Honest comparison

Tattoo Ledger vs Square Appointments

Square Appointments is what many artists start on: the free plan is real, the card reader is in your pocket, and everyone trusts the checkout. As a payments company, Square is excellent.

As tattoo booking software, it has a shape problem: it assumes a client who picks a service and self-books a slot. Tattooing assumes a brief you screen, a project that spans sessions, and a waiver that would hold up. Square has no machinery for any of that.

Where Square is genuinely strong: free tier, best-in-class in-person payments, no-show protection with card on file, and a POS ecosystem.

Tattoo LedgerSquare Appointments
Price$25 CAD, everything includedFree–$149 USD + processing fees per transaction
Screening/requestsApplication queues, request-approval per serviceSelf-booking; strangers can book 6-hour slots
WaiversVersioned, health history, ID capture, guardian co-sign“Contracts” — e-sign only, no ID, no minor flow
Books-open dropsTimed windows with capsNot offered
Multi-session projectsProjects & series offersStandalone appointments
PaymentsDeposits tracked, not processed — no cutFull processing, 2.6–3.3% + fixed per charge
Aftercare & healed photosAutomated journeyNot offered

Switch to Tattoo Ledger if…

  • You screen clients instead of letting anyone self-book
  • Your “contract” needs to be an actual tattoo waiver
  • You want the tattoo pipeline — consult, deposit, sessions, healed photo — not a haircut calendar

Stay on Square Appointments if…

  • In-person card processing in the same tool matters more than tattoo-shaped booking
  • The free tier covers your whole (light) booking needs
Switching is a CSV import away — export your clients from Square Appointments and bring them home. Questions first? Talk to us.

Everything Square Appointments won’t build for tattooers

Set up in under ten minutes. Your clients never need an account.

Start free trialSee pricing

7 days free, then from $25 CAD/month. Cancel anytime.