Square: More Than A Payment Processor
Starting and running a Canadian food and beverage (F&B) business in the digital economy doesn’t only take an entrepreneur’s mindset, it requires Jacks and Jills of all trades who wear many hats – often at the same time.
From managing staff, payroll, and inventory to creating unforgettable experiences for their customers, F&B operators, from the local pub manager to a nation-wide franchise CEO, must navigate increasingly scarce markets in an increasingly digitized and uncertain economy.
Square Solutions for an Industry Under Pressure
Rising food costs, unpredictable supply chains, persistent staff shortages – the list of headaches is endless. And while the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, the traumatic shocks and losses experienced by Canadians working in the food and beverage industry are still being felt.
According to Farm Credit Canada, the F&B sector has endured another year of hardship, with sales volumes projected to decline by 1.5 percent in 2025 despite some revenue growth, and labour shortages remain a critical issue, with 78 percent of manufacturers reporting difficulty hiring. Meanwhile, Canada’s Food Price Report (CFPR) 2025 forecasts that food inflation is outpacing general inflation, with prices expected to rise by another 5 percent this year.
For small business operators, this means doing much more with even less – less income, leaner teams, and shifting consumer expectations that are even harder-to-read amid the clamour of social media reviews and evolving tastes.
Square is stepping in as a trusted partner for Canadian businesses – especially those in F&B – that need to stay nimble, work efficiently, and keep serving Canadians from coast to coast to coast with a smile.
Square is more than a payment processor. It’s a fully integrated commerce, finance, and operations solution that helps F&B businesses of any size tackle daily pain points, streamline complex processes, and stay resilient in a fast-changing economy – with new tools like Square Handheld making it easier to serve guests quickly and efficiently.
Square Scoops: From the County Fair to the Saddledome
For Toronto, ON-based Good Behaviour Ice Cream’s owner Eric Chow, Square arrived at a critical moment.
“Our whole first year, we were always one or two payroll cycles away from being out of reserves,” says Chow. “Square Loans saved us; we had a chance to jump at a Bloor and Yonge location, and the funding helped us purchase new equipment and manage cash flow to open our doors.”
Out west, Square’s intuitive design makes it a tool that empowered Calgary Sports and Entertainment (CSEC), with its complex, round-the-clock payments systems working in high-volume settings, to turn minor efficiencies into improved operations and customer service.
“Our staff were surprised about how easy it was to use,” says Ziad Mehio, CSEC’s Chief Technology, Data & Innovation Officer and Head of Food & Beverage. “Square Register has been a game changer.”
That Square’s all-in-one, agile tool suite can power the financial and operational resilience and innovation of a major Albertan corporation, whose ownership stake in the Calgary Flames alone is worth $1.65 billion USD, is no small feat.
But with Square’s new POS app, integrating all their tools into a single, easy-to-use experience, their solutions can easily be transferred back east, to Caledonia, ON’s fairgrounds where the Caledonia Agricultural Society relies on the app to keep orders flowing at their seasonal diner, Scoops.
“For seasonal F&B providers without large IT departments, seamless tech integration isn’t a luxury–it’s a lifeline,” says Ian Thompson, the Society’s General Manager. “We’ve been using Doordash, which integrates so well with our point-of-sale (POS) system; the orders come in, print out, and it’s easy for us to mark them as in progress, ready, or picked up.”
Whether it’s simplifying workflows, improving order processing, or ensuring operational continuity through offline capabilities, Square is proving itself as more than just a point-of-sale provider—it’s a platform built to heal the real pain points of Canada’s F&B entrepreneurs.
With hundreds of thousands of Canadian businesses already relying on their solutions—including inventory, banking, loyalty programs, and appointments—Square is helping small businesses get back to what matters most: serving customers from the heart.
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