Chainsaw Carvers 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 chainsaw carver earns $36,000/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.
Chainsaw Carvers face unique challenges: Quoting one-off custom work with no list price: a 6-foot eagle with a fish in its talons is a different beast than a plain bear, and detail level and species push the same height to wildly different numbers. Green-wood gamble: a log carved this week keeps drying and can develop deep checks for a year, so tracking which carvings were sealed, when, and whether the buyer was told to re-oil it is a paperwork mess. Festival cash chaos: quick-carve auctions, walk-up booth sales, and same-day commissions all hit in a weekend of dust and noise, then reconciling cash, cards, and 'I'll pick it up next week' holds against a table of inventory. Commission deposits and the dead season: a carver takes a deposit on a custom totem, seasons the log, then waits, and winter kills the foot traffic that funds gas and rent. On top of all that, Square charges $29/month ($348/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median chainsaw carver earns $36,000/year. Software at $348/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Powerhead saws in two roles: a heavy roughing saw for stock removal and a lighter detail saw fitted with a 12-inch dime-tip carving bar for tight noses and fine cuts 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 chainsaw carvers 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.
It starts at the wood. You walk the yard checking which white pine and cottonwood butts have seasoned enough and which are still wet, then wrestle a 200-pound log onto the stand with the hoist. Chaps on, face shield down, muffs on, the roughing saw screams and chips fly as you block out a bear: ears here, shoulders there, cutting away everything that isn't bear. Bar oil and two-stroke smoke hang in the cold air. Switch to the detail saw with the dime-tip bar to plunge the snout and undercut the paws, then the angle grinder with a chain disc to rough the fur before burrs and a torch lay in the grain. A customer texts mid-cut wanting a price on a memorial eagle from their fallen oak; you wipe sawdust off the phone and try to remember what you charged for the last one. Afternoon is finishing: sand the face smooth, brush on a linseed-and-spirits cut so the green wood doesn't check, then spar urethane the pieces headed outdoors. You load three carvings for Saturday's fair, chase a deposit on a totem that's been sitting blanked-out for a month, and sweep a shop floor ankle-deep in chips. Tomorrow the bear gets a face.
Real chainsaw carvers near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a chainsaw carver? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every chainsaw carver 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 $1,968/year on software — and chainsaw carver face their own version of that math. TX state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Waco metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Chainsaw Carvers run into with Square, and what Nexa does instead.
If you want to compare notes or see how other chainsaw carvers are running their tools, here's where the conversation happens.
$1,168 over 3 years. Or $279 once (or 3 × $99). Own your tools.
Get Nexa — $279 Once