Grading Contractors 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 Grading Contractor earns $55,000/year, so Square's annual cost is roughly 0.6% 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.
Grading Contractors face unique challenges: Hitting precise slope and drainage specs - a pad or driveway has to fall the right percentage to drain, and being off a fraction means water ponds, a slab cracks, or the engineer rejects the as-built. Soil moisture and compaction - grading wet clay or failing to compact in lifts means the fill settles later and the customer blames the finished surface that looked perfect on day one. Erosion-control and stormwater (SWPPP) compliance - silt fence, inlet protection, and stabilization the inspector checks, with stop-work orders and fines if the site sheds mud into a storm drain. Balancing cut and fill across a site - misjudging the earthwork quantities means importing or hauling dirt that wasn't in the bid, and grade-tolerance disputes when the surveyor's as-built doesn't match. On top of all that, Square charges $29/month ($348/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Grading Contractor earns $55,000/year. Software at $348/year is a meaningful percentage of that income, every year, forever. And you do not own anything.
Your Motor grader or a box blade on a tractor 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 grading contractors 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.
I walk the site first with the plans and the grade stakes, checking the surveyor's hubs against the design because everything I do today is chasing tenths of a foot. The job is a building pad and a driveway that has to drain to the street. I fire up the grade-control system, and the GPS keeps the blade on the design surface as I make passes - but the subgrade clay is wet from last night, so I'm spreading and letting it dry before I compact, because rolling wet clay just pumps and fails later. Mid-morning the erosion inspector swings by; my silt fence is trenched in and the inlet protection's good, so no stop-work, but I've seen jobs shut down over a torn fence. I cut the high side, move the spoil to fill the low corner - keeping cut and fill balanced so I'm not trucking dirt I didn't bid. Afternoon is fine grade: box blade passes until the pad is flat to tolerance and the driveway falls a clean two percent to the gutter. I roll it in lifts, proof it, and shoot grades across the pad to prove it drains and meets spec for the as-built. Last hour is photographing the finished grades, marking the lifts I compacted for the inspector, invoicing for the dirt actually moved, and confirming tomorrow's site has the stakes set and access for the lowboy.
Real grading contractors near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a grading contractor? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every grading contractor 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 $1,600/year on software — and Grading Contractor face their own version of that math. Colombia requires DIAN-authorized electronic invoicing. IVA applies to most transactions. Requirements vary by country and locality. Check local regulations.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Medellín metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Grading Contractors 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