so customers can easily scan the code at your brick-and-mortar location or from a business card to access your booking site easily.
Automatic Notifications
You and staff members will receive automatic notifications of appointments when they happen. Square Appointments will send out text and email notifications automatically, depending on the contact information you provide in your account.
Additionally, you can send text and email confirmations and reminders to clients about appointments they’ve booked. This can help reduce no-shows or encourage clients to reschedule, when needed. Confirmations are not included in the free plan.
Client Portal
Your clients can easily access their own accounts in Square so they can manage appointments, update contact information and see past appointments. They can even book appointments directly from their accounts. Card on file is another option clients have so they can pay for products or services without having to pull out their cards every time they visit your place of business.
Client profiles include notes for you to add, cards on file and show appointment history.
Square Appointments Pricing and Plans
Square Appointments offers free and paid plans, along with built-in payment processing. Paid plans start at $29 per month per location. The higher-tier plans offer lower transaction fees and more features for teams, resource management and class bookings. Below is a look at the biggest differences between the three plans.
| Free | Plus | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Starting Price
|
0
|
$29 per month per location
|
$69 per month per location
|
|
Transaction Fees
|
In-person: 2.5% + 10 cents
Online: 2.9% + 30 cents
Manual: 3.5% + 15 cents
|
In-person: 2.5% + 10 cents
Online: 2.9% + 30 cents
Manual: 3.5% + 15 cents
|
In-person: 2.5% + 10 cents
Online: 2.9% + 30 cents
Manual: 3.5% + 15 cents
|
|
Custom Availability
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Automatic Reminders
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Class Bookings
|
X
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Resource Management
|
X
|
X
|
✔
|
|
Team Permissions
|
X
|
X
|
✔
|
Free
Square Appointments’ free plan includes the core features you need to accept appointments and payments for the services you provide. There are automatic reminders via text and email for your clients, clients can set up recurring appointments and you get a booking website at no added charge. The only thing you pay for is a transaction fee per appointment.
Plus
For $29 per month per location, the Square Appointments Plus plan includes all the features of the free plan and it supports multiple locations, class bookings and multiple staff appointments. You can also set up a Google calendar sync, employ no-show protection and set a daily appointment limit. It’s also at this level that you pay slightly less per transaction (2.5% versus 2.6% for in-person payments).
Premium
The Premium plan from Square Appointments gives you everything in the Plus plan with the addition of resource management and costs $69 per month per location. You also get team management features including reporting on team sales and labor, flat-rate commissions for staff and multiple wage rates.
Setup and Customization
It’s very easy to set up Square Appointments using either a desktop computer or a smartphone. All you need to get started with the free plan or 30-day free trial is an email address, a phone number and a business to run. After you set up your services, you can start adding clients and appointments and add Square Appointments to your social media accounts and Google business listing.
Ease of Use
Square Appointments is instantly intuitive. All the navigation makes sense and there are plenty of setup guides or walk-throughs to help point you in the right direction. Setting appointments, adding new customers and assigning staff members is all point and click.
A setup screen with the features you can choose for your Square Appointments account.
Security
Square offers secure ways for you to use its products and services without worry. For your business account, you can add a POS passcode that’s required to access the point of sale. Two-step verification (also known as two-factor authentication, or 2FA) is another layer of security for your account so no one else has access.
Security features for a Square Appointments account includes two-step verification and a personal point-of-sale passcode.
You can also expect the highest level of security for payment data. Square uses a tokenization system for transactions, so nothing goes unencrypted. Card data for no-show protection is removed 14 days after a booking date and they can only be charged a specific cancellation fee.
The payment card industry (PCI) created a compliance checklist for all businesses that accept credit cards to ensure customers’ data stays safe. Square handles PCI compliance for its users, which is one less thing you have to worry about.
Customer Service and Support
You can use the myriad of help articles, walk-through guides and seller forums in Square’s Support Center to find answers to your questions on your own. Otherwise, Square offers email, live chat and phone support with hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT Monday through Friday.
Square improved its customer support experience recently, so now it’s even easier to connect with a representative by phone or live chat. When we contacted customer support through the live chat option, we were given a wait time of five minutes. It only took three minutes for a representative to respond. Although the agent wasn’t able to answer our question, they did give a phone number for a more specialized team.
Shows the wait time for a live chat representative and the resulting conversation.
Additional Features
Not all scheduling apps offer features to help you fully run your business. With Square Appointments, you can sell services and products, handle no-show protection and market your business to customers.
Payment Options
Square Appointments offers an easy way for you to accept payments from clients with its built-in POS system you can use for payments online. You can also get a card reader from Square to take in-person payments for a flat-rate transaction fee. Additionally, Square Appointments includes an invoicing option, Cash App payments, electronic and in-person gift cards and Afterpay.
Afterpay is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) option that lets your clients purchase a service or product immediately and pay for it in monthly installments. The cost of Afterpay is 6% plus 30 cents per transaction, which is much higher than Square’s typical transaction costs, but using Afterpay allows you to charge more while offering clients more flexibility in how they pay (without adding interest).
Marketing
There are some included marketing features you can use in Square Appointments with no added charge. There’s in-app messaging that allows you to connect with customers one-on-one (and them with you)—you can even send them coupons. You can also see customers’ service purchase history, which gives you insight into customer satisfaction and frequency of visits. For true marketing features, you would need to subscribe to Square Marketing.
Software Integrations
Square doesn’t offer a ton of integrations for its booking app, but there are some vital ones you may need. You can add on more than two dozen apps to extend Square Appointments’ functionality. There are time tracking apps, marketing software, accounting apps and e-commerce platforms, for example.
Reporting and Analytics
With Square Appointments, you can run several types of reports that show you how well you’re doing with sales, but also appointments. Analytics are built in and in real time, so you can see upcoming appointments, no-show frequency and predictions on when a client may need to book with you again based on past actions.
No-Show Protection
Sometimes clients book services and need to cancel, which is lost money for a business if they can’t quickly book another client for that time slot. To combat this, the paid plans for Square Appointments include no-show protection in which a client must add a credit card to pay for cancellations, based on your cancellation policy. There has been past controversy and confusion regarding this feature.
Clients can add a card on file to pay for future purchases and appointments, which they can remove at any time. However, no-show protection holds a card on file for up to 14 days after an appointment and can only be used for charges related to cancellations. Therefore, clients will be charged if they cancel an appointment and you’re using no-show protection.
Square Appointments Alternatives and How They Compare
| Square Appointments | Setmore | Calendly | Zoho Bookings | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rating
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
Free Plan
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Starting Price
|
$29 per location per month
|
$5 per user per month
|
$10 per user per month
|
$6 per user per month
|
|
Free Trial
|
30 days
|
30 days
|
14 days
|
15 days
|
|
Calendar Sync
|
Yes, paid plan
|
Yes, paid plan
|
Yes, all plans
|
Yes, all plans
|
|
Automatic Notifications
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Client Portal
|
✔
|
✔
|
X
|
✔
|
|
Booking Page
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Software Integrations
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
✔
|
|
Read Reviews
|
–
|
–
|
When comparing Square Appointments to other scheduling apps it’s clear that it’s the more expensive choice at first glance. However, there are no per-user fees, so it could be a more affordable option for some businesses. Below is a closer look at the scheduling app and how it fares against some decent Square Appointments alternatives.
Square Appointments vs. Setmore
In many ways, Square Appointments and Setmore are similar: You get a booking page, the apps send automatic reminders of appointments and you can set up recurring appointments. Both scheduling apps allow you to accept payments, but Setmore allows this through a third-party integration. This is less convenient but if you have an established business, it could be a more cost-effective option than using Square.
Square Appointments vs. Calendly
Although you can use Square Appointments and Calendly in the same fashion, they’re kind of made for different industries. Calendly offers a scheduling page on which you can add your branding and then share with clients so they can book time with you. However, it’s more suited to online meetings for demos and interviews. You can accept payments via a PayPal or Stripe integration with Calendly, but it’s more seamless with Square Appointments’ built-in payment processor. Also, Square Appointments offers a client portal, so customers can manage their profiles, appointments and add a card on file; Calendly doesn’t have a client portal.
Square Appointments vs. Zoho Bookings
Zoho Bookings has a leg up on Square Appointments when it comes to the free plan. You can sync your scheduling app with Google Calendar with Zoho Bookings’ free plan, but Square requires you to have a paid plan for that feature. Both apps can be used for booking appointments, but they’re also both suited for the ecosystems they already have. So, if you’re a Zoho user, it may make more sense to use Zoho Bookings for appointments, just as it makes more sense to use Square Appointments if you’re already using Square to accept payments.
Featured Partners
1
Connecteam
Up to 10
Available
Yes
2
Acuity
7 days
Save 20% on Annual Plans
Yes
3
ClockShark
Yes
Included
GPS verification
4
Homebase
Yes
Yes
Yes
Who Is Square Appointments Best For?
Square Appointments is a great choice for small service-based businesses that need to book clients for appointments or classes, whether they’re online or in person. The platform is an all-in-one booking and payment solution, so you can get started right away without having to use multiple services to run your business. The flat-rate transaction fees make it easy to understand how much it costs you to do business, but as you grow it could end up being more expensive than creating an à la carte solution.
Our Expert Take
Overall, we like how easy it is to use Square Appointments for a service-based business. Even the free plan gives you plenty of features to make it viable to connect to your customers, set appointments and take payments. The paid plans offer even better features for protecting your time and business. Also, Square’s customer support has improved recently, which is apparent in our own tests and from recent user reviews.
However, Square Appointments requires you to use its payment processing system, so you’re stuck paying a flat-rate transaction fee. Also, the platform can be a bit buggy, which can be frustrating at times. The good news is that Square often updates its software, so something that may be an issue for you now is likely to be fixed soon.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Square Appointments really free?
If you sign up for the free plan for Square Appointments, you get access to the app and many of its core features at no cost. All you pay is a flat-rate transaction fee whenever you make a sale.
What percentage does Square Appointments take?
Transaction fees for Square Appointments vary depending on the way in which you accept a payment and whether you’re on a paid plan. Free plan users pay 2.6% plus 10 cents per in-person or Cash App transaction, while paid plan users pay 2.5% plus 10 cents per in-person or Cash App transaction. Other rates include 2.9% plus 30 cents for online payments, 3.5% plus 15 cents for card-on-file or manual keyed-in payments and 6% plus 30 cents per Afterpay transaction.
How do I require a credit card in Square Appointments?
There are two ways in which you can require a credit card from a client. You can toggle a feature in your appointment settings to require a credit card for online bookings, which will prompt a customer to add a card on file. You can also toggle a feature that requires a credit card for no-show protection.
What is the purpose of appointment reminder systems?
Appointment reminder systems help those with busy schedules remind clients about upcoming appointments to reduce the risk of missed and canceled appointments. It eliminates extra work in having someone call or text people physically to remind them about appointments.
