Should I buy a Square Stand?

[Moondance]

The title of this thread was updated from its original title: “Taking a Stand”

I have a question that may be naive but here goes:

Does the Square stand perform any technical function or is it just a user friendly, well designed iPad holder?

I ask because, we are extremely budget conscious and wonder if we can satisfy our needs either without a stand or with a cheap 3rd party alternative.

Another way of asking this is, what hardware, if any is proprietary to the Square system? If none, are we essentially using the free POS app and then paying Square for credit card processing? If this is the case, is the app a full version of the Square POS software?

Thank you!

[RHatch]

The square stand has the built-in card swiper, connects all the hardware, swivels for customer signature and secures the iPad. It also gives you a clean look at your counter.   

That said I don't use one.  You can get and stand or holder for your iPad,  I prefer the ethernet printer because it provides more flexibility than the USB printer and a Cash drawer that will connect to the printer.  Don't forget the contactless reader.  Square Point of Sale is a full POS,  

[Moondance]

Very helpful and very appreciated!

Is it possible to purchase refurbished stands somewhere that have a 6 month or longer warantee?

I'm researching now but thought I'd ask the experts, first! 😉

[Moondance]

RHatch,

Pardon the extreme newbie type questions but, if you don't use a stand, how does the POS app see the card reader, cash drawer, printer etc? I have been assuming that the app more or less functions as the central nervous system for the peripherals. If not, how do YOU accomplish this?

Thanks for your time and patience.

[RHatch]

Square Point of Sale app does all the connections.  Swiper plugs in to the headphone jack, Contactless printer connects via bluetooth. Ethernet printer connect with your network.  (note both printer and iPad must be on the same network.). Drawer is connected to the printer. Square POS recognizes the hardware and connects it to the software. You will see a connection notification appear on the app as well as the settings page.   Make sure you use the approved hardware that I linked and you wont have any problems.

If you do go with the Square stand you can use the same hardware or you can get a USB Printer and Drawer that connects to the stand.