Clover POS Review

• Clover is our pick for the best POS hardware options because its wide range of hardware tools creates a versatile POS system.
• Clover allows businesses to do more than just accept payments; you can also manage customer and employee information, offer online ordering, and run reports. 
• Clover lists its pricing on its website, but it can be a bit confusing; you'll likely need to speak to a customer service agent to learn more. 
• This review is for small business owners looking for a POS system that offers a wide range of POS hardware options like Clover does.

Source: Clover

Clover is a versatile point-of-sale (POS) system that provides a wide range of hardware options. It also integrates with more than 300 software applications so that you can create a solution that's customized to your business. This versatility makes Clover an impressive all-in-one solution for growing businesses. In particular, Clover offers many features that restaurant owners need, like online ordering and contactless payments.

Clover's Editor's Score: 89/100

Why Clover Is Best for Hardware

Source: Clover

Clover really stands out thanks to its four high-quality hardware options. 

• Clover Go: The Clover Go is a lightweight card reader that allows you to accept payments anywhere. This is helpful for retail businesses and restaurants, where staff may need to assist customers and take payments from various locations throughout the store. The Clover Go shows all open, pending and completed transactions, and you can view additional items relevant to your business, like discounts or tips. The technology is encrypted, so your business's data and customer information remain safe. You can purchase the Clover Go on its own or in addition to one of the other Clover systems.
  
  
• Clover Flex: The Clover Flex is also a handheld device that allows you to accept payments from anywhere in a store. In addition to using the Clover Flex to track your sales, you can process customer refunds and manage inventory. You can purchase the Clover Flex on its own for a one-time fee or as an add-on to the Clover Station.
  
  
• Clover Mini: The Clover Mini gives you the capabilities of a full POS system in a small, handheld device. You can use the Clover Mini to run payroll, manage your staff and keep track of inventory. You can pay for the device in full upfront or over three monthly payments.
  
  
• Clover Station: The Clover Station is the best option for any business that needs a way to accept payments, run POS reports, offer customer loyalty options and schedule staff. You can purchase the Clover Station or upgrade to the Station Pro for a one-time fee. The Station Pro comes with additional capabilities, like offering contactless payments and accepting tips from guests.

Key takeaway: Clover provides all of the basic hardware you need for your daily business operations, as well as functional and intuitive software. Best of all, you can mix and match both the hardware and the software to customize a system specifically for your business.

Source: Clover

Pros

• We love the wide variety of well-designed hardware options. 
• The hardware is intuitive and easy to set up right out of the box.
• Its payment processing rates are competitive.

Cons

• The pricing listed on Clover's website can be hard to understand.
• You'll have to speak with a sales rep to sign up for Clover's POS system.

Usability

One of the advantages of using Clover is how user-friendly the POS system is. The software is fairly intuitive and easy to set up, and it becomes even more useful when you combine it with the Clover App Market. 

You can use the system to manage your customers and employees, set up your menu, and monitor your sales. Clover's virtual terminal allows you to accept customer payments without purchasing any hardware. However, if you're interested in Clover's hardware, it's equally functional and easy to use. Clover's POS devices work well independently or together. Plus, the hardware integrates with third-party software, increasing its functionality.

Features

Clover specializes in working with service providers, restaurants and retail locations. For instance, the company offers many POS features restaurants need, like online ordering and contactless payments.

Point of Sale

Clover provides the hardware and software you need to take orders and accept payments from customers. The software has cloud-based storage so that you can access your data anywhere. We appreciate that Clover also offers accessories such as barcode scanners, a cash drawer and a weight scale for added functionality.

Reporting

Clover allows you to track real-time data about your business from one easy-to-access dashboard. The company provides a mobile dashboard, where you can review your sales, identify top-performing locations and stay on top of customer refunds. The software also integrates with dozens of popular third-party apps.

Employee Management

Your employees are the life of your business, which is why you need the right software to manage your staff. With the Clover POS, you can create employee schedules, manage time-off requests and reward your workers with customizable tip screens. You can also use the software to track how many hours your employees work, set up employee benefits and easily run payroll. [Prefer a separate payroll system? Check out the best payroll services.]

Online Ordering

Increasingly, customers prefer online ordering to in-person dining, so it's important for restaurants to provide both options. With Clover, you can create a digital menu that guests can easily scroll through. We really like that any changes you make to your menu options will automatically show up on your online ordering page, which will help eliminate errors and confusion. Once a guest has placed their order, they can schedule it for curbside pickup. Clover doesn't charge any fees for its online ordering options, which is a big plus. 

Customer Management

In addition to providing tools for managing your business and your employees, Clover gives you a way to manage the relationship with your customers with CRM metrics. Building customer loyalty is important for any business, and you can use Clover's Customer Engagement suite to do the following:

• Contact your customers directly.
• Send promotional offers.
• Offer customer loyalty rewards.
• Solicit feedback from your guests.

You can also use the software to send physical or digital gift cards and choose from over 70 premade templates, which is a fun option. Customers can buy gift cards and redeem them directly through their smartphone.

Invoicing

Many reviews discuss how Clover helps restaurants and e-commerce businesses, but the POS system is also a good option for service-based businesses. You can use the software to generate invoices and track customer payments. And if you need a more comprehensive solution, you can integrate Clover with other accounting software. [Here are our top picks for accounting software.]

Cost

Source: Clover

If you want to give Clover a try, you can take advantage of its 30-day free trial. The company's pricing breaks down into three categories. 

• Credit card processing fees: Clover charges 2.3% + $0.10 for in-person transactions, and 3.5% + $0.10 for card-not-present transactions.
  
  
• Monthly fees: Depending on the plan you choose, Clover's monthly fees range from $14.95 to $94.85.
  
  
• Hardware costs: The pricing on Clover's hardware depends on which options you select and how you bundle the hardware. Right now, you can receive a $450 credit if you buy the Station, Mini or Flex. Be sure to ask your sales representative about this credit when purchasing your hardware.

Once you sign up, you can choose from three plans: the starter, standard and advanced plans. Clover offers a wide range of software and hardware options for each plan, and the costs vary depending on your industry and how many add-on features you select.

For instance, if you're using Clover to operate a full-service restaurant, the plans start at $1,349 plus $74.95 per month. Whereas if you run a professional services business, pricing starts at $499 plus $14.95 per month. 

Setup

Source: Clover

To get started with Clover, you'll need to contact a sales rep, who will help you determine the plan that's best for your business. One of the advantages of using Clover is that you can start with the devices you need and easily add more later. 

Setting up your new Clover hardware is fairly simple and should take only a few minutes. You'll start by activating your device, which you can do by following the PDF the company provides on its website for each device. If you run into any issues, you can log in to your account and receive personalized support. [Learn more about setting up a POS system.]

Customer Service

Reviews of Clover's customer service are mostly positive; most customers seem to have an overall good experience with the company. The provider offers phone support for customers on all of its monthly plans. 

Drawbacks

The biggest drawback of Clover's POS is that it requires the use of Clover-branded hardware and doesn't work with third-party options. Although Clover's hardware options are extensive and the equipment is high quality, the fact that it won't integrate with non-Clover hardware could be a problem for some business owners. 

In addition, Clover's pricing can be a bit difficult to understand. All of its plans are listed on its website, but because their costs vary by industry, you may need to speak to a sales rep to learn more. 

Tip: If you have a lot of third-party hardware that still works, consider choosing a POS system that is compatible with your existing POS hardware.

Methodology

We attended an hourlong demo with the Clover team and compared the service to more than a dozen other POS systems. This research helped us see where Clover stands out and where it could stand to improve. Check out all of our recommendations for the best POS systems.

FAQs

How much does Clover cost?

Clover's fees range from $14.95 to $94.85 per month. You'll also have to purchase the hardware you need and pay credit card processing fees. 

Clover's base rate is 2.3% + $0.10 for in-person transactions, and 3.5% + $0.10 for card-not-present transactions. However, your fees may be higher depending on the software plan you choose.

What are Clover's hardware options?

Clover offers four main hardware options: the Clover Go, Mini, Flex and Station. 

• Go: The Clover Go is a mobile credit card reader that comes with a user-friendly design and cross-platform support. When paired with the Clover app, you can use the Go to accept payments from anywhere.  
  
  
• Mini: The Clover Mini is a portable way to accept payments, but it does much more than that. You can use the Mini to keep track of inventory, manage your customers and employees, and run reports. 
  
  
• Flex: The Clover Flex is a handheld device that accepts payments and tracks your sales. It comes with end-to-end encryption and fingerprint logins, so you know your data is secure.  
  
  
• Station: The Station is Clover's full POS system. Restaurants can use it to split checks, create customer orders and accept gift card payments. 

How many apps does Clover integrate with?

One of the benefits of using Clover is that you have access to the Clover App Market. It has more than 300 integrations with a variety of services businesses need, like accounting, payroll and employee management apps. 

Overall Value

We recommend Clover for …

• Small and midsize businesses.
• E-commerce businesses and restaurants.
• Any business looking for top-notch POS hardware options.
• Merchants seeking competitive payment processing rates.

We don't recommend Clover for …

• Businesses looking for free software options.
• Businesses that want to use more than one payment processing company.