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Square

#SpoCOOLSpokane

Let's talk about Square for a bit. You've probably already used their services -- any vendor who accepts credit card payments through an iPad or whatever is likely using them -- but there is much more to Square than being a POS system. Download their app, available for iOS and Android, and a world of convenience and well-deserved laziness will open up for you.

Square's functionality is simple. You create an account, tie your card to it, add a photo of yourself, and that's it. The next time you walk into a place accepting Square -- spots are listed by proximity on the start page -- you simply click its name, place your order, accept the charge (the vendor will see your photo in their system), add a tip if you'd like, and you're good to go, no card or signature or whatever required. You can even set Square to automatically open a tab when you enter a spot you frequent.

Convenience aside, there are also fiscal advantages to using Square. Some places -- Method and Chairs, for example -- offer discounts off your first order placed with the app. Other spots -- Coeur and Cannon Coffee -- have virtual punchcards.

There's even an option for restaurants to upload menus.

And, finally, Square keeps track of all your purchases, even the ones made outside the app, as long as the card is tied to your account. Pretty nice.

A lot of new spots around town are using Square, and we think it's a pretty awesome way to make payments, at least until the world can standardize on some sort of nonproprietary technology. Run and download Square, and make your life that much easier. You deserve it.