Cake Decorators 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 Cake Decorator 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.
Cake Decorators face unique challenges: Custom cakes are date-locked to a wedding or party, baked and decorated in the 24-48 hours before, so the calendar is unforgiving and double-booking a weekend is disaster. Designs are quoted from a photo or description, and scope creep (extra tiers, sugar flowers, a sculpted topper) blows up the hours if it isn't pinned to the price. Deposits hold the date and cover ingredients, but chasing balances and final design sign-off before bake day is a constant. Allergies and dietary requests (nut-free, gluten-free, egg-free) change the entire recipe and have to be locked before you shop and bake. On top of all that, Square charges $29/month ($348/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Cake Decorator 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 a turntable, offset spatulas, and a bench scraper for smooth buttercream sides 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 cake decorators 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.
Saturday's wedding cake means Thursday and Friday belong to it. You bake the tiers, level and torte them, and crumb-coat before a final smooth coat on the turntable, chasing perfectly sharp edges with the bench scraper. While buttercream chills you pipe a tray of sugar flowers to set up hard overnight. You check the order details twice because this client added a third tier and a monogram after the first quote, and you confirmed the new price before you started so the extra hours aren't a gift. Between bakes you're answering a bride asking for a tasting, a mom wanting a dinosaur smash cake for next weekend, and a repeat customer adding 'oh, and it has to be nut-free' to an order you're about to shop for, which changes your whole recipe. Friday you stack and dowel the tiers, do the final detailing, and box it for transport, dreading the drive. Saturday you deliver early, touch up on site, and photograph it for your portfolio before anyone cuts it. Sunday you reconcile deposits against balances, confirm next weekend's two orders and their final designs, and make sure you didn't quietly accept a third cake you don't have the days to make.
Real cake decorators near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a cake decorator? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every cake decorator 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 $2,448/year on software — and Cake Decorator face their own version of that math. NV state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Sparks metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Cake Decorators 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