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Clover POS Systems
Clover is a point of sale platform that runs on its own hardware, from a full counter station down to a card reader on a phone. We're a Clover reseller, so we set up the devices, the software and the credit card processing behind them as one job. This page is the plain version of which device does what, and who each one actually suits.
What Clover actually is
Two things at once, and it helps to separate them. Clover is hardware, a family of terminals and stations built for taking payments. It's also the software running on them, which handles the catalog, staff, reporting and whatever else you add from its app market.
The part people miss is how it's sold. Clover isn't bought direct from a website. It comes through banks and processors, which means you are underwritten and get your own merchant account, your pricing is negotiated rather than published, and the person who sells it to you is the person you call afterwards. That's the model we work in.
The device lineup
Most of the decision is just matching the device to where the payment happens. Here's the range and what each one is genuinely for.
Clover Station Duo
The full counter setup, with a merchant screen and a second customer-facing screen.
Suits: Busy counters where the customer needs to see the total, tip on screen and sign for themselves. Full-service restaurants, larger shops, anywhere with a fixed till and real throughput.
Clover Station Solo
The same full counter unit with a single screen and no customer display.
Suits: Fixed counters where the customer doesn't need their own screen, or where a separate Mini is already facing them.
A compact countertop terminal that runs the full Clover software in a small footprint.
Suits: Small counters with no room for a station, second lanes at busy times, and shops that want a complete POS without a full setup.
A handheld with a built-in printer and scanner, on wifi or cellular.
Suits: Tableside payment in restaurants, line-busting in a queue, curbside handoff, markets and service calls. The usual answer when the sale happens away from the counter.
A small card reader that pairs with a phone or tablet over Bluetooth.
Suits: Genuinely mobile work where carrying a terminal makes no sense: service calls, deliveries, an occasional market, a spare reader kept in a drawer.
Clover Kiosk
A self-order unit the customer uses themselves.
Suits: Quick-service and counter-service operations dealing with queues at peak, where taking orders off staff is worth more than the floor space.
Clover Kitchen Display
A kitchen screen that replaces printed tickets.
Suits: Kitchens where paper tickets get lost, smudged or missed, and anywhere orders arrive from more than one place at once.
Most businesses run more than one. A station at the counter and a Flex for the floor is a common pairing, and they share one catalog and one set of reports rather than behaving like two systems. Which combination suits you depends on the trade more than the brochure: the restaurants, retail, bars, grocery and contractors pages each go through what the counter actually has to do.
The three people ask for by name
Most of the questions we get about Clover are really about one of three devices. They solve different problems, so it's worth being clear about which one your business actually needs before anyone quotes you for hardware.
Clover Flex
The Clover Flex is the handheld. A card reader, a receipt printer and a barcode scanner in one unit you carry, running the same software as the counter devices rather than being a separate card machine. It runs on wifi or cellular, so it works at a table, partway down a queue, at the kerb or at a market.
The reason restaurants buy it is more mechanical than it looks. When the card is read at the table, the customer taps the tip before the payment is authorized, so the amount is final at that point and tip adjustment disappears from your week.
Everything about the Clover Flex
Clover Mini
The Clover Mini is the countertop one. It takes up roughly the space of a card terminal but runs the full Clover software, with a receipt printer built in and a screen that swivels so the customer can tip and sign themselves. It takes a cash drawer, a scanner and a kitchen printer, which is what makes it a real till rather than a payment device.
It does two jobs: the whole POS for a small counter, or the customer-facing screen beside a bigger station.
Everything about the Clover Mini
Clover Go
The Clover Go is the pocket one. It's a card reader that pairs to a phone or tablet over Bluetooth, taking tap, chip and swipe, with the app on your own device doing the screen, the tip and the receipt. There's no printer and no scanner, which is the trade for the size.
It suits work that happens away from any building at all: a service call, a delivery, a few markets a year. Plenty of counters also keep one in a drawer as a backup for the day the main terminal fails.
Everything about the Clover Go
Which one
If the sale happens at the counter, that's a Mini. If it happens away from the counter and you need a receipt printed, that's a Flex. If you just need to take a card with nothing else attached, that's a Go. More than one is normal: they share a catalog and a set of reports, so it stays one system however many you run.
Software and the app market
The base software covers what most businesses need day to day: items and categories, staff logins and permissions, discounts, refunds, tipping, and reporting on what sold and when. Restaurant setups add open checks, coursing and splitting. Retail setups lean on barcodes and stock.
Beyond that, Clover extends through an app market, which is where a lot of the trade-specific functionality lives, from deeper inventory to scheduling to accounting links. That's a genuine strength and also the thing to check carefully. If your business depends on one particular capability, confirm the app exists, what it costs and who supports it before you commit, rather than assuming the platform covers it.
How we set it up
The hardware is the last decision, not the first. We start with your current processing statement and how you actually sell, because that tells us what the setup has to do before anyone talks about devices.
- Go through your statement line by line and work out what you pay today, including the charges that aren't processing at all. That part has its own page: the free statement review.
- Look at how you sell: where the payment happens, how many lanes you need at your busiest, what the staff have to do quickly.
- Recommend a configuration, including the case for a different platform if that's the better fit.
- Set it up with your catalog, your staff logins and your printer and drawer working before you open with it.
- Stay reachable afterwards, when the real questions turn up.
When Clover isn't the right answer
Worth saying plainly, because a reseller who claims their product fits everyone isn't worth listening to.
- If you need to take a card this afternoon. A merchant account takes an application. A platform that onboards in minutes will get you trading sooner.
- If you're testing whether the business works at all. At very low volume, simplicity beats a negotiated rate, and there's no sense committing to hardware yet.
- If you need one specific integration. Check it exists in the app market first. If it doesn't and it's central to how you run, that answers the question.
If you're still working out what you need rather than which brand, the POS systems for small business guide covers that question without a platform attached.
We also set businesses up on Square, so if one of those is you, we'll say so. The Clover vs Square guide is the longer version of that comparison.
Common questions
How much does a Clover system cost?
It depends on the configuration and on who sells it to you, which is why you won't find a single published price. The hardware you need, the software tier, and the processing rate are all part of one deal, and Clover is sold through processors rather than direct, so the same device can come with quite different terms. Ask for the whole picture rather than a device price, and ask us and we'll put your numbers together on a short call.
Can I move Clover hardware to a different processor later?
Usually not. Clover devices are generally tied to the processor that provisioned them, so an identical-looking unit bought elsewhere may not run on your account, and changing processors can mean buying the equipment again. This is worth asking about before you buy, from anyone selling you one, and worth getting in writing.
Do I need a merchant account for Clover?
Yes, and that's one of the real differences between Clover and the sign-up-in-minutes platforms. You're underwritten before you start and you get your own merchant account rather than sitting under a shared one. Setup takes a little longer, and the account is generally steadier once it's running.
Can I start with one device and add more?
Yes, and most businesses do. A common path is a single station or Mini at the counter, then a Flex added later for tableside or a second lane at busy times. Worth saying what you expect to add when you set the first one up, so the configuration doesn't have to be unpicked to do it.
What happens if the internet goes down?
Clover devices have an offline mode that stores card transactions and forwards them when the connection returns, within limits, and the limits are the part to ask about. If your building has known dead spots or your connection is unreliable, raise it while you're choosing hardware rather than finding out on a Saturday.
Is Clover better than Square?
Neither is simply better. They are sold differently, which is the honest difference: Square onboards you in minutes under its own account with published rates, Clover is sold through a processor with your own merchant account and negotiated pricing. We set businesses up on both, so we have no reason to push one. The Clover vs Square guide sets out where each tends to fit.
Payments handled safely
Your customers' card information is always protected. We follow PCI DSS security standards, the same rules the major card companies require, so every payment is handled safely.