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Business type solution

Recreation

Keep every lane, game, and group booking moving

Whether you run a bowling alley, arcade, pool hall, escape room, or axe-throwing bar, Square can connect reservations, admission or activity sales, concessions, merchandise, and group-event deposits in one operating view. Customers can discover activities and book online while your team controls capacity, takes payment at the counter or tableside, and follows up with reminders and no-show policies.

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Representative photograph for Services; it does not depict Recreation specifically.

Built for your day-to-day

How it fits your business

Square also ties guest profiles to purchase and booking history, so you can promote the right seasonal offer or reward repeat visitors. For larger venues, compare plan limits, equipment needs, and any specialized ticketing or venue software before switching your full operation.

Key capabilities

What you can do

  • Book activities without the phone tag

    Publish activities and availability through Square Appointments so guests can reserve online or staff can book them in person. Class-style sessions can carry a duration, price, capacity, assigned team member, and recurring schedule.

  • Take deposits for group events

    Use Square Invoices for deposits and final balances, or Payment Links for shareable event, class, and ticket payments. This fits birthday parties, corporate outings, and other reservations that need money collected before arrival.

  • Keep capacity and no-shows under control

    Square supports capacity settings, assigned staff, reminders, prepayment, cancellation windows, and card-on-file rules on eligible booking plans. Resource management on eligible plans can reserve rooms, stations, equipment, or other constrained resources.

  • Connect guest relationships to revenue

    Customer profiles can retain booking history, purchase history, preferences, and notes. Square Loyalty, gift cards, Marketing, and automated messaging can help bring regulars back for leagues, new attractions, seasonal events, or slower time slots.

  • Run front-of-house from the right device

    Square Register, Terminal, Handheld, Stand, and Reader support the Square Point of Sale workflow. Handheld is suited to mobile or tableside payment, while Terminal includes a receipt printer; a Reader pairs with a compatible iOS or Android device.

Explore the details

Product details

A practical setup for activity venues

Use Square Point of Sale for admissions, concessions, merchandise, and in-person payments; Square Appointments for bookable activities or classes; and Square Invoices or Payment Links for private-party deposits and balances. Square Websites can present the venue and activities, while Square Dashboard brings sales, bookings, customer activity, and performance reporting together. If the venue sells recurring memberships, Square Subscriptions can create weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual recurring billing at no monthly subscription-management cost.

Plans, fees, and eligibility to check first

Square Free has no monthly subscription cost and charges the published processing rate when a payment is taken. Square Plus is listed at $49 per location per month and Square Premium at $149 per location per month on Square's published U.S. pricing; advanced class booking is documented as available on Square Plus and Premium. Published processing rates vary by plan: in-person tap, dip, or swipe is 2.6% + 15¢ on Free, 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus, and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium; online or invoice card payments are 3.3% + 30¢, 2.9% + 30¢, and 2.9% + 30¢ respectively. Manually entered or card-on-file payments are 3.5% + 15¢. Square says businesses processing over $250,000 annually can ask about custom pricing and eligibility.

Important operational limits

Square's recreation page describes broad leisure and entertainment workflows, but it does not promise a purpose-built bowling-lane, arcade-game, escape-room timer, ticketing, or waiver-management system. Square Appointments class booking is a fit for scheduled activities, but class booking and resource management have plan eligibility requirements. Third-party ticketing or venue systems may be needed; Square directs sellers to its App Marketplace for integrations. Offline payments require reconnecting within 24 hours of the first offline payment and carry seller responsibility for expired, declined, or disputed transactions.

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Recommended hardware

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.

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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.

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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.

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Square Stand product image

Hardware

Square Stand

Square Stand turns a compatible USB-C iPad into a tidy countertop POS with built-in contactless and chip payments.

Explore Square Stand

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

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

Hardware

Accessories — Networking

Keep checkout, printers, kitchen screens, and staff devices connected with commercial-grade UniFi networking equipment sold through Square in the U.S.

Explore Accessories — Networking

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.

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Square Appointments

Square Appointments gives a service business one place to publish availability, let clients book online, coordinate staff calendars, and take payment.

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Software

Square Invoices

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

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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

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Square Websites

Square Websites gives a small business a no-code way to publish a shoppable site, organize products, and accept online payments without stitching together a separate checkout system.

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Square Subscriptions

Square Subscriptions helps a bakery schedule recurring pastry boxes, a fitness studio collect repeating membership dues, a nonprofit accept regular gifts, or a professional service firm automate retainers from one Square Dashboard.

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Square Payments

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

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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 Loyalty

Square Loyalty gives a U.S. business a practical way to recognize repeat customers without bolting on a separate rewards register.

Explore Square Loyalty

Software

Square Gift Cards

Square Gift Cards gives a bakery, salon, café, retailer, or service business a branded way to sell value before the visit.

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Square Marketing

Square Marketing gives a U.S. business a practical way to follow up after the sale without exporting its customer list to another system.

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Square Messages

Square Messages gives a U.S. small business one place to answer customer texts, emails, feedback, order questions, and service updates from Square Dashboard or the Square POS app.

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Square Shifts

Square Shifts gives growing U.S. businesses one connected place to publish schedules, capture hours, and prepare payroll.

Explore Square Shifts

Software

Square Team Communication

Square Team Communication gives a bakery, café, or other multi-shift business a shared place for the updates that otherwise get lost between the counter, kitchen, and back office.

Some availability details may be limited.

Explore Square Team Communication

Software

Square Assistant

Square Assistant is Square Appointments’ always-on text-message helper for appointment administration.

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Software

Square App Marketplace

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

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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

Related business types

Business type

Fitness

Square gives gyms, studios, personal trainers, and class-based fitness businesses one place to publish schedules, accept bookings, collect payments, and keep client context close at hand.

Explore Fitness

Plan details

Pricing, fees & eligibility

Explore pricing

Published U.S. plan pricing is Square Free at $0/month, Square Plus at $49/month per location, and Square Premium at $149/month per location. Recreation businesses should confirm the current plan assignment and whether their booking model needs Plus or Premium before purchase.

Upfront hardware (USD)$299
Monthly software (USD)$49

Fees & eligibility

  • In-person card-present payment, Square Free

    Tap, dip, or swipe on the Free plan.

    2.6% + $0.15 per transaction
  • In-person card-present payment, Square Plus

    Tap, dip, or swipe on the Plus plan.

    2.5% + $0.15 per transaction
  • In-person card-present payment, Square Premium

    Tap, dip, or swipe on the Premium plan.

    2.4% + $0.15 per transaction
  • Online or invoice card payment, Square Free

    Online card payment or invoice payment on the Free plan.

    3.3% + $0.30 per transaction
  • Online or invoice card payment, Square Plus or Premium

    Online card payment or invoice payment on Plus or Premium.

    2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
  • Manual entry or card on file

    Applies when a card number is manually entered or a saved card on file is charged.

    3.5% + $0.15 per transaction
  • ACH bank transfer via invoice

    Invoice ACH pricing varies by plan.

    1% with a $1 minimum; $10 fee cap on Plus and Premium
  • Afterpay

    When the customer uses Afterpay; eligibility and availability apply.

    6% + $0.30 per transaction

Requirements

  • A U.S. Square account and eligible payment activity are required; plan and feature availability can change.
  • Square Plus and Premium are required for documented advanced class booking; resource management and cancellation or card-on-file controls are plan-dependent.
  • Square Register, Terminal, Handheld, and Reader require the compatible Square Point of Sale software; Square Stand requires a compatible USB-C iPad.
  • The listed representative hardware price is Square Terminal at $299 before tax; hardware prices and financing terms can change.
  • For more than $250,000 in annual processing volume, custom processing pricing may be available after Square review.

Square's official recreation page explicitly names bowling alleys, arcades, pool halls, escape rooms, and axe-throwing bars, but the page does not establish that Square replaces every specialized venue, ticketing, waiver, lane, game, or access-control system.

The Square Kiosk and Square Kiosk Lite are not recommended here because the supplied catalog label and official hardware page show plan, device, and restaurant/self-service constraints that are not necessary to claim for a general recreation venue.

Offline payments must reconnect within 24 hours of the first offline payment; the seller is responsible for expired, declined, or disputed offline transactions.

Hardware financing is subject to credit approval and state availability; taxes are due at checkout where applicable.

Processing rates, subscriptions, product availability, and plan features are current-source observations for October 27, 2026 and may change.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What types of recreation businesses does Square explicitly support?

Square's U.S. recreation page specifically names bowling alleys, arcades, pool halls, escape rooms, and axe-throwing bars. It describes connected payments, bookings, guest profiles, loyalty, reporting, staff tools, and inventory workflows, but specialized venue controls may require an App Marketplace integration.

Can a recreation venue sell classes, sessions, or recurring activities online?

Yes. Square Appointments can create one-time or recurring classes, set capacity, assign team members, and accept online or in-person bookings. Square's class-booking page says this advanced capability is available on Square Plus and Square Premium; resource management is available on eligible plans.

What is the lowest-cost way to start taking payments?

Square Free has no monthly subscription cost. A venue can start without dedicated hardware using options such as Payment Links, invoices, Virtual Terminal, or Tap to Pay on a compatible phone, then add hardware such as Square Terminal ($299) or Square Reader for contactless and chip ($59) when the counter or mobile workflow needs it.

Sources & product information

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