BBQ Caterers on Square pay $29/month — $348/year. Over three years, that's $1,168. Nexa is $279 once. Break-even runs about 9.6 months. The median BBQ Caterer earns $35,000/year, so Square's annual cost is roughly 1.0% of typical revenue — every year, forever.
That's $1,168 gone. And you don't own anything. Stop paying, lose access.
You're not the only one who's had enough.
BBQ Caterers face unique challenges: Brisket and pork are bought by the headcount and smoked 12-16 hours overnight, so a guest count that changes late means you've over- or under-cooked and there's no redo. Events cluster on weekends and holidays, so three graduation parties on one Saturday means juggling multiple cook timelines, trailers, and crew. Deposits matter because meat is bought upfront, but chasing the balance and the final head count from a customer is a constant hassle. Pricing per head has to cover wildly variable meat costs, fuel, hours of labor, and travel, and it's easy to underbid a long cook. On top of all that, Square charges $29/month ($348/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median BBQ Caterer earns $35,000/year. Software at $348/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your an offset smoker or pellet rig hauled on a trailer is yours. You bought it once. Nexa works the same way — $279 once for invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, and full accounting. All connected. All offline-capable. You own it like you own your tools.
Square is just one piece. What else are you losing money on?
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Your exact Square cost, full stack total, and what switching saves. 10 seconds.
| Feature | Square | Nexa |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| CRM | ✗ | ✓ |
| Time Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Full Accounting | ✗ | ✓ (SIMPL) |
| Task Management | ✗ | ✓ |
| Price | $29/mo forever | $279 once or 3 × $99 |
| 3-Year Cost | $1,168 | $279 |
| Stop paying? | Lose everything | Keep everything forever |
Most bbq caterers are fully switched before the weekend.
Go to Square Dashboard → Customers → Export. Also export transactions and item library.
15-minute setup. Import your customer list and service/product catalog.
Run both for 1-2 weeks. Test invoicing and booking through Nexa.
Cancel paid subscriptions. Keep free account for records access.
The cook starts the night before. You trim and rub the briskets and pork butts, light the smoker around midnight for a noon event, and babysit the fire and the temps in shifts so nothing stalls without you noticing. By dawn the bark's set and you're holding meat in the Cambros, hot and resting, while you load the trailer with chafers, sides, sauce, and the slicing station. You hit the venue with a buffer, set up the serving line, get the beans and slaw and mac into chafing dishes over fuel, and slice to order so the brisket doesn't dry out sitting. You're watching the headcount the customer gave you against the line moving, praying the count was honest because there's no more brisket coming. After service you break down, pack the leftovers, total what you actually used, and remind yourself which graduation party is tomorrow because this weekend has two more. Home by evening, you reconcile the deposit against the balance still owed, text the next customer to lock their final head count, and start trimming for the next overnight cook. The smoker barely cools between jobs.
Real bbq caterers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a bbq caterer? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every bbq caterer on Nexa →
For solo operators and small teams (1-5), yes. Nexa includes invoicing, scheduling, CRM, time tracking, task management, and full accounting. Square may be better if you have a large team (10+) or need enterprise-specific features.
It's $7.75/month over 3 years. Square is $29/month — that's $1,168 over 3 years. Which is more? And if you'd rather split it, Nexa is also available as 3 payments of $99.
Yes. Nexa is $279 as a one-time payment, or 3 payments of $99 ($297 total). Either way it's a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring fees ever.
30-day money-back guarantee. Full refund. If Nexa doesn't save you $500 in year one, you get every penny back.
Export your data from Square as CSV, import into Nexa in about 5 minutes.
The average solo operator there spends about $1,920/year on software — and BBQ Caterer face their own version of that math. OH state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Canton metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps BBQ Caterers run into with Square, and what Nexa does instead.
$1,168 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.
Get Nexa — $279 Once