Square's Restaurant Features:
What Works and What Doesn't
Square delivers solid basics: order management, payment processing, and basic reporting. For a small café in Rabat processing 200 orders monthly, these features might suffice. Scale beyond that, and the cracks show.
Kitchen Operations
The Kitchen Display System struggles during peak hours when order complexity increases. Unlike specialized restaurant platforms, Square's KDS lacks item-level status tracking. Your chef can't mark individual items as "preparing" or "ready" — only entire orders. This creates confusion when tables order in stages or request modifications.
Order routing between stations requires manual configuration that doesn't adapt to real-time conditions. When your grill station backs up during Friday dinner rush, orders keep flowing to the same overwhelmed cook instead of redistributing automatically.
Third-party delivery integration remains superficial. While petpooja billing systems sync deeply with aggregators, Square requires manual order entry or expensive middleware. Each delivery platform needs separate tablet hardware, cluttering your counter and fragmenting your operations.
Staff Management
Square limits restaurants to four basic roles: owner, manager, employee, and cashier. Compare this to specialized platforms offering eight or more roles with granular permissions. Your head waiter can't access table management without full cashier privileges — a security risk in high-turnover environments.
Shift scheduling exists but lacks integration with Moroccan labor laws. The system doesn't automatically calculate overtime rates or flag compliance issues. Performance tracking stops at basic sales metrics, missing crucial restaurant KPIs like table turnover rates or per-server efficiency.
The Commission Trap:
Why POS Fees Add Up Fast
The "affordable" square pos system restaurant pricing becomes expensive precisely when you succeed. Consider this real scenario from an Agadir seafood restaurant processing 1,000 monthly orders:
Average order value: 450 MAD
Monthly revenue: 450,000 MAD
Square's 2.9% fee: 13,050 MAD
Annual processing fees: 156,600 MAD
Add premium features, hardware amortization, and support fees — you're approaching 200,000 MAD annually. That's not technology investment; it's a permanent tax on your success.
The toast pos company follows an identical playbook. Their 2.49% + 15¢ structure seems lower until you factor in required add-ons: loyalty programs, advanced reporting, multi-location support. Each feature carries monthly fees that compound invisibly.
Zero-commission alternatives flip this model. Instead of penalizing growth, they charge predictable amounts regardless of revenue. Process 10,000 MAD or 1,000,000 MAD — your technology cost remains constant.
Morocco-Specific Limitations
Square built its system for American diners and European cafés — not Moroccan restaurants. The gaps become obvious in daily operations.
Arabic language support barely exists. While customer-facing receipts offer Arabic text, your staff interfaces remain English-only. Training new employees requires translation, slowing onboarding in a high-turnover industry. Right-to-left layouts break frequently, forcing awkward workarounds.
Local payment integration stops at basic card processing. Popular Moroccan methods like CMI or Maroc Telecommerce require separate systems. Cash management — critical when 60-80% of transactions involve physical currency — receives minimal attention in Square's digital-first design.
Delivery management assumes American suburban geography. Morocco's medinas, with unnamed alleys and landmark-based addressing, confuse Square's mapping. Drivers waste time calling customers for directions instead of following efficient routes. Multi-stop delivery optimization doesn't exist.
Customer support operates on Pacific Time, leaving Moroccan restaurants stranded during peak hours. Friday evening rushes in Fès coincide with Thursday night in San Francisco — good luck reaching anyone who understands your market's unique needs.
Direct comparison reveals how commission-free models benefit growing restaurants:
| Feature |
Square POS |
OCHI Platform |
| Transaction Fees |
2.9% + 30¢ |
Zero commission |
| Monthly Cost (1,000 orders) |
31,500+ MAD |
Flat subscription |
| Arabic Support |
Limited |
Full RTL interface |
| Delivery Management |
Basic |
GPS tracking, zone management |
| Custom Domain |
No |
votrenom.ochi.ma |
| Staff Roles |
4 roles |
8 specialized roles |
| Local Support |
Email only |
24/7 Morocco-based |
The branded subdomain difference matters more than restaurants initially realize. Customers bookmark "tajinepalace.ochi.ma" instead of remembering generic ordering links. Your brand stays front-of-mind between visits.
Multi-branch management on OCHI handles Morocco's unique franchise structures. Set different prices for Gueliz versus Hivernage locations. Track inventory separately while maintaining central oversight. Square's location management assumes identical operations across branches — rarely true in Morocco's diverse markets.
QR table ordering integrates naturally with Moroccan dining culture. Guests scan, browse in their preferred language, and order without downloading apps. Payment happens tableside through integrated terminals or mobile wallets. The entire flow respects local preferences while modernizing service.
Choose your restaurant technology based on where you're going, not where you are today. Growth shouldn't trigger exponential fee increases. See how OCHI's zero-commission model changes your economics at ochi.ma/partners.
