Custom Car Builder 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 Custom Car Builder earns $48,000/year, so Square's annual cost is roughly 0.7% 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.
Custom Car Builder face unique challenges: Body mods like shaved handles and frenched lights that have to be metal-finished dead straight or every flaw shows in the paint. Custom paint, candies, flake and graphics where one run or one fisheye means re-shooting the whole panel. Air-ride and chassis mods that have to perform and ride right, not just sit low at a show. Scope creep as a clean build snowballs into stereo, wheels, interior and more paint. On top of all that, Square charges $29/month ($348/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Custom Car Builder earns $48,000/year. Software at $348/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your MIG/TIG welders for body modification and metal fab 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 custom car builder 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.
Customs are about the look, and the look is unforgiving. A lot of my day is bodywork: shaving door handles, frenching antennas and lights, smoothing firewalls, and then blocking the panels with a long board until they're laser-straight, because custom paint hides nothing and a low spot screams under candy and flake. When I'm in the booth I'm laying base, then candies or pearls, then clear, and a single run or one piece of dust means I'm sanding it back and reshooting, which can cost a whole day. Then there's the systems side, air ride so the car lays frame on command but still rides home from the show, shaved-handle solenoids wired to a keyfob, stereo and lighting builds that have to be clean behind the panels. Customers come in wanting one thing and the build snowballs: paint turns into wheels turns into interior turns into a sound system. Managing that creep without the project ballooning past the budget is half the job. The reward is rolling a car out that turns every head in the lot and knowing every panel and every wire is mine. But the standard is perfection, and on a custom there's nowhere for a mistake to hide.
Real custom car builder near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a custom car builder? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every custom car builder 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 $2,000/year on software — and Custom Car Builder face their own version of that math. Virginia income tax up to 5.75%. Richmond's business license tax based on gross receipts adds to the burden. Virginia DPOR contractor license required for projects over $1,000. Richmond requires a business license with gross receipts reporting.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Richmond metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Custom Car Builder 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