Shopify Vs Square: The Right POS For Your Startup

Do you have a strong desire to open your eCommerce? But wondering how to choose the right POS for your startup that could help you design and launch your eStore?  Well, a straight answer to this is that you need to have a close eye on the pros and cons of each of these POS; then only you can opt for the best among these.

Though the market offers the two most popular eCommerce solutions that are Shopify and Square, the question is how will you compare them?

Luckily! You have landed on the right page. Here you will get all your queries sorted. We have compiled everything that you need to know below in our Shopify Vs. Square Comparison.
Even though the e-commerce platform provider Shopify and payment services provider Square have exposure to small businesses that are taking the brunt of the current recession, these two companies have adapted the new environment and are helping out their customers along the way.

Have a look at their Stock price changes here:

Shopify and Square stocks have been on a tear this year, soundly beating the S&P 500, and both are near all-time highs.

Shopify and Square: Introduction

Shopify
Shopify is a standard eCommerce solution for small businesses that comes with an array of features and offers several tools such as drop-ship integrations, connection to fulfilment centres, automated emails and many others.

Square
One of the greatest advantages of Square eCommerce solution is that it’s POS and payment processing is free to use. Square is an affordable solution for the startups that allow its users to set plans and add paid features free of cost.

Better Buy: Shopify Vs Square

Let's take a more in-depth look at each of these small-business enablers and see which would be the better buy today. Here, we will use the following criteria to evaluate Shopify and Square:
Ease of Use

Shopify
From the UI point of view, Shopify is a user-friendly eCommerce platform in the market and comes with several features that make the complex task easy to go.

Square
Square had a sleek and clean interface which makes it easier to use, but at the same time, it comes with less features in comparison to Shopify.
So, one can say that Shopify is a better option here as customers demand more in-built features.

Customer Service

Shopify
Shopify offers its customers 24*7 service that is too free of cost. Also, there is a real human being who will take your calls and reply to your queries straight away. Along with, it provides you with Shopify support and email where you will get prompt responses without any delay.

Square
Whereas, Square offers its clients customer service from every Monday to Friday, but hereafter getting connected to one of the customer care executives, you need to enter a customer code which makes it time-consuming for both the parties.

So, here we can say that Shopify is the winner when it comes to offering service to its customers.

Integrations

Shopify
Shopify has more than dozen of third-party integrations that include drop-shipping, SEO tools, marketing solutions, print on demand suppliers and many more.

Square
Whereas, Square also has a dozen of third-party integrations for employee management, inventory management, invoicing scheduling and more. But, in addition to this, Square has its proprietary software features which can be added and removed as per the requirement.

So, who is the winner here?
To some extent, it’s Shopify.

Employee Management

Shopify
Shopify comes with an employee management system where it allows the business owners to create employee logins.

Square
In the Employee Management system, Square excels Shopify because here you can create separate employee logins. In addition to this, there is a Square payroll feature in it where you can track hours, manage time off etc. at an additional monthly fee.

Square wins the battle.

Inventory Management

Shopify
Shopify comes with an inventory management system which makes it easy to keep track of all orders and ensure the product is shipped on time.

Square
The Square POS allows its clients to enter products, quantities and pricing manually. Since it has no automated features for uploading extensive inventory data, it is not ideal for large businesses.

Winner – Shopify

Customer Reviews

Shopify
From the customer point of views, customers feel that Shopify is a value for money and comes with a lot of features. While others report that it is a bit expensive. So, it has a mix of positive and negative views.

Square
The Square POS has a lot of positive reviews just because it offers a lot of features for free. Every user has their thought process, so here it’s a tie.

Now that you have gone through pros and cons of each of these POS, have an eye on the parameters that must be fulfilled while opting for any eCommerce solution.

What to Look before buying a POS?
Getting a perfect POS for your startup is quite a tedious task, and it is apparent that you want the best of the best. Both Shopify and Square are worth consideration; however, you need to choose only one between the two.

Since you have decided to opt one among the two POS; you might have fixed some parameters based on which you will differentiate the two POSs and have a better buy.
Have a look at the following parameters through which you can justify your ideas and budget limits:

1. Process Payments
Nowadays, we all want the payment processing to be done in just a few taps, for which many eCommerce companies have integrated contactless payment methods like Apple Pay. To maximize the profit, the POS must process the payments made through major credit cards networks like Visa, American Express, MasterCard etc.

2. Checkout
For the buyers, the Checkout followed by payment processing must be very smooth as All's well that ends well. Whatever be your POS, either Shopify or Square, it should be able to handle all the logistics including the delivery of receipts, shipping options and the ability to apply discounts and gift cards.

3. Employee Management
The POS should be able to manage your employees in an easy way so that you can track the number of hours they have worked along with tip reconciliation.
 
4. Inventory Management
eCommerce business demands that the POS must come fully integrated with the Inventory Management System that will keep track of your inventory. Further, they will send you a reminder in case it is running out of stock.

5. Mobile Applications
Your business can flourish these days when the use of a mobile application is on the peak. The POS, you will opt must provide you with a mobile application so that you can manage your business from anywhere and at any time.

Do you know that in the so-called tech-savvy globe around us, the demand for mobile applications is increasing day by day? According to the recent mobile app stats, the number of mobile app users is expected to grow to 6.95 billion in 2020. So, it would be a wiser option to opt for such a POS that can provide you with a mobile application.

The Bottom Line
In the end, it is you who can decide which one is better and who won the battle here. It has always been a hard task to draw the conclusion and crown out the best winner. Shopify is an eCommerce platform, whereas Square is a cost-effective POS app that is becoming popular among the users by the day. But then also, Shopify has few more advantages when it comes to offering an eCommerce platform. Square is apt when you want to create and open a single online store.

So, who is the best among the two? It depends upon you, your budget and requirements. Through this blog, I have put together all the pros and cons of Shopify and Square. Remember that Shopify is an eCommerce platform, whereas Square is a POS, so consider both their merit and demerits before you hire any mobile app developer.

And if still, you are unable to draw the conclusion, consult an experienced team of software developers in India who will guide you better and deliver the desired solutions. So, go ahead and consult these developers today.