Clover POS

Clover POS Product Review & Details

Updated as of June, 2023

My Clover POS review will take an in-depth look at the variety of features available in this unique POS platform. As the point-of-sale industry continues to modernize, there is a range of competitors offering impressive feature lists. Choosing the right POS platform for your business is critical to improving your restaurant or small business efficiency.

We have personally worked with and reviewed many POS systems. We also scan the internet for reviews, feedback, and research data from merchants about their experience with various products. In this review, let’s find out if Clover POS is right for your business!

Overview of Clover POS System

Clover is a popular all-in-one POS for many new restaurants and small business owners. This POS solution comes with everything you need, including point of sale software, hardware, and payment processing, with a sleek and professional look. It’s not the cheapest POS on the market, but the Station is designed for users to get up and running quickly, and the Clover App Market offers to expands functionality.

The Clover POS system is suitable for retail shops and service-based businesses; however, we’ll primarily take a look at Clover’s restaurant POS services for this review. The company offers complete hardware POS ‘stations’ that makes it plug-and-play for the non-techies. Its hardware platform comes with a durable touchscreen and provides a range of options based on your business type.

Clover is a California-based POS provider that first opened its doors in 2012. Not long after entering the market, Clover was purchased by First Data Corporation (Now Fiserv), one of the largest payment processing companies. Based on that info, expect Clover’s products to bundle with a merchant account. The good news is that the rates are advertised and straightforward.

The platform allows its users to add a variety of external applications – you can also choose your own payment processor (more on that below). Users can quickly build menus, customize interfaces, view reporting data, manage employees, and more. The software is straightforward to learn to use, and the overall hardware aesthetics appeal to the eyes.

Is the Clover POS System any good? Continue reading to find out!

Clover Pros vs Cons

Clover POS Pricing

How much does the Clover POS system cost? Software for the traditional register station starts at $44.95 per month. The full-service restaurant POS software starts at $74.95 per month. Hardware is an additional cost, as outlined below.

It’s critical to find a POS system that you can afford. While many POS platforms offer affordable prices at face value, things can get much more expensive when diving into the service’s real cost. So, what price points are offered with Clover POS? Let’s take a more in-depth look at Clover POS pricing below:

Before buying, be sure to check out the latest Clover POS Promo Codes.

Station (For Any Business Type)

• $44.95 per month
• Station Duo – $1,799
  
• $9.95 per month for additional device

Counter Service Restaurant

• $44.95 per month
• Station Duo – $1,799
• $9.95 per month for additional device

Full-Service Restaurant POS

• $74.95 per month
• Station Solo – $1,699
• Add Flex – $350
• $9.95 per month for additional device

Processing Rates

• 2.3% +10c for in-person transactions
• 3.5% +10c for keyed-in transactions

*All prices are subject to change; please see the vendor’s website for current pricing.

So what is the difference between Station Solo and Station Duo? The main difference is that Clover Duo comes with a dedicated customer-facing display. So if you’re operating, for example, a retail shop or quick-service restaurant, you may want to include a customer-facing display to let customers view the transaction and initiate payment.

Clover’s hardware includes an Android 14″ touchscreen POS system with a swivel stand, cash drawer, and receipt printer. You can also add the Clover Mini, Clover Flex, or Clover Go for additional payment and device flexibility (at an extra cost).

As you can see, Clover’s offering is relatively affordable when you compare it to the rest of the POS market. If you want to purchase additional add-ons or apps in the Clover app market, you’ll need to factor in those costs to determine the product’s price. They offer the first month of software for free and free shipping on hardware, which is great.

Clover boasts of having a transparent pricing model. Still, some customers seem to think otherwise. There are some allegations that hidden fees and charges pop up out of nowhere – this may be linked to First Data Corporation merchant accounts – but it’s always a good idea to read the fine print before signing any agreements.

With some POS platforms, these types of hidden fees may be down to independent distributors. To clarify, discussing all costs with Clover is essential to ensure that you won’t find any nasty surprises.

You can choose to pay the hardware costs as an entire lump sum for those with the budget. But if you can’t afford to pay for all your hardware upfront, you can also spread the cost across three payments; this is a crucial benefit for new business owners trying to avoid upfront cash flow issues.

Promo Video

Clover Key Product Features

Below are some of the key features we like with Clover’s restaurant point of sale platform:

Data Reporting

Clover’s analytic tools provide insights into the trends and data driving your business and let you track key metrics like revenue and sales, all in real-time! Filter reports to show best-selling products, time of day, or monthly sales trends and drill down into per-item details.

Reporting can be accessed anywhere and anytime from mobile devices or directly from the Clover dashboard. Monitor your income stream with quick access to sales reports.

Deployment Type

Clover is a primarily cloud-based system. While the company’s software is installed on your hardware system, all reporting data and information is stored in a cloud. You can also remotely access your menus, reporting data, restaurant information, and more. Don’t worry about hardware malfunctions — your data is safe in the cloud.

As mentioned previously, you can take card payments via the Clover POS system if you’re not connected to the internet. You won’t find this critical feature with many other cloud-based platforms. If you’re worried your internet connection isn’t consistent enough to guarantee seamless payments, Clover might be one of your best options.

Industries Served

Clover offers a traditional POS platform for various industries, including restaurants, retail stores, and service businesses. But the POS software we’ve explored in more depth today is explicitly built for the restaurant industry. It’s excellent for small to mid-sized restaurants. While it offers plenty of in-house features, it certainly doesn’t have the strength you find in some of the more prominent names in the industry for larger restaurant environments.

But there is a bright side for those who plan on growing their business. Because of the number of add-ons, downloadable apps, and integrations available from the Clover app market, you can scale this platform quite well if you need more functionality. We’ll explore the type of features on offer via these add-ons in the Integrations & Add-ons section below.

While the Clover system is best suited to small and mid-sized businesses, the additional apps can help you scale it to more significant operations. But the other apps you can download on your station will come with an added expense.

Ease of Use

When you sift through the various features available with the software, one of the core benefits is how easy it is to use the application. If you want to invest considerable money in a new POS solution, it’s essential to make sure that you find it easy for staff to handle.

The entire Clover system is easy to navigate. For restaurant owners, you can quickly build menus and access reporting data from offsite locations. The software’s straightforward nature means that new member training won’t eat away at your time.

Clover Hardware

One of the biggest hurdles for many small business owners is the hardware requirements associated with a point-of-sale platform. Clover makes it easier by offering its clients a full ‘Station,’ which we like. Pricing to gain access to their complete hardware packages is, on the average scale, not too pricey, but not cheap either.

Regardless, Clover’s hardware is built-for-purpose. With a touchscreen interface, credit card processor, and printer, this POS system can help you improve efficiency in the workplace. If you’re on a tight budget and just need to get something to get started, you can opt for Clover Mini, which is a smaller version of the POS. You can also add Clover Flex to perform table-side or curb-side ordering with quick payment processing.

Unlike other POS providers, which may provide you with tablets or ask you to purchase iPads, the Clover Station hardware fits firmly in a mounted station; this helps give a sense of permanence to your POS setup.

Clover states that you can return hardware within 60 days of the original purchase for a full refund of the purchase price, excluding shipping and handling. Returned equipment must be in good condition; this is a great thing to offer merchants, just if it’s not the perfect solution for your business.

Integrations

Integrations and add-ons can take your restaurant’s POS platform to the next level. One of the key features I like about Clover’s POS is that it’s Android-based, and there are tons of apps and add-ons you have access to download. The list of applications on offer is one of the most extensive in the industry.

If you head to the Clover Station app store, it can be hard to avoid browsing through the endless list of apps and add-ons. Various apps can help you manage loyalty programs, create custom discounts, integrate accounting software, create restaurant websites, receive feedback, and much more.

Keep in mind that while the Clover app store offers free versions of many apps, most of the apps will cost you a subscription price or pay-per-use to get full functionality. Once you start adding many apps to get all the functionality you require, you increase your POS solution’s overall cost.

Payment Processing

Accepting payments with Clover is a feature that varies greatly depending on the POS provider you’re partnering with for merchant services. In some cases, a POS provider will require you to use their credit card processing platform. In other cases, you’ll have the freedom to choose your merchant provider to integrate with your point of sale.

Fortunately, Clover Station can be integrated with a wide range of credit card processing companies. Clover’s parent company (Fiserv) will most likely want you to sign up for its credit card processing services. While this can be a convenient way to quickly set up your POS system, it also means you’re restricted from looking at competing processing companies.

The good news is their rates are advertised online and pretty straightforward. I would recommend being cautious if you’re purchasing Clover from an independent agent or a bank because, as resellers, they can add additional processing fees, which can eat away at your profits. It’s probably best to go directly to Clover to get a rate quote and avoid the middleman.

That being said, Clover does claim on their website that you can cancel your processing agreement at any time, for any reason, and they do not charge termination fees.

Customer Service

As with any software or hardware platform, problems can always arise — that’s why it’s essential to have access to a fantastic customer support team. Clover’s customer service currently has an excellent online resource hub — you can also call or email their customer support center 24/7 or access support through the Clover dashboard.

While Clover’s customer service record hasn’t been ideal over the years, it appears to be getting much better. You can still find negative reviews for Clover online; however, industry websites like Merchant Maverick, Capterra, and GetApp have hundreds of Clover reviews with an overall 4 out of 5 ratings. It’s hard to please everyone, especially for a large global company, but we’ve updated the review to reflect the overall rating increase.

If you’ve had experience with Clover, we’d love to have your constructive review with the pros and cons below.

Our Verdict

The Clover POS system is a great option because it comes with everything a small business needs. It offers a complete all-in-one POS system with fairly affordable pricing, sleek hardware, tons of features, and easy-to-use software. Its app store also provides you with some of the most extensive feature options currently available on the market.

Clover offers their own payment services that are very competitive in fees with the Square POS System, a major competitor to Clover. You will need a merchant account to utilize the software and hardware. While you can purchase from independent resellers and banks, buying directly from Clover is best to avoid the middleman and any additional fees. With Square, the processing rates are slightly higher, making Clover more appealing. You can find more information in our full comparison of Clover vs Square.

We like Clover for small businesses, service-based businesses, and small to medium-sized restaurants. You’ll probably want something more robust if you have a large restaurant. It’s beneficial that they offer a fast turnaround and free overnight shipping after approval. Many companies we review can take weeks to get a system out the door to customers, but some merchants need a solution ASAP. That’s when we’ll typically recommend this solution.

Clover Station Solo or Duo is a great option for your restaurant or small business, but like any POS, we always recommend getting a demo or signing up for a trial first. If you’re looking for a Clover competitor or alternative, see our top small business picks here.

Check Prices

Top Alternatives to Clover

Square Restaurant POS
Toast POS
TouchBistro POS
Lightspeed Retail POS

FAQs about Clover