Square Appointments is a brilliant, simple booking and payments system used by salons, barbers and home-repair pros — and plenty of detailers. Buff is a detailing CRM built around vehicles and jobs. Here's how they compare.
Vehicles, jobs, quotes, invoices and repeat work in one place — with online bookings on a simple monthly plan.
A household-name booking diary, payment processing and point-of-sale — free to start, simple and trusted.
The short version: Square is hard to beat as a simple booking diary plus card machine. Buff is a different kind of tool — the job and vehicle behind every booking, with a customer portal, quotes and repeat-work, so the whole business lives in one place.
| Capability | Bufffrom £12.50/mo | Square AppointmentsFree / £29+ |
|---|---|---|
| Built around vehicles & detailing work | – | |
| Vehicle records, reg lookup & AI identification | – | |
| Job management & quotes that become jobs | – | |
| Online booking page for customers | ||
| Customer portal — rebook, view jobs and pay | – | |
| Deposits or full payment at booking | Limited | |
| Maintenance plans & recurring detailer jobs | Appointments | |
| SMS + email reminders | ||
| Team / multi-staff calendars | ||
| In-person payments, readers & Tap to Pay | Online | |
| Invoices with online payment links | ||
| Accounting sync | FreeAgent | Yes |
| Free plan to start | Trial | |
| Clear GBP pricing |
✓ = included · Limited = partial or limited offering · – = not offered as a headline feature. Square Appointments details reflect its public UK website as of September 2026 and may change; Square charges per-transaction card fees (e.g. 1.6% in person).
Square books a time in a diary. Buff runs the whole job behind it — and the vehicle that job is on.
Lite from £12.50 · Pro from £25 · Max from £50. No setup fee and no long-term contract; annual plans save up to 34%. Card payments run through your own Stripe account — standard card fees plus a small Buff processing fee apply. 14-day free trial.
A free plan is available; Plus is £29/month per location with per-transaction card fees (e.g. 1.6% in person; online rates differ). As of September 2026 — check squareup.com for current pricing.
You mainly need an online booking diary, in-person card payments and a trusted free starting point — and you're happy to run vehicles, quotes and repeat work in other tools.
You want the vehicle, the job and the customer relationship all in one system — bookings, quotes, invoices, deposits, maintenance and a portal — all on clear, simple monthly pricing.
It's popular with detailers because it's free to start and simple for customers to book and pay. But Square is a generic booking and POS system — it has no vehicle records, job or quote pipeline, or maintenance plans designed for detailing work.
Yes. Square takes a per-transaction fee on card payments (for example 1.6% for in-person) on top of its plan cost. Buff also charges a transaction fee on card payments, so compare the rates as well as the standard card-processing fees before you commit.
Buff's payments are online-first — card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna and Clearpay via your own Stripe account. If you need a physical card reader and Tap to Pay at a counter, Square's hardware is a real strength to weigh up.
Yes. Buff opens on 18 September 2026 and early-access members get hands-on help getting set up, including moving your data over.
Square is a trademark of its owner. Buff is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Square. Feature and pricing details for Square Appointments, including its transaction fees, are based on its public UK website and were correct as of September 2026; they may change, so please verify current details before making a decision.
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