Face Painters 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 Face Painter earns $42,000/year, so Square's annual cost is roughly 0.8% 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.
Face Painters face unique challenges: Kids' parties pay per-hour or per-face, but a line of twenty excited children means triaging fast designs against the elaborate butterfly every kid points to on the board. Skin-safety and allergy questions are constant, so you have to know your paints are cosmetic-grade and have answers when a parent asks before you touch their child. Outdoor festivals mean heat, sweat, and humidity smearing the work, plus the booth-fee or per-hour math festivals impose changes the whole pricing model. Booking volume is weekend-heavy and weather-dependent, so an outdoor birthday that rains out is a same-day cancellation and a hole in the day. On top of all that, Square charges $29/month ($348/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Face Painter earns $42,000/year. Software at $348/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Professional FDA-compliant face paints and palettes 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 face painters 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 day starts laying out the kit: palettes of cosmetic-grade paints, round brushes for line work and flats for the big fills, sponges, glitter, and the design board kids will point at. The first job is a backyard birthday, where you set up the chair and mirror and immediately a parent asks whether the paint is safe for their kid's sensitive skin, so you explain what FDA-compliant means before the first stroke. Then the line forms, twenty kids deep, and every one of them wants the elaborate full-face tiger while the clock is ticking on a two-hour booking, so you triage: quick cheek-art butterflies to keep the line moving, the showpiece designs for the ones who'll sit still. You work fast and clean, swapping water between kids, watching for anyone who rubs their face mid-paint. The afternoon is a festival booth where the heat is melting your own work as fast as you paint it, the per-hour fee structure is different from a private party, and the line never ends. You keep the paints from drying out and the brushes from getting muddy. The day ends cleaning every brush and sponge, restocking the colors that ran low, and checking tomorrow's outdoor birthday against a forecast that's threatening rain.
Real face painters near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a face painter? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every face painter 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 $2,352/year on software — and Face Painter face their own version of that math. PA state licensing requirements apply.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Allentown metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Face Painters 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