What is the best system to use for shared POS?

[amacata]

I am going to share a space with other small businesses and we need a shared POS system.  What do you recommend?  I currently only have the basic square reader that i attach to my phone but it accepts only credit card and not debit.

[Joe · Accepted solution]

Hi there, @amacata! Thanks for taking the time to post here on the Seller Community! We are so happy to have you. 

We have a slew of great hardware options for you to explore, and I can definitely lay out some of the more prominent features of each for you! First things first, all of our readers can accept both credit and debit - so feel free to use your current reader on any debit purchases that may arise! 😎

If you plan on sharing your Point of Sale setup with another business, I would recommend one of our more 'tethered' hardware options that stays mounted or seated on a counter-top. This would alleviate the chance that one party misplaces the device and you are left without the option to take card payments.

With this in mind, our most popular hardware option for a desktop setup is the Square Stand. The Square Stand uses an iPad to run our Point of Sale application, and can be used in conjunction with peripheral devices such as a receipt printer, cash drawer, and barcode scanner. 

Although this option would not be as restrained to the counter-top setup, another choice for you would be the Square Terminal. Although the price-point is a bit higher, the benefit of the Terminal is that the unit itself runs the Point of Sale software, removing the need to use a third party device like an iPad. The Square Terminal also is designed to be easily mobile, which makes the buyer portion of each transaction smoother and more efficient, being that you can simply hand the unit to your customer to pay and sign. It is also worth nothing that the Terminal can also handle the same peripheral attachments that the Stand can — and it comes with the receipt printer built into the unit! — a great cost saving addition.

Lastly, I will note a friendly warning that sharing of a Point of Sale software can add some unwanted time to transactions if you are running two separate Square accounts for your respective businesses. If so, you would need to sign out of one business, and log into the other to process transactions that are not associated with your Square business if need be.

I know this is a lot of information, but please free to respond with any questions you may have! I am here to help. 

[amacata]

@Joe Thanks very much for your reply!  This is very helpful and I did not know that the even the Magstripe Reader can accept debit.  I appreciate all your info regarding the different options.  I spoke with a Square representative on the phone and she explained I can "Add Team Members" for now with using my Magstripe Reader.  Does this method ensure that the payment is going into the separate accounts?  Do the hardware options you suggested remove the need to "Add Team Members" while still accepting payments into separate accounts in more efficient way (than the Magstripe Reader or Square Reader for Contactless and Chip).  Thanks for your help!

[Joe]

Thanks for the response, @amacata.

I'm glad my post was helpful in this regard! I do need to clarify one point here from my previous response; our normal Magstripe Reader can only accept Credit Cards at this time. The new Debit capabilities that I refer to above are reserved specifically for the Contactless & Chip Card Reader and the Square Terminal. I apologize for the confusion!

In regards to your questions about Team Management, I recommend viewing Getting Started guide! More specifically to your question, if you add employees to your system, payments will still be deposited into the bank account that you have linked for your business. Adding employees is not required to use any of our hardware options, but can be helpful for keeping track of sales and designating productivity.

Keep the questions coming! Let me know if anything else jumps out.