Clover Station POS Review: Is The Clover Station The Right Choice For Your Small Business?

Pros

• All-in-one POS hardware/software provider
• Easy to set up
• Customizable feature set
• Intuitive user interface

Cons

• Confusing and expensive pricing
• Potential for scams
• No built-in contactless card/mobile wallet reader

What Is Clover Station?

Clover Station is point of sale (POS) hardware that allows you to take payments and manage inventory using Clover POS software. The Clover Station comes with a 14″ screen, cash drawer, receipt printer, and depending on your model, a second Clover device that works as a customer-facing display.

Clover Station Pricing

Clover Station pricing is not as straightforward as other POS hardware, for a few reasons:

• Clover hardware only works with Clover software (so you can’t bring your own iPad like you can with other providers such as Shopify and Square)
• There are many different places you can purchase Clover hardware from
• You have to sign up for a merchant account (and get custom payment processing rates) from the same merchant services provider you get your Clover hardware from

The following pricing plans are only for merchants who get their Clover hardware from Clover.com.

Clover Station Hardware Pricing

Clover now offers “pay monthly” pricing, which is essentially a way to charge you for leasing both Clover hardware and software. We generally don’t recommend leasing hardware. Instead, consider financing equipment, so that you’ll pay less per month and actually own your hardware.

There’s also a “pay in full” plan. With this plan, you pay for your hardware upfront and pay less in monthly fees.

Clover Station Solo Pricing

If you pay monthly for your Clover Solo hardware and software, you have the following options:

• Retail And Services: $120/month
• Full-Service Dining: $150/month

If you pay upfront, the Clover Station Solo costs $1,349, and you’ll pay these monthly software fees:

• Retail And Services: $44.95/month
• Full-Service Dining: $74.95/month

You can only purchase certain software plans when you purchase a Clover Station Solo. For example, the Counter Service Restaurants plans only come with a Clover Mini or Clover Station Duo.

There is an option to add a Clover Station Solo to your plan, but if you only want one piece of hardware, the above plans are your only options.

Clover Station Duo Pricing

Merchants who pay monthly for their Clover hardware will pay the following monthly fees to use the Clover Station Duo and Clover software:

• Retail, Services, And Quick Service Dining: $130/month

If you pay upfront, the Clover Station Duo costs $1,799 and you’ll pay the following monthly fees to use Clover software:

• Retail, Services, And Quick Service Dining: $44.95/month

Clover Station Extra Costs & Fees

These are some of the biggest extra pricing factors to keep in mind when purchasing your Clover Station.

Additional Clover Hardware & Accessories

Depending on your Clover software plan, you can add any of these additional Clover devices:

• Clover Go: $49; card reader to accept mobile wallet and contactless card payments (absolutely necessary if you purchase a Clover Station Solo)
• Clover Flex: $499; Wi-Fi-enabled handheld POS device for restaurants
• Clover Mini: $799; compact countertop POS system with a built-in receipt printer (comes built into the Clover Station Duo)
• Kitchen Printer: $359
• Barcode Scanner: $199
• Weight Scale: $499

The above prices are for merchants who purchase Clover hardware from Clover.com.

You can also purchase additional Clover Stations, receipt printers, and cash drawers if needed.

Payment Processing

Payment processing can also get confusing, as your rates will change depending on where you get your Clover hardware from.

Clover advertises the following payment processing rates for merchants who sign on with Clover (and the parent company that provides merchant services, Fiserv):

• Card-Present Transactions: 2.3%-2.6% plus $0.10 flat fee
• Card-Not-Present Transactions: 3.5% plus $0.10 flat fee

Card-not-present transactions include online transactions, phone orders, third-party apps, and keyed-in card payments. This is a relatively steep fee, so try to limit the number of cardless transactions you take.

You may get better payment processing rates with a different merchant services provider, but there may also be hidden fees and penalties, so make sure to read your merchant agreement very carefully before signing.

Also, consider shopping around for different processing rates, that way you can negotiate with different providers.

Clover Apps

Many Clover App Market apps are free, but others will cost an extra monthly fee. Most merchants need to download at least a few apps from the market to give their Clover software the full functionality they need, but be mindful of costs when choosing which apps to install.

No matter where you get your hardware from, you’ll pay for Clover apps through the Clover App Market.

Overall Design

The Clover Station is split into two different models: the Clover Station Solo and Clover Station Duo.

Both models come with a study, white-and-chrome countertop POS setup that includes a 14″ touchscreen display, receipt printer, cash drawer, built-in barcode scanner, and thumbprint employee login reader.

The main differences between the two are how customers see and pay for orders, as well as connectivity.

The Clover Station Solo screen has a built-in swipe/chip card reader and tilts towards customers so they can review orders, add tips, enter a signature, and more when it’s time to pay.

The Clover Station Solo model cannot take contactless cards and digital payments such as mobile wallet payments on its own. You’d need to attach another piece of Clover hardware that has a built-in contactless card reader (such as the Clover Go) to your Clover Station Solo. This is a huge drawback of the most recent Clover Station Solo model.

On the plus side, Clover Station Solo devices can connect to the cloud via Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and 4G/LTE, which gives your Clover POS hardware more mobility and faster runtimes.

The Clover Station Duo screen is stationary, as the setup comes with an attached Clover Mini that acts as a customer-facing display, card reader, and NFC payments reader. The NFC (near field communications) reader allows you to take payment types like Google Pay and Apple Pay, and use the “tap-to-pay” function that many credit cards now have.

In general, the Clover Station is built for retail, food, and service-based businesses with a physical location, a sizeable countertop, and consistent WiFi access.

You can add a Clover Flex to your POS hardware arsenal to take food orders at patrons’ tables, take payments on-location if you work outside of a physical location, or take payments outside of your establishment to cut down on lines.

Business owners that are mobile-first, such as independent stylists and in-home construction business owners, will find that the Clover Flex or Clover Go is the best hardware for them.

Merchants with a physical location and less countertop space, such as food truck owners and coffee shop owners that have goodies taking up most of the countertop real estate, may benefit most from purchasing a compact Clover Mini to save space.

Clover Station Device Specs

Clover Station Solo Specs

The standard Clover Station Solo setup contains the following elements:

• Screen: Tiltable 14″ touchscreen display (1920 x 1080 resolution) with fingerprint reader and credit card terminal
• Payment Types: Chip and swipe card payments
• Weight: 7.6 lbs (POS and connector hub)
• Camera: One front-facing for scanning 1D and 2D barcodes in either orientation
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi, 4G LTE, and Ethernet
• Battery Life (Unplugged): Up to four hours of typical use
• Receipt Printer: High-speed thermal dot printer
• Cash Drawer: Steel drawer with a bill tray, coin tray, two keys, and a cable
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor
• Operating system: Clover’s hardened version of Android 10.0 (API Level 29, Q)

Clover Station Duo Specs

The Station Duo’s specs are very similar but differ in a few areas:

• Screen (Merchant Side): 14″ fixed merchant-facing display (1920 x 1080 resolution) with fingerprint reader
• Screen (Customer-Facing Display): 8″ touchscreen (1280 x 800 resolution) and payment terminal (contactless and chip/swipe card reader)
• Payment Types: Chip, swipe, contactless card, digital wallet, payment apps such as PayPal and Venmo
• Weight: 22.8 lbs (entire hardware bundle)
• Cameras: Five-megapixel cameras on both displays for 1D and 2D barcode scanning
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi and Ethernet
• Battery Life (Unplugged): None
• Cameras: 5MP on both displays for 1D and 2D barcode scanning
• Receipt Printer: High-speed thermal dot printer
• Cash Drawer: Steel drawer with a bill tray, coin tray, two keys, and a cable
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor
• Operating System: Clover’s hardened version of Android 8.1 (API Level 27, Oreo), upgradable to Android 10.0 (API Level 29)

Getting Started With Clover Station

What’s In The Box

Clover Station Duo POS Bundle

• Clover Station display screen
• Clover Mini screen (i.e. the customer-facing display and payment terminal)
• Receipt printer
• Cash drawer
• Connectivity hub with four Type A USB ports, one Ethernet port, and two cash drawer ports
• USB cable
• Power brick
• Power cord
• Receipt printer paper
• Pin shield (select regions)
• Screwdriver

Whether you choose the Clover Station Solo or the Clover Station Duo, your POS will be super easy to set up without any professional assistance. Simply unpack the components, plug them in, and insert the receipt paper per the included instructions, and you’ll be ready to power up and activate your device.

After all your components are connected, hold the power button at the bottom of the merchant screen until the Clover logo appears. Then you’ll be prompted to select your language, enter your WiFi info, and punch in your activation code (which you should have received from Clover or your Clover merchant services provider).

You’ll also be prompted to add your fingerprint for logging in, and that’s all there is to it.

You’ll see all of your preloaded apps (which are dependent on the software plan you choose) and be able to customize your device settings, add employee fingerprints and permissions, set up your rewards program, and download additional apps.

You also have the option to connect other Clover Station accessories, such as a barcode scanner, kitchen printer, weight scale, or Bluetooth components.

Software Design & Features

While most Clover hardware offers the same software features, the Clover Station offers the most functionality and can serve as a centralized hub for you to connect with a number of other Clover devices.

Here’s a quick rundown of Clover Station’s software features.

You can read more about Clover software features in our full Clover POS System review.

Clover App Market

Most of Clover’s power comes from its extensive online app market, which allows you to install Clover-made and third-party software to fill in whatever feature gaps the out-of-the-box Clover system has.

The majority of business owners will find themselves downloading apps from the Clover App Market, but many of the apps are not free. So, be mindful of costs before you end up paying more monthly fees than you ever anticipated.

Types Of Payments Accepted With Clover Station

As mentioned, the Clover Station Solo can only accept swipe and chip card payments on its own, and you’ll have to connect a Clover device with a built-in contactless card reader to take digital payment types.

You can take digital and physical gift cards, cash, checks, online orders, and phone orders with the Clover Station Solo model.

The Clover Station Duo, on the other hand, can accept every payment type that the Solo can, as well as tap-to-pay contactless card payments, EBT cards, PayPal, Venmo, and digital/physical gift cards.

Note: Clover charges a higher payment processing fee for card-not-present and manually keyed-in card numbers. This includes online orders. Be mindful of this when considering what ordering channels to work with.

Selling On Multiple Sales Channels With Clover Station

With Clover POS software, you can:

• Create a free online ordering page that’s hosted by Clover and tie it to your social media profiles, Google business profile, and anywhere else you can drop a URL
• Add Clover POS software to a website you already own
• Offer pay ahead, takeout, delivery, and BOPIS (buy online, pickup in-store) options
• Set up recurring invoicing and automated payments (great for selling subscriptions and B2B transactions)
• Take phone orders with the phone app, which can be found in the Clover App Market

Right now, Clover doesn’t connect to social media channels to engage in social media selling.

Inventory Management

Your inventory management needs will depend on your particular business type, which is why Clover has differentiated its inventory management features based on industry.

Retail, home services, personal services, and professional services businesses can all access the following inventory management features (dependent on your monthly software subscription plan):

• Item and category management
• Stock tracking by item
• Itemized order creation
• Item variants
• Itemized returns and exchanges (higher-level plans only)
• Order or item-level discounts
• Bulk item editing

Retail and personal services businesses can integrate a scale to sell by weight, and get cost tracking by item reports.

Quick-serve and full-service restaurant subscriptions have the following inventory management features (dependent on plan level):

• Item and category management
• Color-coded item categories
• Stock tracking and marking “sold out” by item
• Conversational and preset order modifiers
• Third-party ordering app integrations and stock tracking
• Order or item-level discounts
• Cost tracking by item

You may enter and track an unlimited number of items. You may also install a third-party inventory management app on your Clover system if you like.

Customer Engagement

You can offer a loyalty program, sell gift cards, create promotions, take private feedback, and create a customer database for marketing purposes.

Note: If it doesn’t seem like your software plan doesn’t come with customer engagement features and you have to upgrade, you don’t. You can download all customer engagement apps for free, no matter which software plan you’re on.

You can also find a different, potentially better customer engagement app in the Clover App Market.

Employee Management With Clover Station

Clover Station includes a decent set of employee management features, including individual logins and permissions and shift management.

You can also have employees sign in using Clover Station’s fingerprint scanner, an employee PIN, or employee access swipe cards.

In general, Clover doesn’t have incredibly advanced team management features. For example, you can’t set an employee clock-in/clock-out function, use tip pooling, or generate payroll reports.

If you need more employee management features than Clover can offer, you can install an app such as Gusto or Homebase.

Clover Station Restaurant Features

Clover offers one software plan geared toward quick-serve restaurants, and one toward full-service restaurants.

Both restaurant plans include the following restaurant-specific features:

• Remote order firing
• Tableside ordering and QR code payments
• Online orders for pickup and delivery
• Menu management by ordering method (online, dine-in, takeout order types)
• Built-in Grubhub and Order With Google integrations
• Tipping
• Kitchen printer (available paid accessory)

The full-service software plan also includes table planning, bill splitting, card pre-authorizations (so that customers can start their own tab), and tableside ordering/firing.

Is Clover Station Easy To Use?

Clover Station hardware and accompanying Clover software are incredibly easy to set up and use. Everything is self-explanatory, from installation to customizing your system to ringing up customers.

Anyone who has ever used a smartphone or tablet could operate this system.

And just in case there’s something you don’t understand, the Clover Station apps also include tutorials on each function. On the home screen, there is also a “Call Me” button you can use to call customer service.

Customer Service & Support

With Clover, you’ll have three different parties you’ll need to reach out to for support: your merchant services provider, Clover itself, and any third-party app developers.

Your merchant services provider support can vary wildly depending on what company you decide to work with. This is why it’s very important to read up on a potential provider’s reviews. You really don’t want a low-quality support team if you have any financial issues.

Clover will be the company to reach out to for any hardware/software questions and offers 24/7 phone support (although many merchants report long call wait times and excessive call transferring.) Existing Clover merchants have a dedicated phone support number, which can be found on all Clover devices.

Existing merchants have a tailored knowledge base in their Clover dashboard. The knowledge base includes articles for the specific Clover software plan and devices you have.

All third-party apps have developer contact info in the app description on the Clover App Market.

Clover Station User Reviews

Negative Clover Station Reviews & Complaints

• Bad Customer Service: Many Clover users report long phone wait times, misleading customer service representatives, and unresolved issues.
• Scams: Many merchants who buy Clover devices end up with hidden fees, locked into long contracts with huge early termination fees, and/or paying more for payment processing than they need to.
• Expensive, Hard To Replace Hardware: The Clover Station hardware is more expensive than comparable systems from competitors such as Square. Since Clover hardware is proprietary and must be sold with a merchant account, if you have an issue with it, it’s not as easy to replace as going out and buying a new iPad or a standard card reader.
• Basic Features: Since Clover only offers basic functionality out of the box, you’ll have to pair your system with third-party apps to add features, which can increase your total monthly spending. Even worse, these integrated apps may not always work properly.

Positive Clover Station Reviews & Testimonials

• Stylish, Modern Hardware: The Clover Station is as fashionable as it is functional. Another plus is that the hardware is modular and connects seamlessly with other Clover devices, such as the Mini and the Flex.
• Easy To Use: The Clover Station hardware is easy to place, and the software is equally easy to learn.
• All-Inclusive Services: Clover Station includes everything you need to start selling. Users who buy from Clover directly appreciate having a single provider for all their hardware, software, and payment processing needs.

Final Verdict Of Clover Station

Compared to other Clover devices, the Clover Station is the largest and most advanced system Clover offers, particularly if you opt for the Clover Station Duo.

Clover software, which is required to use with Clover hardware, has a lot of potential for users in many different industries. This is because of the extensive Clover App Market available to Clover users.

However, a heavy reliance on third-party apps could get tedious and expensive for many business owners.

Also, there are many Clover scams out there you’ll have to watch out for. You can avoid these scams by purchasing Clover hardware from these best Clover resellers.

You have to take into consideration Clover’s poor customer service reviews, as well. If you’re the kind of person who can generally figure things out on their own, or doesn’t need their Clover device to do a lot of different things, great customer service won’t matter as much for you.

In general, the Clover Station is a relatively large investment that may not be worth it for smaller businesses, but if you have a physical location and a good bit of counter space, getting the Clover Station (more the Clover Station Duo as opposed to the Solo model) could be money well spent.

If you decide that Clover is not for you, read our post on the best Clover POS alternatives to find POS hardware and software that’s right for your business.

Related: This is how to choose a merchant services provider that offers fair contracts and won’t leave you locked into long-term contracts or hit with a lot of hidden fees.

Clover Station FAQs

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

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After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Clover Station for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Clover Station	Visit Site

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Clover Station for yourself.