Popular of the square free billing software is becoming the company’s next big subscription service. The company is set to announce a paid subscription offer called Plus invoices, which will offer sellers a set of advanced features, including some that were previously available with the free service. The service itself was discreetly presented to individual sellers, but has yet to be publicly announced.
Some sellers already using Square Invoices were recently alerted to upcoming changes via email.
In the ad shared with some sellers (details of which can also be seen here on a Square Seller Community forum), the new subscription will include a number of features that were released last year as part of a limited trial.
This includes multi-page estimates, custom invoice templates, and custom invoice fields. These will now become part of Invoices Plus, as will two other features: the ability to automatically convert accepted estimates into invoices, and the ability to create milestone-based schedules (invoices for more than three installments). Square’s announcement said it will introduce a “test” button next to these features in Square Invoices software to alert customers of upcoming capabilities. (see below)
Image credits: Square website
Square’s free billing software won’t go away, the announcement noted. Sellers will be able to send unlimited invoices for free, as well as quotes and contracts, with the free plan. Free users will also be able to use invoice tracking, reminder, and reporting tools.
The free plan has historically been based on processing fees to generate income. Currently, this is 2.9% + $ 0.30 per invoice paid online by check or debit card plus a 1% fee per ACH transaction, according to Square’s website. (Fees are slightly lower for in-person transactions and slightly higher for “card on file” transactions). The price of the new paid subscription has yet to be publicly announced.
A Square employee had explained the reasoning behind the change on the community forum site. They noted that many of Square’s other products, such as Square Online, Appointments, Square for Retail, and Square for Restaurants, also offer a free and paid tier. And while Square charges processing fees for Square Invoices, they aren’t enough to drive product development. With Invoices Plus, they said, the company aims to compete more directly with paid billing applications and products and the more advanced features those products offer.
When contacted for comment, Square confirmed to TechCrunch Invoices Plus that it is a software subscription that the company plans to announce shortly. But the company did not want to share more details until the news is official.
References to the new subscription have also made their way to the Square app code, where they were spotted by the iOS developer. Steve moser. The code indicates that users who previously used some of the paid features will only be able to continue using them for the time being. But as the announcement also pointed out, sellers won’t be able to use paid features for free the next time they create new files with Square Invoices.
Image credits: Steve moser
The new service comes shortly after Square announced its earnings, highlighting its vendor business. generated $ 1.31 billion in revenue (out of a total of $ 4.68 billion) and $ 585 million of gross profit in the second quarter, driven in part by continued strong growth online. The company also announced its plan to acquire the purchase now, then pay giant Afterpay in a $ 29 billion deal, speaking of its interest in pursuing the broader payments market. The deal also offers Square a way to connect its different products, by allowing Afterpay customers to pay their monthly fees through Square’s Cash app, the company said.
An integration between Square and Afterpay is something that could be seen later, too, one could imagine. That’s something Square also hinted towards in response to another seller on their community forum site, where a representative updated a previous response to share news of the acquisition, adding that Square did not “have any integration timelines to share at this time.”
