So, you’re in the market for a new (or upgraded) POS system for your coffee shop.
That means you’ve probably read every “Best POS System” article on the Internet, deep-dived on every Reddit thread for coffee shop owners, and landed yourself in a debate between the market’s two most popular options:
Clover vs Square.
In this blog, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about the Clover vs Square POS system debate, from each platform’s ease of use and hardware options to their loyalty and analytics capabilities.
Let’s get into it.
Clover vs Square: At a Glance
| Clover | Square | |
| Ease of Use | 3 simple steps to set up + intuitive, easy-to-use interface | 3 simple steps to set up + intuitive, easy-to-use interface |
| Hardware | Clover hardware only | Option of Square hardware or third-party compatible hardware |
| Ordering Experience and Speed | Quick, easy ordering & integration capabilities for faster service (i.e., KDS) | Quick, easy ordering & integration capabilities for faster service (i.e., KDS) |
| Loyalty Programs | Third-party integrations available | Third-party integrations available & Square Loyalty |
| Reporting and Analytics | Real-time insights, aggregated data, & end-of-day reports | Real-time insight, up-to-the-minute reporting, & daily insights summaries |
| Monthly Pricing | No set-up fees, monthly fees starting at 35 USD/month | No set-up fees, no monthly fees |
| Associated Costs | Hardware starting at 49 USD | Hardware starting at 59 USD |
| Processing Fees | Starting at 2.3% + 0.10 USD per transaction | Starting at 2.6% + 0.15 USD per transaction |
| Best For | Big, more complex coffee shop set-ups | Smaller coffee shops with one or two locations |
Clover vs Square: Feature Comparison for Coffee Shops
Ease of Use and Setup
Clover
With Clover, you can get your POS system up and running in just three steps:
- Activate your Clover account
- Set up your coffee shop’s space
- Activate your device(s) once they arrive
Once Clover ships everything to your coffee shop, you can set up everything in just a few minutes with help from their Quick Start Guides and Merchant Services team.
Then, it’s time to learn how to use your new POS system… which is super easy, too. Clover’s POS system has an intuitive interface that’s quick to pick up, but if you need more help, they’ve also got video tutorials on their YouTube channel and help articles!
Square
With Square, the POS system process is just as easy, with the same few steps to get started:
- Sign up for a Square account
- Download Square POS and activate the Restaurant POS software
- Link to your existing countertop POS device (or buy one from Square)
Square also has an intuitive POS system that’s simple to use, especially with its “food and beverage modes” designed especially for coffee shops and restaurants.
And, if you need a bit more help? Square Support has hundreds of help articles on every topic you can think of, and their Support team is ready and able to jump in, too. Plus, Square also has a Community for crowdsourced help and tips from business owners who have been in your shoes before.
Hardware Flexibility
Clover
Your coffee shop can completely customize what Clover hardware you choose, a process made even easier with their package builder. Select the features you need, the hardware you want, and the plan that ties it all together. Clover also has a range of accessories and apps that seamlessly integrate with their POS system, adding another layer of customization possibilities.
But while Clover’s hardware features are flexible, the hardware itself is not. If you want to use Clover POS with hardware, you need to use their hardware — you can’t use any third-party accessories or devices. However, if you’re okay with having no hardware in your coffee shop, you can still use Clover POS on a mobile phone or tablet.
Square
You can also customize your coffee shop’s Square POS system based on your needs and your customers’ preferences. You can use your Square app for in-person sales, add a Square reader for on-the-go sales, or set up Square’s invoicing for online payments. Square App Marketplace also has hundreds of app integrations that mean you can customize your Square POS system even more, adding the tools you already know and love to your new system.
And the icing on the Square POS system cake? You don’t have to use their hardware. Square POS is “compatible with a wide variety of third-party hardware accessories,” so you have the option to use what you have instead of buying brand-new stuff.
Ordering Experience and Speed
Clover
Clover POS has tons of features that’ll help your coffee shop ramp up its transaction and prep speeds while lowering wait times, too. With “swipe, chip, and tap payments,” Clover POS enables your customers to pay for their orders quickly, keeping lines moving and orders coming through to the kitchen. And, with the addition of a Clover KDS, you can streamline (and speed up!) the connection between front- and back-of-house with instant order updates, too.
Clover POS also offers guest-managed transactions, speeding things up for your diners even more. With Clover Scan to Pay, for example, guests can scan a QR code on their bill to pay without having to wait for a staff member to bring over the machine. You could also speed things up with Clover’s portable POS system or their self-serve kiosk options, too!
Square
Square POS is designed to make your coffee shop’s ordering process faster than ever, with features from quick, customizable order entry and menu displays to personalized customer profiles with saved payment methods for speedy re-ordering. With automated notifications and “order-ready texts,” your customers never have to wait longer than they should — they’ll be able to grab their order the second it’s ready.
Using Square POS can help speed up back-of-house operations, too. The Square POS system organizes incoming orders so you can time your food and beverage prep perfectly. You can also take things one step further by adding Square KDS, an in-house solution that instantly sends orders from POS to KDS for faster, more streamlined prep.
Loyalty Program Integration
Clover
Clover has a range of third-party loyalty programs available through its App Market, like RewardUp, LoyalZoo, and Trezoro. You won’t find any of the more mainstream loyalty apps on Clover’s integration list (like Craver), but there are still several highly-rated options your coffee shop might want to check out.
Square
Square also has a ton of third-party loyalty integrations available through its App Marketplace, with more of the household names that coffee shops love to use (like Craver!).
And if you don’t want to use a third-party loyalty program? No sweat. Square offers a built-in loyalty program with everything your customers could want, from tracking rewards progress to bonus points and promos.
Reporting and Analytics
Clover
Clover POS offers coffee shop owners and operators “real-time insights” into sales trends, delivering snapshots of the data and metrics you need to grow your business.
With Clover, you can isolate different sales stats in real-time, from overall sales and hourly revenue to refunds and discounts. If you’ve got multiple locations and/or an online storefront, you can also look at aggregated sales data of all your revenue streams.
Clover POS also delivers end-of-day reports, displaying your store’s credit card transactions, total sales per employee, gross sales, and refunds. All of this data is amalgamated on your Clover dashboard, which you can view anywhere, whether on the store’s office computer or your mobile phone at home.
Square
Square POS also offers a range of reporting and analytics features designed to help coffee shop owners and operators “make more informed business decisions.”
Square allows you to explore your sales stats and analytics in real-time at any time; you don’t need to wait for end-of-day reports to see how things are going. You can also isolate unique customer data to see who your most frequent flyers are, what they’re buying, and how often they’re visiting.
With Square, you also have the option to get daily summaries and insights delivered to your inbox, with “up-to-the-minute CSVs” of transactions and sales. From there, you can easily compare current and past performance, identifying what’s working, what’s not, and using up-to-date data to guide your improvement plan.
Clover vs Square: Pricing Comparison
| Clover | Square | |
| Setup fees | 0 USD | 0 USD |
| Monthly fees | Starting at 35 USD per month per POS system | 0 USD |
| Hardware | Starting at 49 USD | Starting at 59 USD |
| Processing fees | Between 2.3-2.6% + 0.10 USD per transaction | Starting at 2.6% + 0.15 USDper transaction |
Clover vs Square: Which One is Best for Your Coffee Shop?
So, in the battle of Clover vs Square, how do you know which one is best for your coffee shop specifically?
Well, it depends on what you need (and want) out of the POS system you use!
Clover is the best choice for big, more complex coffee shop set-ups.
Clover has the hardware and processor flexibility that coffee shops with multiple locations (or more specific requirements) need to thrive. Plus, they have a ton of in-house integrations — like Clover KDS — that make improving operations using the same system a breeze.
However, Clover does have higher monthly fees than Square. They also offer fewer third-party integration options (especially for loyalty) and less detailed reporting and analytics than Square.
Square is the best choice for smaller coffee shops with one or two locations.
Square has an incredibly simple setup process that smaller coffee shops can easily handle on their own. Their $0 monthly fees and all-in-one solutions also make Square a leaner, more affordable choice for coffee shops that need functionality without breaking the bank.
But, keep in mind that Square’s hardware is slightly more expensive than Clover’s (although you don’t have to use theirs!), and their processing fees start at a higher rate, too.
