Square for Drive-Thru, Built with The Howard Company
Powered by Square. Built and integrated by The Howard Company.
One integrated, end-to-end drive-thru solution — connecting order capture, kitchen operations, and customer handoff into a single workflow engineered for the speed and accuracy every drive-thru depends on, whether you run a single busy lane or a multi-unit operation.
Why Square Chose The Howard Company
Square chose The Howard Company as its drive-thru hardware partner for the launch of Square for Drive-Thru — a solution purpose-built for quick-service operators of every size — from single-location shops to multi-unit groups — who depend on the drive-thru as their most critical sales channel.
Go with another vendor and operators are left assembling drive-thru technology from multiple providers and hoping the pieces work together. Square set out to simplify that for its customers — replacing the patchwork with one unified solution: Square’s point of sale and payments, brought together with The Howard Company’s field-proven drive-thru hardware, digital menu systems, and software integration. The Howard Company is the integrator that makes every piece work as one.
It’s a single source of accountability from the curb to the counter — and a clear signal of confidence: Square, a global technology platform serving millions of sellers, built this with a 100% employee-owned partner that has delivered and integrated drive-thru systems for 75 years.
Two Partners, One Complete Solution
Square’s platform and The Howard Company’s drive-thru expertise, integrated into one seamless system.
Square
The Platform
- Point of sale and payments built on Square for Restaurants
- Kitchen display system (KDS) routing and automatic order numbering
- Reporting, cash flow, marketing, and customer engagement tools on one platform
- Open APIs, so operators keep the third-party tools they already rely on
The Howard Company
The Integrator & Drive-Thru Partner
- The integrator that connects the drive-thru hardware and displays to the Square POS as one working system
- Outdoor digital menu boards and order confirmation screens built for high-volume lanes
- Software integration that keeps the menu board and order confirmation screen in sync with the POS
- Drive-thru hardware backed by 75 years of experience and 100% employee ownership
- In-house graphic design, nationwide installation, rollout, and ongoing support
Why It Matters for QSR Operators
For any drive-thru operator — from a single location to a multi-unit group — that integration translates into real results on the busiest days:
- One solution, not five vendors. Go another route and you’re left coordinating up to five separate providers — POS software, menu board displays, content management software, headset and communication systems, and installation. Square set out to simplify that for its customers: Square for Drive-Thru brings it together under one solution with a single point of accountability.
- Faster lanes. Eliminate communication lag between the menu board, the kitchen, and the window.
- Higher accuracy. Real-time order confirmation reduces costly remakes and food waste during peak rushes.
- Room to scale. Reporting, marketing, and open APIs grow with multi-location operations.
Square for Drive-Thru vs. Piecing It Together Yourself
Here’s how an integrated solution compares to assembling a drive-thru from separate vendors:
| Square for Drive-Thru with The Howard Company |
Piecing it together yourself | |
|---|---|---|
| Vendors to manage | One point of contact | Up to five — POS, displays, content software, headsets, installation |
| Integration | Built and integrated by Howard, ready to run | Your problem to wire together and troubleshoot |
| Accountability | Single source of accountability | Finger-pointing when something breaks |
| Hardware & expertise | Field-proven hardware, 75 years of drive-thru experience | Varies by vendor; no single owner of the lane |
| Installation & rollout | Nationwide install and ongoing support, in-house | Coordinate separate installers and support lines |
| Reporting & growth | Unified Square reporting, marketing, and open APIs | Data scattered across multiple systems |
What Operators Are Saying
“We’re a drive-thru-first concept, so bringing Square’s ease-of-use and efficiency to our primary sales channel has been huge. Customers can see their entire order on the Order Confirmation Screen, giving them confidence and helping our staff catch mistakes immediately.”— John-Michael Johnson, Franchisee, PJ’s Coffee Fort Mill
“We’ve always felt the best technology is invisible technology — something our team doesn’t have to spend a lot of time learning because it just works. Square delivers on that, and it’s been great to bring that ease-of-use to our drive-thru, where speed and stability really matter.”— Jason Thoma, Director of IT, Steak Escape
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Square for Drive-Thru?
Square for Drive-Thru is an integrated, end-to-end drive-thru solution for quick-service restaurants that connects order capture, kitchen operations, and customer handoff into a single workflow. It combines Square’s point of sale and payments with The Howard Company’s drive-thru hardware, digital menu boards, and software integration.
Who is Square’s drive-thru hardware partner?
The Howard Company is Square’s drive-thru hardware and integration partner for Square for Drive-Thru. Founded in 1950 and 100% employee-owned, Howard provides the outdoor digital menu boards, order confirmation screens, drive-thru hardware, software integration, and nationwide installation that bring the solution together.
Can you use Square POS in a drive-thru?
Yes. With Square for Drive-Thru, operators run Square’s point of sale and kitchen display system (KDS) across the drive-thru lane. Orders placed at the Howard digital menu board appear on an order confirmation screen, route to the correct kitchen station, and are tracked with automatic order numbering.
How does Square for Drive-Thru work?
A guest orders at the Howard digital menu board; the integration instantly displays the full order — including modifiers — on the order confirmation screen; Square’s KDS routes each item to the right kitchen station with automatic order numbering; and the order is handed off faster and with fewer mix-ups.
What does Square for Drive-Thru include?
It includes Square point of sale and payments built on Square for Restaurants, kitchen display system routing, automatic order numbering, reporting and customer engagement tools, and open APIs — together with The Howard Company’s outdoor digital menu boards, order confirmation screens, drive-thru hardware, software integration, and installation.
Is Square for Drive-Thru available now?
Yes. Square for Drive-Thru launched at the 2026 National Restaurant Association Show in May and is available now. To bring it to your locations, contact The Howard Company to talk with a drive-thru expert or request a quote.
What It Looks Like for QSR Operators
Here’s what the integrated system does, from the moment a car pulls up to the moment the order leaves the window:
Order placed. A guest orders at the Howard digital menu board.
Order confirmed. Howard’s software integration instantly displays the full order — including modifiers and customizations — on the order confirmation screen, giving guests real-time visibility and helping staff catch mistakes before they reach the kitchen.
Order routed. Square’s KDS sends each item to the right kitchen station, while automatic order numbering keeps the right order moving to the right customer.
Order handed off. Faster service and fewer mix-ups, even during the busiest rushes.
Tell us about your drive-thru
Whether you run one lane or a hundred, we’ll tailor a Square for Drive-Thru solution to speed up your lane. Tell us a little about your setup and we’ll be in touch.