Hi @CafeConLeche. I going to post a few things as a member of the beta seller team that tested this new feature. Take them for what they are worth.
First, to your point about tier packages, etc. That was a point of discussion. It was suggested that Square consider making Team Communication part of the paid tiers with a certain number of team members included, and the ability to add more as needed. And other possible package pricing was also suggested. I can only tell you that they are definitely considering a number of options, but this one was the quickest way to get it out there. I agree with you that the current pricing model in the Team/Shifts/Payroll area is confusing and even overwhelming, especially for large teams. Any time I field a question here about pricing in that area, I have to review all three areas just to brush up on what’s happening at this moment. It needs to be streamlined and simplified. (Hint, Square! You know I love you guys! 😉)
Also, you may know this, but it should be mentioned. This Team Communication feature comes at a significant cost for Square. Cloud storage for all these messages — especially the ones with attachments — is pretty significant. Servers have to be leased on a “forever” basis. They have to have redundant storage to insure against data loss. And so forth. This is one of those features that was not part of the roadmap when the original Team tiers were established, and shareholders and such won’t stand for just giving something as permanently expensive as this will be away. Just something to keep in mind.
Every once in a while, just to put my mind at ease, I add up all of my fees, etc, annually and then divide them by my total sales. The resulting percentage is what I pay for credit card processing and everything I do in the Square ecosystem. The last time I did that, it came out to $0.0375 per dollar in gross sales, and $0.0496 per dollar in card-only sales. That’s not a bad cost for my POS setup, especially since I now add that average cost to my CoGS calculations — yup, all customers pay extra to keep that part of my operation running like I need it to run!
Anyway, that was more than you asked, I know. Sometimes I’m compelled to add perspective. It doesn’t change the fact that you make a great point.
