Loc Technicians 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 Loc Technician 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.
Loc Technicians face unique challenges: Clients who skip their retwist window too long, so the roots are a matted mess that takes twice as long to fix. Standing retwist clients on a four-to-six-week cycle who quietly drift if you don't remind them to rebook. Starter-loc clients expecting mature locs in a month and getting discouraged through the budding stage. Quoting a retwist price before seeing how much new growth and unraveling there is to deal with. On top of all that, Square charges $29/month ($348/year) — money that comes directly from your revenue. The median Loc Technician 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 Interlocking tool (latch hook) in multiple gauges 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 loc technicians 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.
Your morning starts with a retwist, and the client waited a little too long between visits, so there's a lot of new growth and a few locs have started to marry at the root where they weren't kept apart. You wash with a clarifying shampoo so there's no buildup to lock in, then section the head into a clean grid and work the interlocking tool through each loc, palm-rolling or latching the roots tight, parting straight so the whole head sits even. It's patient, methodical work, hours of it on a full head. A starter-loc client comes in next, three weeks into their journey, frustrated that their hair still looks like coils and not locs, so you spend real time explaining the budding and teen stages and that locs are a years-long process, not a month. After lunch it's a repair, a loc that thinned and broke that you rebuild with a crochet hook. Between clients you're managing the retwist calendar, because locs need that four-to-six-week rhythm and clients drift if nobody reminds them, and a drifted client comes back with a maintenance nightmare. You quoted one of today's retwists by text and it's taking far longer than the price reflects because there was more growth than she let on.
Real loc technicians near you who run their business on Nexa — book directly, no platform fee. Are you a loc technician? Post your business and get found in your area — $2.99 one-time. Or browse every loc technician 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 $1,900/year on software — and Loc Technician face their own version of that math. PA flat 3.07% income tax. Pittsburgh levies a 3% earned income tax. Combined burden significantly higher than rural PA. PA Home Improvement Contractor registration required. Pittsburgh requires a business privilege tax registration. Allegheny County has separate permits.
Numbers reflect typical solo operators in the Pittsburgh metro. Your situation will vary.
Specific gaps Loc Technicians 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