Clover vs Square in Ireland – how do they compare for restaurants?

If you’re thinking of white point of sale (POS) terminals, you’re probably thinking of Clover or Square.

Clover is fairly widely used in Ireland, since their POS machines are offered by one of the biggest banks, Allied Irish Bank (AIB). Yet Clover is a Fiserv-owned payment company with its own product suite that many use in the US, Europe and beyond.

In contrast, the American payment company Square has a direct relationship with its base in Ireland. Their Square for Restaurants POS system is a viable alternative to small hospitality businesses that want a contract-free solution with very few costs.

But which of them is best for a small business, particularly in food and drink? We look at their products, fees and service and consider our own experiences of them.

Compare Clover and Square:

Card machines: different uses for portable terminal

Square and Clover both offer a selection of point of sale (POS) registers and card machines designed to work together as needed.

The most comparable portable card machines are Clover Flex and Square Terminal. They work independently, but in different contexts.

Clover Flex and Square Terminal compared:

The key difference between them is the fact Square Terminal only works with wireless (WiFi) or wired (Ethernet) internet, which limits its location to fixed premises with a secure internet connection.

As well as WiFi, Clover Flex works with mobile networks (4G) when it has a SIM card, so it’s better for mobile use anywhere.

The other big difference is design. Some merchants prefer Flex for how it feels in the hand – it’s less chunky at the bottom so it feels more natural to hold. Square Terminal is more compact, but the underside is flatter and designed for greater stability on a counter.

Thirdly, you should consider how the software fits into your business. Both terminals easily accept transaction amounts and itemised bills (adding products to the bill from an on-screen library), accept tips, and print or send receipts digitally.

Square Terminal comes with a free POS system that can be upgraded to sync with Square for Restaurants for table-side ordering. Clover Flex is largely dependent on the POS system you subscribed to during onboarding, plus the combination of add-ons downloaded from the Clover App Market.

What about other POS hardware? Square is the only platform with a cheap card reader, but Clover and Square both have POS registers syncing perfectly with the portable card machines.

Fees and contract: couldn’t be more different

Let’s be real: your choice between Square and Clover is probably going to be down to fees, which are very different between them.

Contract

First of all, Square has no contract lock-in or exit fees whatsoever, whereas Clover requires a minimum of 1 year’s contract (up to 4 years have been reported) that is not easy – or cheap, in many cases – to cancel.

If you discover Clover isn’t right for you, it’s very hard to leave. Square, on the other hand, is extremely easy to sign up for online, use for free and unsubscribe from yourself, if you signed up for advanced POS features.

Clover and Square fees:

*Excluding VAT.

Card machine prices

Square sells their card machines with no monthly fees, just a purchase price from €19 for Square Reader (mobile-dependent card reader) up to €599 for Square Register (full tablet register with card terminal), excluding VAT. Once purchased, you own the equipment.

All of Clover’s terminals are proprietary, meaning if you “buy” it upfront, you don’t truly own it, but avoid paying a monthly fee for it. We’ve seen €630 + VAT quoted for Clover Flex without a monthly fee, and you can assume the tablet registers cost more.

To avoid the high upfront cost, Clover’s terminals can be rented from AIB Merchant Services for at least €25-€45 per month excluding VAT. A setup fee also applies, which could be anything up to €200.

Transaction fees

Clover isn’t transparent about fees at all – instead, they customise rates after you’ve provided details about business turnover, average transaction size, etc. These custom quotes are usually better for big businesses. There’s also a monthly minimum service charge, such as €30, which is the minimum you’ll pay for transactions any given month.

In contrast, Square has one pay-as-you-go fee for all card machine transactions (1.75% + VAT) and there’s no monthly minimum to pay. In addition, Square can give custom rates with an annual card turnover above €200k.

POS software

Square’s POS systems are either free or have a monthly cost that’s cancellable any time. The default free app is Square Point of Sale, but Square for Restaurants also has a free version that, frankly, does need an upgrade to a paid plan for €69 monthly to be useful for a full restaurant.

Clover’s POS software has a monthly cost only disclosed at sign-up, which depends on what features your business needs. There’s a package specifically for restaurants, but it may still require extra fees per add-on from the Clover App Market.

Other costs

Apart from the above costs, Square only has charges for certain optional features, such as loyalty and marketing tools. Square is very transparent with no hidden fees.

In comparison, Clover has many different fees for, say, the merchant account, paper reports, PCI-DSS compliance, etc. so we strongly recommend asking AIB for a full breakdown of costs before agreeing to a contract.

POS systems: both can be customised

Square has developed its own specialised POS apps, including one for restaurants.

This so-called Square for Restaurants software is better for small establishments with busy front-of-house and kitchen communications. The system communicates between all points efficiently, but lacks certain features like ingredient-tracking and table reservations.

Clover’s hospitality POS is similarly sufficient for small operations, but users don’t think it’s as user-friendly as Square. If any features are missing in the main POS software, they may be added through the Clover App Market. For example, many choose to add advanced reports for an extra fee.

Our experience of Square POS apps has consistently been positive – and no wonder when the software is regularly updated to quash bugs and improve features. We’ve also seen users happy with Clover POS, but opinions are more divided among them.

Online ordering: better options with Square

Any restaurant selling takeaways should consider how their POS system links with online ordering and payments.

Luckily, both Clover and Square integrate with takeaway platforms such as Deliveroo and Just Eat. This requires an integrator (at an extra cost) that’s basically a piece of software connecting your POS and kitchen display system with your online ordering profile on those platforms.

Only Square has its own online store builder accessible to all merchants, enabling them to build an online ordering page for a Google Business Profile, social media sharing or as a standalone website.

Square also includes many ways to get paid online, either through an online payment gateway (to integrate on an existing site), links, call-to-action buttons, a virtual terminal for taking phone reservations, and QR codes linking to an online ordering menu.

To compare, Clover doesn’t specialise in ecommerce, so any online payments are reliant on add-ons and linking with AIBMS’s own online payment system.

Integrations and extra tools: not limited

Neither platform limits merchants from adding more advanced tools to their POS system.

However, Clover’s add-on apps cost money, and it’s not an open system that integrates very well with external software despite being able to do that. We’ve seen several complaints from users that integrating with external takeaway platforms, for example, has been problematic.

What’s more, Clover doesn’t really have any complimentary features – you get what you opt into paying for.

Square, on the other hand, comes with many additional free extras, like staff timesheets, invoicing, remote payments and contract templates. The platform also integrates with many external apps for things like inventory management, online ordering, marketing and employee management.

Service and reviews: more complaints with Clover

We’ve seen many service complaints about Clover, but Square isn’t perfect either.

Basically, Square is built for figuring everything out yourself. If there’s any doubt about something, their online user guides are comprehensive. Still need help? Then there’s customer support 24/7 on the Restaurants POS subscription (without it, support is limited to business day office hours).

In contrast, Clover’s setup requires more support at the beginning when the hardware is installed and later if there are any technical issues. Their help resources aren’t as comprehensive, and the software is not as reliable as Square’s which is frequently updated and enhanced.

While Square doesn’t have the same “premium” account support, the reality of Cover’s customer service looks bleak among users. Many have found it difficult to cancel, where it takes months of ongoing charges and no responses.

The fact you’re dealing with both AIB and Clover for help in Ireland also complicates matters when trying to get to the right person to help you. With Square, you only deal with Square, so you’re not passed around to different departments as much.

Our opinion: don’t rush the decision

If you’re leaning towards Clover for its lower rates for high-volume businesses (which is the case for sure), ask AIB for a full fee breakdown of the hardware, software, account and transactions, and ask them to specify the contract length and cancellation rules.

We’ve seen too many merchants struggle with the high costs, surprise fees and cancelling the contract, so at least know what you’re getting into.

For small-business owners with less bargaining power, Square will be easier to deal with as there’s no sales rep for those with an annual turnover of less than €200k. Square is very transparent – you know exactly what you pay and get for the money, and it includes lots of free tools for online ordering.

The main downside of Square is the high fixed rate for all cards, even domestic personal debit cards that Clover will charge less for.

But at the end of the day, both Clover’s and Square’s POS systems can work well for quick-service and restaurants, as they have the main features for this industry and options to add more.

And the hardware? Square’s terminals and app interfaces are generally faster and more reliable, but Clover is the only one with a 4G-enabled, portable card machine for mobile merchants.