I‘d heard about Square quite a bit from our neighbours to the south, so I was really excited and happy when they expanded beyond the States and into Canada.

Here’s the setup: let’s say you’re an artist and you sometimes participate in group shows that are community-run, as opposed to in a gallery. Or maybe you’re a small business or an artisan who makes product like jewellery or really amazing bread, which you sell at trade shows or exhibitions or farmer’s markets. In order for you to take payment, it probably has to be cash (I don’t really know anyone that takes cheques any more). What if someone comes along and falls in love with one of your pieces, but doesn’t have cash on them?

Enter Square. It is basically like a POS (point of sale) system for a small business or an artist that doesn’t have a regular, store-front operation. A small, 2 inch square, square, it plugs into the headphone jack of your iPhone, and then turns it into a cash register. The best part? Both the hardware (the Square) and the software (the app) are free. You pay a per-transaction fee for each credit card swiped.

Square is available for iPhone, Android and iPad.

Again, the list of small businesses that this could be useful for goes on and on… health practitioners like RMTs, counsellors, or some of my friends who are yoga teachers and sometimes teach their own workshops. I’m going to get one myself so that I can sell books at workshops when Biz Books can’t be with me.

Just order one already!