Glow vs Square: a till with a diary, or a diary that keeps the file
Square is excellent at taking card. Appointments is the diary they bolted on. If your main problem is a card machine, Square is a fair answer. If your main problem is a missing skin test or an unsigned consent, it is the wrong product.
Side by side
| Glow | Square Appointments | |
|---|---|---|
| Built as | Booking + compliance record | Payments first, appointments second |
| UK treatment vocabulary | Patch test, infill, skin test, sitting | Generic appointments |
| Monthly software | £19 flat | Appointments free-ish; you pay on card take |
| Commission on bookings | 0% | None on the diary; Square's take is on the payment |
| Deposits | Your Stripe | Square payments |
| Migration from Acuity / Fresha / Booksy | Done for you, free | You map it |
The real difference
Square will take a payment in the room faster than almost anyone. That is their business. The appointment layer is a calendar: services, staff, a booking link. It does not know what a patch test expiry is. It will not block a full set. It will not put an ink batch on the sitting.
Glow is the other way around. Payments exist (your Stripe, 0% to us). The product is the file: test, consent, batch, aftercare. If you already own a Square terminal and you like it, keep the terminal. Use Glow for the book.
Where Square is genuinely stronger
Retail, card present, hardware, a till that your Saturday girl already knows. If half your revenue is product over the counter, Square's world makes sense. Glow is not trying to be that till.
Questions
- Can I keep my Square reader?
- Yes. Glow takes online deposits through your Stripe. In the room you can still take card however you like.
- Does Square enforce patch tests?
- Not as a first-class rule. It is a generic appointment product.
- Is Glow cheaper than Square?
- Glow is £19 flat. Square's diary can look free until you add the payment take and the bits you still do in WhatsApp. Do the maths on your actual card volume.
- Do you import from Square?
- Send the export. We migrate clients, services and bookings for free.
£19 a month. Everything included. 0% commission.
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