Clover Station POS

Highlights:

• Easy to set up

• Easy to use

• Competitive pricing available

• Aesthetic appeal

• Large, easy-to-read touchscreen

• Adaptable

Overview:

Clover Station is an uncommon cloud-based point of sale platform. By uniting a robust POS system with a printer, cash register, and terminal, this product actually replaces the need for traditional supplementary hardware.

On its own, this POS has only basic functionality, but when supplemented with apps from Clover’s App Marketplace, Clover Station becomes a powerful tool that enables you to manage employees and customers, track inventory, create and view reports, and monitor your revenue stream. Most of these apps are free or can be purchased for a small fee. The result is that Clover Station is adaptable to many different kinds of industries. In short, it can be whatever you want it to be.

Clover was acquired in 2012 by one of the biggest players in the credit card processing industry, First Data Corporation. Given that fact, I suppose it isn’t particularly surprising that Clover Station (and other Clover products, including Clover Mini and Clover Mobile) is always sold in conjunction with a merchant account. In 2013, Bank of America Merchant Services was the first company other than First Data to offer Clover products to its customer base, followed by PNC Merchant Services. Currently, you can buy Clover Station through over 3,000 major banks in the US, including Citibank, SunTrust, and Wells Fargo. It’s also possible to purchase Clover products from small business suppliers like Sam’s Club, Restaurant Depot, or from independent providers of merchant services like First Data’s Ignite Payments division.

Unlike iPad-based POS systems, Clover Station updates automatically and is not “vulnerable to the whims of more consumer-oriented operating system updates.” To those of us who have suffered from the sometimes unfathomable caprice of iOS devices, this might seem like a breath of fresh air.

At first glance, Clover Station seems like an ideal POS solution – it’s flexible, feature-rich, and functional. But customer feedback has grown increasingly negative over the years, mostly due to the unsavory reputation of First Data. Is Clover Station worth the risk? Read on to find out!

Price:

As I mentioned in the overview, Clover Station differs from other POS systems in the way it’s marketed and sold. It must be sold with a merchant account, so instead of being available from one location for one set price, it can be bought from thousands of different banks, business suppliers, and merchant services providers, each one offering different swipe fees and hardware costs.

By all accounts, the cost of Clover Station itself does not vary much. From most of the major banks that carry it, and from First Data itself, you can buy each terminal and the accompanying hardware for around $1,000; some institutions even offer the option of leasing equipment. Credit card processing rates and swipe fees are another matter entirely and can range from 0.30% + 5¢ to 2.5% + 15¢ or higher, depending on the bank. Some locations may actually offer flat-rate processing fees. In general, the rate you receive will probably depend a lot on your own credit rating and the sales volume of your business. Those of you who have an existing business banking account may be best served by checking with your own bank to see if it offers Clover Station, or you can find authorized Clover Station vendors in your area. It’s possible to buy the POS outright, of course, but most vendors also offer in-house financing. You may be able to qualify for a loan or cash advance as well.

Cloud-Based or Locally-Installed:

Clover Station is cloud-based and stores your information in the cloud. However, if online services are down, the software can continue to function for a time, queuing up transactions until the internet is restored.

Specific Industry:

Clover Station is best for restaurants–both quick service and full-service–and specialty retails stores. It can also be used for service businesses (like hair/nail salons) or for businesses in the hospitality industry (hotels, motels, resorts, etc.).

Specific Size of Business:

Clover Station is best for small to mid-sized businesses.

Ease of Use:

No-Hassle Set Up

I can assure you from my own personal observations, as well as general consensus from users, that Clover Station is easy to use and even easier to set up. It arrives nearly ready-to-go (with a preloaded menu), and there are only a few pieces to assemble. Click here for a detailed run-down of the entire set-up process.

Short Learning Curve

As you can see from the image below, Clover Station’s design is intuitive and resembles a typical computer screen or smartphone device. Depending on what functions you want, there are various apps on the screen which you can open with a touch of your finger.

Employees should be able to pick up everything they need to know about Clover Station after 15-20 minutes of basic training. Most of the apps (at least the most common – reporting, inventory, customers, etc.) are self-explanatory and clearly labeled. The nice thing about a truly all-in-one POS solution, like Clover Station, is that all of the hardware works together naturally. For many business owners, Clover really takes the guesswork out of things.