Tillage vs Square InvoicesThe payments and invoicing alternative
Updated . Every Square Invoices fact links to its source.
Tillage
Square Invoices
Monthly price
$0, unlimited users, quotes and invoices
Free plan; Plus $49/mo and Premium $149/mo per location
Online payment fees
Your client can cover them
Online cards 3.3% + 30¢ on Free (2.9% + 30¢ on Plus); ACH 1%, $1 minimum
Margin on quotes
Variance buffer and profit margin on every line
No markup or margin controls found
The short answer
Square Invoices is invoicing built into Square’s payments and point-of-sale platform, with a generous free plan that includes estimates, contracts, deposits and recurring invoices. Tillage is free invoicing built for agencies: quotes with margin on every line, contracts generated from approved quotes, and milestone schedules without a paid plan. If you also take payments in person, Square is hard to beat. If you bill project work online, Tillage costs less per payment and protects your margin.
Choose Tillage if
- YesYou bill agency projects online and want lower card fees than Square’s free plan
- YesYou need milestone payment schedules without a $49/mo plan
- YesYou want variance and profit margin built into quotes
Choose Square Invoices if
- YesYou take payments in person with a card reader or Tap to Pay
- YesYou want Afterpay, Cash App Pay and next-day transfers built in
- YesYou already run your business on Square
Tillage vs Square Invoices, feature by feature
| Feature | Tillage | Square Invoices |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Yes$0, unlimited users, quotes and invoices | YesFree plan; Plus $49/mo and Premium $149/mo per location |
| Online payment fees | YesStripe 2.9% + 30¢ (cards) or 0.8% capped at $5 (ACH), plus 1% capped at $50 per invoice | PartlyOnline cards 3.3% + 30¢ on Free (2.9% + 30¢ on Plus); ACH 1%, $1 minimum |
| Pass fees to clients | YesBoth Stripe and platform fees, set team-wide | PartlyCredit card surcharges in beta, capped at 3%; not ACH or debit |
| Quotes and estimates | YesHours × rate, or itemized with units and sections | YesEstimates; multi-package estimates need Plus |
| Variance and profit margin on quotes | YesVariance buffer and profit margin on every line | NoNo markup or margin controls found |
| Contracts with e-signatures | YesGenerated from approved quotes | YesAll plans, with e-signatures |
| Deposits and milestone payment schedules | YesPercentages triggered by signing, dates or milestones | PartlyDeposits on all plans; milestone schedules need Plus |
| Recurring invoices and retainers | YesWeekly, monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly | YesAll plans, with autopay |
| Client pages with no login | YesSecure links to approve, sign and pay | PartlyPay from email, text or link with no account; no client portal found |
| Time tracking | NoNot a time tracker | NoStaff timecards, not billable project time |
| Full accounting and bookkeeping | NoUse alongside your accounting software | NoNot accounting software |
| QuickBooks or Xero sync | NoComing soon: QuickBooks Online, Xero, Mercury and Puzzle | PartlyQuickBooks Online through an app; Xero through third-party apps |
| AI quote drafting | YesDrafts line items, hours and rates with your OpenAI or Claude key | PartlyAI-generated contract clauses and a business assistant |
| Claude and ChatGPT through MCP | YesQuotes, contracts and invoices | PartlySquare MCP server in beta, for the general Square API |
Square Invoices pricing
Square prices per location, not per user. Card fees depend on your plan and how the payment is taken.
- Square Free
- $0/mo per locationUnlimited invoices, estimates, contracts, deposits and recurring invoices
- Square Plus
- $49/mo per locationAdds milestone payment schedules, templates, batch invoices and lower card rates. 30-day trial
- Square Premium
- $149/mo per locationAdds the lowest in-person rate, 24/7 phone support and advanced reporting
- Square Pro
- CustomFor businesses processing more than $250,000 a year
- Tillage, for comparison
- $0/month with unlimited users1% when paid online, capped at $50 per invoice. Your client can cover it. See pricing
Where Square Invoices is better
No tool is right for everyone. Here is where it may suit you better.
In-person payments
Card readers, Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, and offline payments, with invoice and in-store customers in one directory.
Payment options built in
Afterpay, Cash App Pay, ACH and card on file with no gateway setup, next-day transfers, plus Square Banking and loans.
A rich free plan
Unlimited invoices, estimates, contracts with e-signatures, deposits and recurring invoices for $0.
Developer platform
A mature API and an official MCP server in beta.
Where Tillage is better for agencies
Lower online card fees on the free plan
On Square Free, invoices paid by card cost 3.3% + 30¢. Tillage uses Stripe at 2.9% + 30¢ plus a 1% platform fee capped at $50, and your client can cover all of it.
Pass fees on every payment type
Square’s surcharging is in beta, capped at 3%, credit cards only, and unavailable in several states. Tillage lets clients cover card, ACH and platform fees, so you receive the full amount.
Milestone schedules at $0
Square requires Plus at $49 a month per location for milestone payment schedules. Tillage includes deposits, milestones and retainers on its free plan.
Margin on every quote
Square estimates price what you enter. Tillage adds your variance buffer and profit margin to each line of an hours × rate quote.
Recent Square Invoices changes
Oct 6, 2025
Square replaced 18 separate subscriptions with company-wide plans: Free, Plus at $49 and Premium at $149 per location per month. Invoicing features now depend on the plan.
2026
Credit card surcharging for Square Invoices is in open beta on the web. Older Square community answers that say it isn’t supported are out of date.
Switching from Square Invoices
- 1
Export your customer directory from Square and import it into Tillage as clients.
- 2
Recreate your estimate items as Tillage services, with variance and margin.
- 3
Connect Stripe in Tillage and set which clients cover the fees.
- 4
Keep Square for in-person payments, and move project quoting and invoicing to Tillage.
Related guides and tools
Best free invoicing software
How the free plans compare, and where each one sets its limits.
Invoicing software for agencies
Quotes, contracts and payment schedules in one free tool.
Quoting software with margin
Hours × rate quotes with your margin built in.
Billing schedules
Deposits, milestones and retainers without copying invoices.
Sources
Checked Oct 7, 2026. Pricing and features change, so if something here is out of date, email support@tillage.ai and we will fix it.
Tillage vs Square Invoices questions
Square Invoices is free. Why use Tillage?
Both are free to start. Tillage adds margin protection on quotes, contracts generated from approved quotes, and milestone schedules without a paid plan. Online card payments cost less in Tillage than on Square Free, and your client can cover them.
Can Square pass fees to clients?
Square’s credit card surcharging for invoices is in beta. It is capped at 3%, applies only to credit cards, and isn’t available in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts or Puerto Rico. Tillage lets clients cover card, ACH and platform fees.
Can I use Square and Tillage together?
Yes. Many businesses keep Square for in-person sales and use Tillage for project quotes, contracts and invoices.
Does Tillage take in-person payments?
No. Tillage collects online payments by card and ACH through Stripe, and records offline payments like checks and wires.
