This is a capability by capability POS system comparison, not a sales page with the other column left blank. Across the same 43 things an Australian venue asks its software to do, Square covers 31 outright, does part of the job on 8 more at no extra cost, does not do 3, and has 1 row that sits outside what the product is for. Allvio covers 34 outright and does part of the job on the other 9. Those numbers are close, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. A row marked not what it does is not a mark against a product either: it says the thing was built for a different job. What matters is the few rows where we actually diverge, and whether they are the ones that shape your week.
What Square already does properly
Every one of the nine rows under selling and taking payment is a yes for Square. The till handles counter and table service, cards and cash and split and part payments, a table plan with open tabs, kitchen screens or dockets, discounts and happy hour pricing, gift cards, refunds and voids and exchanges, and cash up at close. On stock counts and low stock alerts Square is a yes and Allvio only does part of the job, because a full stocktake at the register is not in Allvio yet.
Square's online ordering covers five of the seven rows outright, including online payment and split bills, where Allvio takes the payment but cannot split a bill online yet. Loyalty, email campaigns, automated birthday and win back messages and campaign results tied back to spend are all included, as are rostering, clock in and out and timesheets ready for pay. Square is also a yes on a staff app on their own phone and on reporting on your phone, where Allvio runs both in a phone browser. If you are already on Square and it fits the way you trade, none of that is a reason to move.
All 43 capabilities, side by side
Capability | Square | Allvio |
|---|---|---|
Selling and taking payment | ||
Touchscreen till for counter and table service | Yes | Yes |
Card, cash, split and part payments | Yes | Yes |
Table plan and open tabs | Yes | Yes |
Kitchen screens or dockets | Yes | Yes |
Stock counts and low stock alerts | Yes | Part of it, no stocktake at the register yet |
Discounts, happy hour and price levels | Yes | Yes |
Gift cards | Yes | Yes |
Refunds, voids and exchanges | Yes | Yes |
Cash up and end of day | Yes | Yes |
Online ordering | ||
QR ordering at the table | Yes | Yes |
Pickup and takeaway from your own site | Yes | Yes |
Menu built and changed in one place | Yes | Yes |
Modifiers, sizes and dietary flags | Part of it | Part of it, no nested modifiers yet |
Online payment and split bills | Yes | Part of it, no online bill splitting yet |
Upsells and promo codes | Part of it | Part of it, no automatic upsell prompts yet |
Orders land straight in the kitchen | Yes | Yes |
Bookings and reservations | ||
Booking diary | Part of it | Yes |
Floor plan and table assignment | No | Part of it, no visual floor plan designer yet |
Bookings from your own website | Yes | Yes |
Deposits and no show protection | Yes | Part of it, no automatic no show fee yet |
Waitlist and walk ins | No | Yes |
Confirmations and reminders to guests | Yes | Yes |
Ticketed events and set menus | Part of it | Part of it, no ticket pricing tiers yet |
Availability rules and trading hours | Yes | Yes |
Knowing your customers | ||
One customer record | Part of it | Yes |
Visit and spend history | Yes | Yes |
Notes, preferences and allergies | Part of it | Yes |
Segments such as regulars and lapsed | Yes | Yes |
Loyalty and rewards | Yes | Yes |
Marketing | ||
Email campaigns | Yes | Yes |
SMS campaigns | No | Yes |
Automated messages such as birthday and win back | Yes | Yes |
Campaign results tied back to spend | Yes | Yes |
Your team | ||
Rostering | Yes | Yes |
Clock in and out | Yes | Yes |
Timesheets ready for pay | Yes | Yes |
Leave and availability | Part of it | Yes |
Staff app on their own phone | Yes | Part of it, phone browser, no native app yet |
Back office | ||
Invoices and quotes | Yes | Yes |
Payroll and payslips | Not what it does | Yes |
Part of it, GST but no BAS worksheet | Yes | |
Seeing how you are doing | ||
Sales and end of day reporting | Yes | Yes |
Reporting on your phone | Yes | Part of it, phone browser, no native app yet |
The rows that decide it
Waitlist and walk ins is the first one. On a Friday at 7.10pm with four groups near the door, someone is holding names on a scrap of paper and guessing when the six by the window will finally pay. Square does not do a waitlist. Allvio holds the waitlist in the same diary that holds the bookings, and a walk in can be charged at the diary without a booking having existed first.
Floor plan and table assignment is the second. Square does not assign tables to bookings. Allvio does part of that job: tables, sections, capacity and status, assigned per booking, though there is no visual floor plan designer to drag yet. Part of the job beats none of it when a party of ten walks in and the floor needs to know which tables are theirs, but it is still only part.
Then the two customer rows. Square does part of the job on one customer record, and part of the job on notes, preferences and allergies. Allvio keys one contact record on email and phone, uses it at the till, in the diary and on the ordering page, and can merge duplicates, with allergies, preferences, tags and occasions on that record. The difference shows up when a regular of two years books a table. Does the person greeting them know it is an anniversary and that she cannot have the walnut dressing, or is she a name and a party size?
The booking diary itself is the fourth. Square does part of it. Allvio's diary carries calendar, resource and class views, a waitlist, deposits at booking, and branded confirmations and reminders on a schedule. If bookings are a small part of your trade, part of the job may be all you ever need. If Saturday night is built on sittings, it is not.
What the totals do and do not mean
Add up any column here and you have counted breadth, not quality. Square reaches 31 yeses because it is a wide, well built product with modules for the till, the online store, bookings and invoicing. The single not what it does row is payroll. The eight part of it rows are all included in what you already pay: partial never means an extra charge on this page, and where a capability would cost more or need a second signup, we have said exactly that in the cell.
Who should still choose Square
If you are opening in three weeks, on your own, and the job this month is to take cards reliably and look organised, Square is a sound choice and always has been. A market stall, a takeaway counter, a small shop that wants a retail POS system and nothing more: buy the reader off the shelf, publish your menu, and trade this afternoon.
Where it stops being the obvious answer is when the diary starts to matter, or when there are enough staff and enough regulars that keeping them straight becomes somebody's job. That is the point at which people start pricing a Square alternative. Allvio Complete, the all in one business software plan, is $399 per month ex GST for one location and $299 per month for each extra location, with every app switched on and no per app or per user charge. Hardware is bought outright, from $1,499 ex GST for a single station. The trial runs 30 days with no card. Put both in front of a real Friday night and count the rows that changed your week.
Frequently asked questions
Does Square have a waitlist for walk ins?
No. A waitlist is one of the three rows Square does not cover, along with floor plan and table assignment and SMS campaigns. For a venue where Friday night means four groups at the door, that job stays on paper or in somebody's head. Allvio holds the waitlist in the same diary as the bookings.
Is Square good enough as a restaurant booking system?
It does part of the job. Bookings from your own website, deposits, confirmations and reminders and availability rules are all covered, but the diary itself is partial, there is no waitlist and tables cannot be assigned to bookings. If bookings are a small part of your trade that may be all you need. If Saturday runs on sittings, it is not.
Does Square handle payroll and BAS?
Payroll and payslips sit outside the product. GST is covered in part, without a BAS worksheet, so the figures still need assembling before you lodge. Invoices and quotes, rostering, clock in and out and timesheets are all included, which is more back office than most tills offer.
What is the best Square alternative for a venue that takes bookings?
The two products are close on breadth, so the question is which rows shape your week. If the diary, the waitlist, table assignment and one guest record across the till and the bookings matter, Allvio covers those at $399 per month ex GST for one location. Square remains stronger on register stocktakes, online bill splitting and its native phone apps.
Every cell above comes from each vendor's own published material, checked in August 2026. Products change constantly: always confirm current capability directly with each vendor before deciding.