When you are running a business, such as a retail store, or perhaps, an E-commerce website such as Etsy store, the method used for accepting payment from your customers and/or vendors really matter. Since a large number of customers will opt to use their best business debit cards for small businesses that make payments quickly at Online Store and when shopping online, therefore, having a point of sale (POS) solution is what you are going to need for your business. Here we will talk about the differences between Clove vs Square that lets you establish secure payment acceptance methods for your business.
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Simply put, the more intuitive solutions you provide, your customers will obviously have a much satisfactory experience. POS system refers firstly to your POS terminal, which is the hardware that physically accepts credit card payments, cash and checks.
But, if you opt for an all-in-one payment processing system like Clover or Square, your POS system will also include software that can process those payments, as well as offer additional capabilities that help you run and manage your business, like inventory management, employee tracking, customer-behavior data, sales report generation and more. Also, learn about Best 9 free accounting software to manage payroll and accounting operations for better functioning of your business.
A digital point of sale (POS) system is one of the best and cheapest ways a business can give itself a little extra edge these days. And often known as “smart registers”, these platforms replace the old cash registers of yesterday with state-of-the-art digital features that combine extensive data with a user-friendly design.
These products help businesses keep track of their supplies and their bottom line, as well as labor costs. Not only that, but a POS system can also really help a business reach out to customers and increase word of mouth.
So, the question here is, “Which POS – point of sale solution is ideal for you a small business that can give great support?” Well, to help you with this, we are going to consider two essential options, which are Clover and Square POS solutions, respectively.
Clover allows business owners to build their ideal payment processing system with a combination of their hardware and software offerings. More specifically, Clover offers the following hardware: also learn with one of our blogs about the Clover POS system 2019 review – including features and cost
This device connects to your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and can process magstripe cards, chip cards, and contactless payments.
Flex is Clover’s handheld, WiFi-connected payment processing option. In addition to accepting all the same payment methods that Clover Go can, Clover Flex can capture signatures, scan barcodes and print receipts.
Clover Mini has similar capabilities to Clover Flex, but in a (predictably small) counter-top format, rather than as a handheld device.
Clover Station is Clover’s most powerful, secure and fastest POS offering. This counter-top payment processor can accept credit cards, of course, but it also comes with a cash drawer. On its large, high-definition display screen, you can also access all of Clover Station’s additional business-management capabilities, like inventory management, employee tracking, and sales reports.
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All of these hardware devices can work alone, or together, choose whichever tools you need to serve your particular business.
Clover also offers three service plans. The tier you choose depends upon the amount of credit card transactions your business processes per year.
With Clover’s most basic service plan, you can accept cloud-based payments and perform basic customer engagement tasks.
This plan is best for companies that have less than $50,000 in credit card sales per year, and it includes a ton of payment accepting and sales monitoring features.
Clover’s third service plan works for businesses that have more than $50,000 in annual credit card sales. This plan includes all the same capabilities as Register Lite and more.
Clover’s mix-and-match services come at a price, of course. Here’s how Clover’s costs pan out, for both their hardware and software options:
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Keep in mind that in addition to paying for your Clover hardware and service plan, you will also need to pay a payment processing fee for each transaction. Rates start at 2.3%, plus $0.10 per transaction, which will vary depending on your software plan.
The real draw for a Clover POS system is that it is highly customizable. As we mentioned, you can pick and choose among their hardware options, depending on how and where your business needs to process payments. If for example, you have a brick-and-mortar store but you also sell your wares at farmers’ markets or craft fairs, you can pick up either a Clover Mini or Clover Station for your store, along with a Clover Go for when you are not tied to a counter-top.
Clover Flex, their handheld POS system, is particularly a unique device. Clover Flex can be especially useful for restaurant businesses that want to settle up with their customers table-side, service-based businesses that make house calls, or any other business that wants the freedom to process payments (while accessing other management features) pretty much anywhere they go.
And as an all-in-one payment processing system, Clover can do much more than accepting and processing payments. For instance, Clover integrates with apps like MailChimp, QuickBooks, Shopify and other software you use to run and manage your business.
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And depending on the service plan and hardware you choose, with your Clover POS you can perform additional capabilities like managing your inventory, track sales and produce reports, set employee shifts and much more. You can also access the Clover app store, on which you will find tons of management tools that can integrate into your Clover POS system.
As you can likely tell, the major drawback to using a Clover POS is the price, as their hardware options do not come cheap. Remember that you will need to pay transaction fees on top of the lump sum for your hardware, too. If you are on a tight budget, you may want to seek a POS system with lower-cost (or even free) hardware options.
Perhaps the best-known name in POS systems, Square offers business owners a range of hardware to physically accept payments, along with a payment processing software, which is available as an app for both Apple and Android devices.
The app includes all the capabilities necessary for processing payments, along with employee management features, inventory tracking, invoicing and next-day deposits into your business bank account.
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You can choose whether to purchase an all-in-one POS terminal to process your payments or to use your own iPad or smartphone as your POS terminal, in which case, you will need to download the Square POS app and purchase external hardware that can accept card payments.
Square’s is one of the most robust POS – (Point Of Sale) hardware, Square Register is an all-in-one, counter-top payment processing system that includes a customer-facing display. Also can register and accept magstripe cards, chip cards and contactless payments and the Square POS app is included in the hardware.
Square Terminal is the most compact all-in-one POS terminal Square provides, most comparable to Clover Flex. It can accept and receive all the same payment types as Square Register and can connect via USB, Ethernet, or Wi-Fi.
Square Stand is essentially what it sounds like. It is a stand to which you can connect your iPad. Then, once you download the Square POS app to your iPad and connect the included hardware, you can use your iPad as your business’ POS system.
Square provides a collection of external hardware, all of which are built to accept different types of payments. You can choose among a chip card and magstripe card reader, a magstripe card reader and/or a chip card and contactless payment reader.
The good news about Square POS is that its app is totally free. However, in order to accept and process physical payments at your point of sale, of course, you will need to purchase necessary hardware, though the exception is the Square magstripe reader, which you will receive for free.
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Additionally, you will need to pay Square processing fees for every transaction. Here, fees may depend upon the type of hardware you choose and the type of transaction you are processing.
Where Square wins the battle against Clover the lover is its price-point, as all of Square’s hardware is less expensive than their respective, comparable Clover devices. On top of that, the Square POS software is free, while you will need to pay for Clover’s service plans (or two out of the three).
You will also get the Square magstripe reader for free, which just might tide you over as your sole payment processing hardware until you want or need to upgrade. Square also easily allows business owners to accept payments online or over the phone through Square Virtual Terminal, which turns your own computer into a POS terminal into which you can manually enter your customers’ credit card information.
Despite Square’s slightly lower price point than Clover’s, you always need to pay attention to transaction fees, and Square may surpass Clover on that front. Once again, fees vary depending on the hardware you are using and how you are processing each payment, but generally Square fees start at 2.6%, plus $0.10 per transaction (as opposed to Clover’s fees, which starts at 2.3%, plus $0.10).
Depending on the types of additional hardware you need to purchase, too, your total Square bill might end up being bigger than your Clover bill.
The Square app is fairly limited in its capabilities too, at least compared to Clover’s robust business-management features.
Now that you have an overview of Clover vs Square POS terminals, it is for you to decide which of these POS systems will work best for your business? Clover might be a better option for businesses that want some of the most business-management features available in a POS terminal.
It is also worth looking into Clover if you run a retail, restaurant, or service business, as Clover offers dedicated POS solutions for these industries.
In contrast, Square works well for businesses that need a no-fuss POS solution that reliably accepts and processes several types of credit payments in several formats and which do not need much in the way of additional features.
Square might also be a better option than Clover for E-commerce businesses, as Square offers dedicated E-commerce solutions that include business website creation and online payment acceptance.
You will need to take stock of what you want from your POS terminal and, of course, how much you are willing to pay for it. Whether you choose Clover vs Square for your business, though, know that you will be taking advantage of some of the most advanced and secure all-in-one payment processing systems on the market.
And if you find that neither option is right for your business, know that there are plenty of other best POS system options available to you.
