The Square Appointments alternative, built around the client.
For service businesses weighing Square Appointments, and wondering what a booking tool built around follow-up does differently.
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Run both on your own numbers.
The honest version
When Square is the right call
Square Appointments is the better pick in several clear cases:
- You want to take card payments and prepayments where the booking is made.
- Your clients expect text-message reminders.
- You sell products as well as services, and want stock counted for you.
- You want a free plan for a single location, and can live with its limits.
When Aasure is the right call
Aasure is built for service businesses where the appointment is the unit of work:
- You sell time and expertise, not products — sessions, treatments and consultations.
- The same people come back to you regularly, and you need to know who, when, and what they need next.
- You want to win back regulars who have gone quiet, with emails you switch on.
- You want booking, client record, reminders and follow-up to live in one place — not stitched across a calendar, a spreadsheet and your inbox.
The honest version
Square Appointments does the booking well, and it takes the payment too. Aasure does not take card payments yet, so if payment at booking matters to you, Square has the edge today.
Where Aasure differs is what happens next. Win-back and rebooking emails go out on their own once you switch them on, and email campaigns keep regulars in touch. Both tools have a waitlist, though Square keeps its waitlist for Plus and Premium. If bringing clients back is where your week goes, that is the part to compare. Read our guide to POS systems for salons.
Square Appointments and Aasure, side by side. Read it row by row; the one that matters most to you decides it.
Square Appointments is a capable booking product with a free plan, card payments and text reminders built in. Aasure has none of those today, and Square's paid plans add a waitlist too. What Aasure adds is follow-up after the appointment: win-back and rebooking emails you switch on, and email campaigns. Here is how the two compare.
| How they compare | Square Appointments | Aasure |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Appointment businesses: salons, barbers, fitness, health and wellness, and professional services | Solo and small-team service businesses (up to 20 staff) |
| Pricing model | Free, Plus at £29 or Premium at £69 a month, per location, plus card fees | Flat £29, £59 or £89 a month including VAT, for up to 2, 7 or 20 staff |
| Payments | Card payments, prepayments and point of sale built in; no-show fees on Plus and Premium | Not yet. Card payments and deposits are on the way. You record payments by hand for now |
| Reminders | Automated email and text reminders | Email reminders for online bookings, once you switch them on. No text messages yet |
| Client record | Customer profiles with notes, appointment history and sales history | Client records with history and notes, plus follow-up emails you switch on |
| Calendar sync | Google Calendar on Plus and Premium | Apple and Outlook calendars. Google Calendar is not live yet |
| After the appointment | A waitlist and reports on appointments and team performance, on Plus and Premium | A waitlist you offer freed slots from, win-back and rebooking emails you switch on, and email campaigns |
What Aasure looks like. The diary and a client record, filled with example bookings for a beauty salon.
What matters to you? Pick one, and see which row decides it.
Choose a priority and it will say which row of the table decides it.
Switching from Square Appointments, step by step. We move your client list for you, free.
- Get your client list out. Export it from Square Appointments if your account offers an export. If not, send us whatever list you have; a spreadsheet is fine.
- Send it to us. Email it to hello@aasure.app and we import it into Aasure for you, free.
- Set up your services. Add your services, prices and opening hours, and your booking page is live. Most owners are set up in under an hour.
- Run both for a few weeks. Share your new link with your regulars, in your Instagram bio and on Google. Keep Square Appointments running until most of them have rebooked on Aasure.
As a launch offer, the first 200 businesses to sign up get a 60-day free trial. After that, every plan starts with a 30-day free trial. Neither needs a card or setup fee. Plans are $45, $85 or $125 a month, and every plan includes every feature. All prices include 10% GST.
Common questions
Is Aasure a Square alternative for service businesses?
Yes. Square Appointments pairs booking with Square's payments and point of sale. Aasure is appointment software built around the client relationship: booking, history and follow-up. Aasure does not take card payments yet; today you record each payment by hand against the booking.
Can I still take card payments through Aasure?
Not yet. Card payments and deposits are not live today. For now you record each payment by hand, as cash or other, against the booking and the client record. Keep your card reader for taking the money; Aasure keeps the picture of who came in, what they paid and what is next.
What's wrong with using Square for a service business?
Nothing, if it fits. Square Appointments has client profiles and notes, built-in payments and, on paid plans, team reports that include client retention. If you do not need payments and point of sale in the same system, a simpler client-first tool may fit better.
How much does Square Appointments cost?
Square's UK pricing page lists three plans, priced per location. Free costs £0, Plus £29 a month and Premium £69 a month. In-person card payments cost 1.75% on Free and 1.6% on the paid plans. Online payments with UK cards cost 1.4% + 25p. Those were the published rates in October 2026.
Does Square Appointments sync with Google Calendar?
Yes, on Plus and Premium; the Free plan does not include it. Aasure syncs with Apple and Outlook calendars today. Google Calendar sync is not live yet.
What are the best alternatives to Square Appointments for salons?
For salons, the usual alternatives are Fresha, Booksy, Treatwell and Vagaro, which pair booking software with a client marketplace, and Aasure, which is flat-fee booking software without one. Pick a marketplace if you need new clients. Pick Aasure if your regulars already book you and you want reminders, a waitlist and client records for one monthly fee.
What's a client actually worth?
Use the free Client Lifetime Value Calculator to see the long-term revenue from each client — and what retention is genuinely worth chasing.
Open the calculator Or read: POS systems for salonsComparing other tools too?
See how Aasure stacks up against Fresha (marketplace booking) or Vagaro (payments, retail and payroll in one). Or browse all comparisons.