Square
Tap-to-pay on your phone, no terminal needed, no monthly fees. Dead simple for on-site payments, but the transaction fees add up if you're doing serious volume.
Starting from
Quote
Free trial
No
Free plan
Yes
Overall rating
4.7/5 (2,800)
“Dead simple for taking card payments on-site with no monthly fee, just do the maths on transaction fees if you're processing more than $15-20K a month.”
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Overview
Square gives tradies the ability to accept card payments on-site using just their phone: no terminal required, no monthly fees, no complicated setup. It also generates professional invoices with a "Pay Now" link that customers can settle via card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, which dramatically reduces late payment.
The economics: Square charges a flat percentage per transaction (typically 1.6–2.2% for card-present transactions in Australia), with no monthly fee on the base plan. For a tradie doing $20,000/month in revenue, that's roughly $320–440/month in transaction fees, compare that to a traditional EFTPOS terminal with monthly rental, monthly fees, and varying rates.
Where it fits in the stack: Most tradies use Square alongside their job management tool (Tradify, ServiceM8) for on-site payment, since most job management tools don't natively handle tap-to-pay. Some job management platforms have direct Square integrations, invoices sync automatically.
Square's business suite (POS, appointments, payroll) is more relevant to retail and food than to trades, most tradies only need the payments and invoicing components.
Pros & Cons
What we like
- ✓No monthly fee on the base plan, zero risk to try
- ✓Tap-to-pay on your phone works first time, every time
- ✓Invoice payment links reduce late payment significantly
- ✓Xero integration means payments reconcile automatically
- ✓Free card reader included
Watch out for
- ✕Transaction fees add up at high volume, do the maths vs a terminal
- ✕Customer support is primarily self-service, hard to reach a human
- ✕Not suited to BNPL arrangements for larger jobs
Best for
Sole traders and small teams who want to accept card on-site without a terminal, and businesses looking to reduce late payment with invoice payment links.
Not ideal for
Very high volume businesses where transaction fee percentages exceed a fixed-rate terminal cost.
Key Features
Frequently Asked Questions
Ratings
2,800 reviews
Source: Capterra
Checked April 2026
Pricing
1.6% per tap/chip transaction; 2.2% for manually keyed
Lower transaction rates for higher volumes
Transaction fees apply to every payment. For most tradies the free plan makes sense, at high volume, compare monthly fee + lower rate vs free plan + standard rate. Verify at squareup.com/au/pricing.
Technical
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