Clover Review

Clover scores a 4/5 in our in-depth POS research, coming seventh out of the 12 providers we compared. Clover offers great POS hardware and management tools but is this the right system for your business? Stay tuned for our in-depth review.

Our research team focused on several areas, including hardware, price, and usability. We know how important these categories are for businesses when choosing the right POS system.

If you want to compare other POS systems to Clover, you can use our free quote tool. By giving us a few brief details, we can match y

How Much Does Clover Cost?

Clover’s average monthly cost for its POS system is around $9.95, with its highest price point being $29.95. This pricing is fairly average for POS systems, giving Clover a pricing score of 3.4/5 in our in-depth research. Square, Zettle, and Toast are the only providers that score higher than Clover, with Square and Zettle scoring a perfect 5/5 and Toast 4.8/5.

Square and Zettle get this score because of their free POS apps, which provide core POS functions, such as reporting, inventory tools, and employee management. Square offers a comprehensive POS system than Zettle, which offers less features.

Square is a good option for small businesses because it offers free POS software with all the necessary features. However, if your business is scaling up, Clover might be a better option as it offers features on its paid plans, such as marketing tools, managing customer feedback, and built-in customer loyalty.

Clover’s hardware costs $799 to $1799 for the full kit. You can download the Clover Go app on iOS and Android devices to access the POS system from your mobile phone or tablet. You’ll need to pair it with the Clover card reader ($49) to take payments.

If you want a register stand, Clover’s Station Duo WiFi ($1799) is a comprehensive system with a register and receipt printer, suitable for retail stores and restaurants. A comparable system from a competitor would be Square’s Register ($799) which is cheaper but is only able to run Square apps which is limiting if you have other software you currently use.

If your business doesn’t need such a comprehensive system, you can opt for the Clover Mini ($749), or the Clover Flex ($499), a handheld card reader. While these are more suited to processing payments than using the POS system, they work well for startups or small businesses that might not want the chunkiness of the full system.

If you want to compare other POS providers to Clover, you can use our free quote tool. We’ll match you up with trusted suppliers that will contact you with obligation-free quotes so you can find a provider best suited to your needs.

The Pros and Cons of Clover

Pro –  Unlimited users across all plans 

Clover allows for unlimited users across all of its plans. However, our research shows that this is fairly standard practice for POS providers as some do limit the number of users. Lightspeed’s starting retail plan at $69 per month only supports up to five employees, as does Talech’s starter plan. Shopify also has limits on user access, unless you purchase the Shopify Plus plan.

Unlimited users means you won’t need to upgrade your plan as your team expands.

Pro –  Good for third-party integrations 

Clover offers good integrations for retail and restaurant specific software, making it easy to create a system suited to the needs of your business.

While it’s fairly easy to integrate third-party software, the lack of built-in solutions, such as an ecommerce store, which can be found in Square and Shopify, means that you’ll need to rely on the integration working seamlessly.

If you are looking for a free plan, Square offers both a free POS app and a free ecommerce store so you can start selling online and sync up both your online and offline orders. Square makes more sense if you’re a retailer wanting to sell online, but if you’re a restaurant or a store that only wants an informative website, you can easily get away with using an integrated website.

Con –  Poor customer support

Clover scores a 3/5 for its customer support, which is fairly average when compared with the providers in our research. While Clover offers set-up help and ongoing phone and email support, it doesn’t offer a live chat option. This is frustrating as live chat support is a handy and easy way to discuss issues or ask questions you might have without having to be on the phone, or wait for an email back.

Square, Vend, and TouchBistro all score 5/5 for customer support, as they offer email, live chat, and phone support. In addition to customer support, Square has the highest overall score of all the POS systems we compared (4.8/5), making it the best of the bunch. However, Clover offers marketing tools and employee tracking, so if you want to scale quickly with a comprehensive system, Clover is a good choice.

Con –  No inter-store transactions 

The lack of inter-store transactions means that Clover isn’t the best option for businesses with multiple locations. This is one of the reasons Clover has a low business development score in our research (3/5). It also has limited built-in inventory capabilities and more comprehensive inventory can be found through third-party integrations.

Lightspeed has a higher score for business development (4/5) and a higher score overall (4/5). Lightspeed has inter-store transactions, making it suitable for multiple locations and it comes with comprehensive inventory management. It must be noted that Lightspeed is a more expensive option, with its average software costing $129, much higher than Clover’s average of $9.95. If you only have one store, Clover’s cheaper POS software works just as well.

Clover’s key features explained

Clover Flex 

Clover Flex is a handheld POS system that allows you to take payments, orders, and track sales. You can purchase just this piece of hardware and have a complete POS system,  you can pair it with other Clover hardware, or it can be used alongside the Clover Go app on your phone or tablet.

The Flex accepts chip, swipe, and contactless payments, which is suitable for mobile businesses or businesses that want to be able to take payments and orders away from the counter, such as a bar or restaurant.

A cheaper alternative to this would be to opt for an iPad-based POS system, such as Square or Zettle. This way you won’t have to purchase new hardware and can use the software on an existing device. Another plus is that both providers offer free POS systems. Square and Zettle make sense if you’re cost-conscious, although Clover Flex includes a built-in printer, camera, and barcode scanner.

Offline payment mode 

While most of the providers in our research offer the functionality to take payments offline, with Clover, you can take payments offline for up to seven days. This is useful if you’re a mobile business, or you’re in a location that has a spotty connection.

How does Clover compare with its competitors?

Price 

Although Clover scores an above average 3.5/5 for price, its software plans are some of the lowest cost out of the providers in our research. Clover is beaten by Square and Zettle, which each score a perfect 5/5 because they both offer free POS software.

Despite its low price point, Clover is a good choice for businesses that want built-in tools, such as marketing and employee tracking, which are both only available with Square as a paid add-on. If you’re a small business, Square or Zettle are better cost-conscious options, especially Square, which offers more POS features than Zettle.

However, if you’re a business that’s looking to scale quickly, Clover’s comprehensive, built-in features make more sense as you won’t need to purchase add-ons.

Features 

Clover has capabilities for retail and restaurant industries. This is because it offers you the ability to tailor its POS software and hardware for several kinds of businesses, including full-service dining, quick-service dining, and retail stores. The tailored systems mean you can opt for a solution designed specifically for your business.

Almost all of the providers we compared in our research offer delivery support, except Vend and Zettle. Clover offers the ability to create an online ordering page for free, plus, the POS system will show you online orders on a separate screen, allowing you to organize these orders efficiently. TouchBistro offers the same delivery capacity as Clover and displays the delivery route, which is helpful if you want to be able to keep an eye on your delivery drivers.

TouchBistro is much pricier than Clover and is an iPad-based system, so does not offer any POS-specific hardware. If you want comprehensive POS hardware, Clover would be a better option.

Does Clover have good reviews?

Clover has a mix of reviews, with some users finding the system easy to use and intuitive. Other users have found that Clover can be sneaky with their fees, making it hard to cancel contracts and charge surprise fees.

Our Methodology 

Our research compared 12 different POS providers to find the best on the market. Our team researched several areas, including hardware, business management, stock management, usability, and price.

We scored each provider in the following areas:

• Hardware –  the team assessed what business type the hardware was suited to, whether it was cloud-based, if it had a training mode, and offered bill splitting and receipt customization.
• Business management – in this area we assessed how detailed the reporting is, if there was delivery support, sales forecasting, and offline mode. We also looked at the number of third-party integrations and integrated payment partners it offered.  
• Stock management – for this area, we looked at inventory management, product variants, and barcode creation and printing. 
• Usability –  this score is based on the ease of software set up, one touch till, and digital receipts. 
• Price  –  we looked at the average pricing plan, and whether or not it offers a free trial/demo and a free plan. 

The average of all of these scores is combined to make up an overall score for each provider.