Questions? Contact Sales
Create Free Account

Business type solution

Organization & Nonprofits

Simple payment tools for mission-led organizations

A nonprofit may collect a membership renewal at the front desk, take a tap donation at a community event, and invoice a sponsor from the same operating account. Square brings those moments into one practical toolkit: Square Point of Sale for in-person payments, Square Reader or Tap to Pay for mobile teams, Square Invoices for pledges and sponsor billing, and Dashboard reporting for transfers and campaign performance.

Contact SalesGet Square Account
A small services team collaborates around a laptop in a warm, naturally lit studio
Representative photograph for Services; it does not depict Organization & Nonprofits specifically.

Built for your day-to-day

How it fits your business

Customer Directory and email tools can help a small development team follow up with supporters without maintaining separate payment records. Square does not publish a nonprofit-only plan or processing discount on its U.S. pages, so budget using the standard plan and fee schedule and confirm any eligibility or custom terms directly with Square.

Key capabilities

What you can do

  • Collect at events and in the field

    Give staff and volunteers extra readers or use a compatible phone for contactless payments, so a gala, membership drive, or pop-up fundraiser is not tied to one checkout counter. Square says its nonprofit solution supports donations and event payments with real-time Dashboard visibility.

  • Offer remote ways to pay

    Send a Square Invoice by email, text, or shareable link for sponsorships, program fees, or recurring commitments. Recipients can pay online with cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or ACH bank transfer; Square also supports payment links and Virtual Terminal for remote workflows.

  • Keep donor and member records together

    Customer Directory can organize supporter contact and transaction history, while Square Email Marketing and Customer Feedback can support post-event follow-up. Use consent-aware communications and do not assume a donor is automatically enrolled in marketing.

  • Report transfers and campaign performance

    Square Dashboard and Analytics provide real-time views of sales, customers, transfers, locations, staff, and items, with CSV downloads. That is useful for reconciling event totals and reviewing which fundraising or membership activity is working, but it is not a substitute for nonprofit accounting, restricted-fund controls, or donor tax-receipt policy.

  • Start with free core software

    Square Free has no monthly subscription cost and includes core POS, an item library, invoicing, an online site, and booking tools. Organizations can add paid plans when they need lower processing rates or features such as loyalty, staff management, advanced reporting, or expanded messaging.

Explore the details

Product details

A practical setup for programs, dues, and events

Use Square Point of Sale in Standard mode for merchandise, admissions, dues, or custom donation amounts. Pair a Square Reader for contactless and chip with a compatible iOS or Android device for a portable table, or use Square Terminal when the team needs an all-in-one device with a receipt printer. For a fundraising event, extra readers can let authorized volunteers accept payments in parallel while managers watch totals in Dashboard. A WordPress site can also use the Charitable app-marketplace integration; it is a third-party plugin, not a Square-built nonprofit product, so evaluate its own subscription, support, and donor-data terms before adoption.

Plans, payments, and operational limits

Square Free is $0 per location per month; Square Plus is $49 per location per month and Square Premium is $149 per location per month on the published U.S. pricing page. Standard published rates are plan-dependent: Free lists 2.6% + 15¢ for in-person tap, dip, or swipe and 3.3% + 30¢ for online or invoice card payments; ACH via invoice is 1% with a $1 minimum on the displayed Free tier. Fees can vary by plan and payment method, and custom pricing is offered for sellers processing over $250,000 annually. Square does not publish a special nonprofit rate on the reviewed pages.

Compatibility and offline-payment caution

Square Reader for contactless and chip connects by Bluetooth LE to iOS 16.0+ or Android 9.0+ devices; Square Reader for magstripe comes in USB-C, Lightning, and 3.5 mm versions for compatible Apple or Android phones and tablets and accepts swipe only. Point of Sale can take offline payments, but offline transactions must reconnect within 24 hours or they can be declined; the seller bears the risk of expired, declined, or disputed offline payments. Square Invoices does not support multi-currency acceptance according to its U.S. FAQ.

Keep exploring

Explore related solutions

Recommended hardware

Hardware

Square Reader for contactless and chip

Square Reader for contactless and chip (2nd generation) gives mobile operators and small counters a compact way to accept EMV chip cards, contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and Afterpay through a compatible phone or tablet.

Explore Square Reader for contactless and chip
Square Terminal product image

Hardware

Square Terminal

Square Terminal gives a bakery counter, coffee bar, food truck, salon desk, or service checkout one compact device for taking tap, chip, and magstripe payments.

Explore Square Terminal
Square Handheld product image

Hardware

Square Handheld

Square Handheld puts a complete Square checkout in a staff member’s hand instead of tying every sale to a counter.

Explore Square Handheld
Square Register (2nd generation) product image

Hardware

Square Register (2nd generation)

Square Register (2nd generation) puts seller checkout and customer payment on two responsive screens, so a bakery can move a morning line, a specialty grocer can keep a large catalog moving, and a restaurant can send orders through a counter workflow without passing a device back and forth.

Explore Square Register (2nd generation)

Hardware

Accessories — Printers

Square’s U.S. printer lineup covers the handoff points that keep a busy operation moving: customer receipts at the counter, heat-tolerant kitchen tickets, liner-free labels for takeout, barcode labels for retail stock, and compact mobile receipts away from the register.

Explore Accessories — Printers

Hardware

Accessories — Cash Drawers

Square cash drawers give a bakery, café, shop, or service counter a secure place for bills and coins while keeping cash transactions tied to the point of sale.

Explore Accessories — Cash Drawers

Related software

Software

Square Point of Sale

Square Point of Sale gives a small business one place to ring up products, services, menu items, or custom amounts, then track sales, inventory, customers, and reports as the business grows.

Explore Square Point of Sale

Software

Square Payments

Square Payments gives a U.S. business one account for accepting card-present, online, phone, invoice, ACH, wallet, and eligible Afterpay payments.

Explore Square Payments

Software

Square Invoices

Square Invoices gives U.S. service businesses a practical path from estimate to deposit to final payment.

Explore Square Invoices

Software

Square Payment Links

Square Payment Links gives a bakery taking preorders, a contractor collecting a deposit, a fitness instructor filling a class, or a nonprofit accepting a donation a checkout page without requiring a full online store.

Explore Square Payment Links

Software

Square Virtual Terminal

Square Virtual Terminal gives a bakery taking a custom cake deposit, a contractor collecting a progress payment, or a salon confirming a service charge a browser-based way to get paid without sending the customer to a counter.

Explore Square Virtual Terminal

Software

Square Dashboard & Reporting

Square Dashboard gives a U.S. business a web-based command center for sales, transfers, invoices, customers, items, and team activity.

Explore Square Dashboard & Reporting

Software

Square Customer Directory / CRM

Square Customer Directory gives a U.S. business one place to organize customer contact details, purchase history, loyalty activity, preferences, and notes across Square sales channels.

Explore Square Customer Directory / CRM

Software

Square Customer Feedback

Square Customer Feedback gives a bakery, coffee shop, restaurant, salon, or service business a private way to hear what customers thought after a purchase.

Some availability details may be limited.

Explore Square Customer Feedback

Software

Square Email Marketing

Square Email Marketing gives a bakery, café, shop, salon, or other local business a practical way to bring customers back without exporting sales data to a separate email platform.

Explore Square Email Marketing

Software

Square App Marketplace

Square App Marketplace is Square’s U.S. directory for discovering partner applications that connect to a Square account.

Explore Square App Marketplace

Software

Tap to Pay on iPhone

Tap to Pay on iPhone turns an eligible iPhone into a contactless checkout point for Square sellers.

Some availability details may be limited.

Explore Tap to Pay on iPhone

Software

Tap to Pay on Android

Tap to Pay on Android gives a mobile seller a practical second checkout lane: use the Square Point of Sale app on an eligible NFC-enabled Android phone, enter the sale, and let a customer tap a contactless card or wallet to the back of the device.

Explore Tap to Pay on Android

Plan details

Pricing, fees & eligibility

Explore pricing

Published U.S. pricing reviewed 2026-10-27: Square Free is $0 per location per month; Square Plus is $49 per location per month; Square Premium is $149 per location per month. No nonprofit-specific discount or rate was published on the reviewed official pages.

Upfront hardware (USD)$59
Monthly software (USD)$0

Fees & eligibility

  • In-person card payment

    Square Free published rate for tap, dip, or swipe payments; Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express; plan-dependent rates may be lower on Plus or Premium.

    2.6% + $0.15
  • Online or invoice card payment

    Square Free published rate for online card payments and card payments through an invoice; plan-dependent rates may differ.

    3.3% + $0.30
  • ACH bank transfer via invoice

    Square Free published rate for ACH payments made on an invoice; Plus and Premium show a $10 fee cap on the published pricing table.

    1%, $1 minimum
  • Manually entered or card-on-file payment

    Published U.S. rate; applies when card details are manually entered or a saved card on file is used.

    3.5% + $0.15
  • Cash or check

    Square pricing page lists no Square processing fee for cash or check payments; normal operational and banking considerations still apply.

    Free

Requirements

  • A U.S. Square account and an eligible organization operating under Square's U.S. terms are required.
  • Hardware is optional: Square supports payment links, invoices, Virtual Terminal, and Tap to Pay without a separate reader; compatible devices are required for mobile payment methods.
  • Square Reader for contactless and chip requires Bluetooth LE and a compatible iOS 16.0+ or Android 9.0+ device; verify the live compatibility list before purchasing.
  • Square Reader for magstripe accepts swipe only and requires a compatible Apple or Android phone or tablet with the correct connector.
  • Funds transfer to a linked bank account; transfer timing and instant-transfer availability can vary.

Square's U.S. nonprofit page describes accepting donations, membership dues, and event payments, but the reviewed official pages do not establish a nonprofit-only subscription, charity discount, tax treatment, or special processing rate.

The listed $59 hardware amount is the current U.S. list price shown for Square Reader for contactless and chip, not a nonprofit price and not a complete deployment cost.

Square Reader for magstripe is swipe-only; chip and contactless payments require Square Reader for contactless and chip, compatible Tap to Pay, or other supported hardware.

Offline payments are subject to a 24-hour reconnection condition and seller liability for expired, declined, or disputed payments.

Charitable is a third-party WordPress plugin listed in Square App Marketplace. Its own pricing, terms, data handling, and support must be reviewed separately.

Donation receipting, donor consent, restricted-fund accounting, charitable-solicitation compliance, and tax-deductibility representations are not supplied by this Square product review and require organization-specific review.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Does Square offer a special nonprofit processing rate in the U.S.?

Not on the official U.S. nonprofit, pricing, or payments pages reviewed on October 27, 2026. Budget against the standard plan-dependent rates unless Square provides written custom terms after reviewing the organization's account.

Can a volunteer accept a donation without buying a card reader?

Yes, if the volunteer has a compatible iPhone or Android phone and uses Tap to Pay in the Square app for contactless cards and wallets. Payment links, invoices, and Virtual Terminal are other no-reader options, while a reader is needed for physical swipe or dip workflows.

What is the simplest starting setup for a small organization?

Start with Square Free and Square Point of Sale, then use Tap to Pay or a $59 Square Reader for contactless and chip for events. Add Square Invoices for sponsor or program billing and Dashboard for reconciliation. Confirm device compatibility and the organization's donor-record and receipt requirements before rollout.

Sources & product information

Ready when you are

Talk through the options for your business.

Contact SalesGet Square Account