At first glance, Clover Mini seems like an ideal POS solution — it's portable, flexible, and functional. But there are some problems about the POS and how it's sold.
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Lead Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Lead Staff Writer
| Total Rating | 4.5 |
|---|---|
| Pricing4.3 | |
| Ease Of Use4.7 | |
| Features4.9 | |
| Customer Service4.4 | |
| User Reviews3.9 | |
Table of Contents
Clover Mini is point of sale hardware that is compatible with only Clover point of sale software. The compact Clover Mini allows you to take digital payments, manage inventory, start a loyalty program, and more. It’s easy to set up and works with other Clover hardware, such as cash drawers and scanners.
Clover Mini is suitable for any retail, restaurant, or service business that wants a small countertop POS system. In fact, we consider Clover to be one of the best POS systems for small businesses in general. This compact POS can also be used without a cash register as a cashless POS system or by businesses that want a semi-portable system that they can easily move around their shop or use disconnected from power for short periods.
| Pricing4.3 |
|---|
| Hardware 4.5 |
| Payment Processsing 4.0 |
Our Pricing score for Clover Mini is influenced by several positive factors—including affordable payment processing and reduced software fees on multiple devices. The system loses some points, however, for its pricey, proprietary hardware and for requiring a long-term payment processing contract.
| Clover Mini Plans | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Clover Mini Hardware | $799 | If you want to pay upfront for a countertop POS device (and get lower monthly fees) |
| Clover Payments Plan | $0/month or $45/month | If you only need to process payments and don't need a fully-featured POS software |
| Clover Essentials Plan | $14.95/month or $60/month | If you have a small retail or service-based business and all sales are final |
| Clover Register Plan | $49.95/month or $95/month | If you have a retail/service business and need features such as advanced inventory, returns/exchanges, or sales by weight |
| Clover Counter Service Restaurants Plan | $54.95/month or $100/month | If you have a quick-serve restaurant |
| Clover Full Service Restaurants Plan | $84.95/month or $130/month | If you have a full-service restaurant |
The following is a broad overview of Clover Mini pricing if you purchase your POS hardware, software, and merchant services from Clover.com. If you decide to get your Clover Mini from one of the thousands of different Clover resellers, your upfront and monthly fees will probably be different than the pricing listed below.
Read our post on Clover POS costs for more information about how Clover pricing works and what you could expect to pay to use Clover in your store.
| Ease Of Use4.7 |
|---|
| Initial Setup 5.0 |
| Device Use 4.6 |
Ease of use is an area where Clover Mini really shines. In short, it is a breeze to set up and learn how to use Clover Mini. Our scoring for Clover Mini in this area reflects the system’s exceptional ease of use.
Employees should be able to pick up everything they need to know about Clover Mini after 15-20 minutes of basic training. Most of the apps (at least the most common, such as reporting, inventory, customers, etc.) are self-explanatory and clearly labeled.
The nice thing about a truly all-in-one POS solution such as the Clover Mini is that all of the hardware works together naturally.
Clover Mini is an extremely compact, all-in-one POS hardware system that keeps your checkout counter clutter-free. The Mini can be used all by itself with no connected equipment, but most businesses will at least want to connect a cash register.
You can also use a Clover Mini as a customer-facing screen/PIN pad as part of a larger setup with a Clover Station.
The Clover Mini is portable in that it can easily be moved to another outlet or even used unplugged for a very short period of time (around 20 minutes.) If you want a handheld Clover device to use unplugged regularly, your best bet is the Clover Flex.
This device is primarily a countertop POS. Many businesses will want to bolt their heavy 2.6-lb “Mini” to their counter because it would definitely break if you dropped it (and might also break your toe).
At eight inches (or seven inches if you get the Mini 2 instead of the new Mini 3), the screen is a bit tiny. Still, the screen is large enough to see everything you need to see and navigate the menus without having to squint.
The Clover Mini terminal does not swivel out of the box, like the Clover Station screen or the Square Stand, but you can separately purchase a Clover Mini swivel stand (which retails from $69 to $89.) The stand mounts to your counter and will allow the Clover Mini to swivel when the customer pays.
Clover offers three versions of the Clover Mini, with the latest model (the Clover Mini 3) having the following device specs:
The older versions of the Clover Mini can be used but have smaller screens, slower operating systems, and a less streamlined user interface. Consider how long you’ll have your device when choosing between the newest and the older versions of Clover devices.
If you want to integrate additional hardware, you can use the included device hub to plug in a cash register, barcode scanner, kitchen printer, and/or weight scale.
Since the Clover Mini has such a short internal battery life (20 minutes unplugged), you’ll want to keep it plugged in for the majority of the time you’re using it.
Your Clover Mini box will include the following components:
To start your Clover Mini setup, you just need to plug everything in per the simple instructions in the box, put the receipt paper in, and turn that bad boy on. This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.
After the Mini powers on, you’ll be prompted to set up your Clover Mini Wi-Fi and activate your device. Then you can set up your admin account, install apps, and start customizing your Mini.
If you want to connect Clover Mini accessories, such as a cash drawer, external barcode scanner, or weight scale, you can use the included hub, which has four USB device ports and one RJ12 port for a Clover Mini cash drawer.
Clover is a unique POS provider because your Clover hardware, software, and payment processing are all connected through one Clover hardware seller. That means that by the time you get a Clover Mini, you should already have an associated merchant account prior to installation. It also means that you can’t use your Clover hardware if you decide to switch your POS software.
If you don’t have a merchant account set up yet, you’ll get an error when you try to activate your Mini and will have to give Clover customer service a ring.
You can get a merchant account through Clover.com or purchase your Clover hardware and sign a merchant agreement with a reputable Clover reseller.
| Features4.9 |
|---|
| Device Hardware Features 5.0 |
| Device Software Features 4.8 |
The Clover Mini is so adaptable and can be customized with such a wide variety of apps that it’s difficult to discuss features in general. But even out-of-the-box with no add-on apps, Clover Mini has a strong core feature set, as is reflected in our Features score for this system.
Let’s get into some of the highlights of the POS software here. For a full breakdown of Clover POS software features, refer to our full Clover POS system review.
| Clover Mini Features | Availability |
|---|---|
| Multi-Store Support | |
| Contactless Payments | |
| Multi-Channel Selling | |
| Gift Cards | |
| Customer Loyalty | |
| Marketing Tools | |
| Online Ordering | |
| Inventory Management | |
| Reporting | |
| Menu Management | |
| Delivery Management | |
| EBT Acceptance | With EBT app |
| Employee Management | Add-on app |
| Text Messaging |
The Clover Mini can accept almost any payment type, including Apple Pay, Google Wallet, credit, debit, EBT, QR codes, PayPal, Venmo, digital/physical gift cards, and cash.
The Clover Mini is the only Clover POS hardware that allows you to take manual PIN payments, making it the only Clover system that can accept EBT cards.
You can also manually enter card numbers or take sales over the phone using the Phone Sales app (but your payment processing rates will typically be higher for these transactions, so try to avoid them when possible).
Related: Clover’s free, built-in EBT payment app is one of the reasons Clover is great for grocery stores. Read about Clover and the rest of our best grocery store POS systems if you’re starting your own market.
When you’re selling with Clover POS software, you can:
Clover Mini lets you view and edit customer profiles and associate orders with those customers.
You can add custom notes, such as “always orders a cortado,” and enter other information, such as their birthday, whether they should be included in the promos you send out, and even their YouTube profile.
Simply tap the “Customers” app to pull up a customer profile to see all their information, as well as their past orders, loyalty program info, and any notes you’ve added.
Clover provides retail- and restaurant-specific apps for everything from voice authorization to bar tabs, refunds, discounts, and restaurant inventory management. Clover can also be customized for service-based businesses.
However, Clover Mini is especially well-suited for restaurant businesses, as it offers dedicated software plans for counter-service and full-service restaurants, which include apps that allow you to accept tips, receive online orders, manage tables, and more.
All Counter Service and Table Service plans include online ordering for free.
Optionally, restaurants can use a Clover Mini as their main register, along with a Clover Flex for tableside and curbside orders.
Depending on your software plan, various apps will come preloaded on your Mini.
For example, the Clover Standard POS software plan includes apps that provide customer management, employee management and permissions, loyalty, gift cards, inventory management, reporting, and promotions.
Clover also has an app market that allows you to add third-party software to your Clover setup. Apps add features and/or tools your business requires, such as coupon processing, advanced reporting, and integration with other business software you might use.
Some of the apps are free, though many are an added monthly subscription.
If you have very specific needs and would like to design your own application, the Clover API is available to developers.
While it’s easy to install new apps using the Clover Mini itself, for tasks such as detailed inventory management, advanced reporting, and viewing your monthly billing statements, you’ll need to use your accompanying Clover web dashboard.
You can access your Clover web dashboard using a computer or mobile device. Clover stores every report, order, employee clock-in, inventory adjustment, etc., in the cloud, ensuring that the information is always kept current.
The dashboard-based reporting suite can provide insights about your sales, such as your top-selling items, top card types, top categories, and top-selling items.
It’s also easy to use the web dashboard to send a message to a customer, set up your loyalty program, view customer feedback, or create a promo or announcement.
One of the Mini’s best features is its receipt functionality. Not only is the printer fast, but the Mini also gives you numerous receipt options:
The Mini receipt printer can print basic reports, including Sales Overviews and Sales by Employees.
You can also add an external receipt printer, order printer, or label printer if you want.
| Customer Service4.4 |
|---|
| Personal Support 3.8 |
| Self-Service 5.0 |
Clover accounts come with 24/7 customer service, which is a major plus. Another plus is Clover’s extensive library self-help resources, such as guides and how-to videos. However, there are some issues with customer support, which brought this vendor’s Customer Service score down a bit—namely, the fact that your support experience can vary a lot depending on where you buy your Clover system.
| Clover Mini Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | Dedicated Support Phone Number |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
When it comes to customer support, there are three different types of providers Clover merchants have to work with.
If you have any problems regarding security, payment processing, unexplained fees, and other merchant service issues, you’ll need to speak to your merchant services provider. Depending on your provider, you could have excellent or terrible customer service. Make sure you read customer reviews about a potential provider and how you can reach your provider before signing on with them.
For Clover software issues, you’ll have to work with Clover itself. Clover customer support doesn’t have a great reputation, nor does Clover’s parent company, Fiserv. You can reach the company via phone call and email. There are also resources such as tutorials and a knowledge base to help you out.
Lastly, if you have a problem with a Clover-supported app, you don’t actually contact Clover for support. You must contact the app developer, which can also be pretty hit-or-miss when it comes to responsive, helpful customer service.
In general, be choosy about which companies and apps you work with since you may end up working with them for a long time.
| User Reviews3.9 |
|---|
| Customer Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 3.8 |
Clover Mini reviews skew slightly positive on the whole, with many users liking the device itself, but not loving the merchant services that go along with it. Unfortunately, the plethora of negative experiences posted online by users of the system took Clover Mini’s total User Reviews score to below 4 stars.
As follows are some common themes in complaints and testimonials from Clover Mini users.
Clover Flex is another small POS. The Flex is smaller, more portable, and offers slightly less functionality than the Mini at a $599 price point. Square and Poynt also sell compact all-in-one POS (e.g., Square Terminal), but these systems aren’t as robust as Clover Mini. A plus of Square is that there is no contract.
| Clover Mini Review Summary | |
|---|---|
| Pricing Range | $0-$84.95/month |
| Choose If You Need |
|
The Clover Mini is a sleek, compact device that’s a good middle ground between a handheld POS and a traditional countertop POS. It takes lots of payment types, has a built-in receipt printer, and integrates well with the highly customizable Clover POS software.
Unfortunately, the problem with Clover is the way Clover hardware, software, and payment processing are all set up. If you purchase a Clover Mini, you run the risk of getting a bad payment processing deal, inconsistent customer support, and being stuck with useless hardware if you decide to move away from Clover POS software.
That said: if you want simple, attractive fully-integrated POS hardware and software, and you don’t mind taking risks, consider the Clover Mini. Just be sure to work with a vendor you trust and research their support/technical assistance policies beforehand.
We recommend buying from one of these best Clover resellers for the best Clover Mini pricing, so you can avoid Clover POS scams.
If you’ve decided that Clover is not right for you, read our post on the best Clover POS alternatives to find a POS system you’re more comfortable with.
We spend hours researching and evaluating each POS hardware and mobile payments device that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our product ratings.
When rating POS hardware (which might include registers, mobile card readers, and other similar devices), we use a 38-point rubric that looks at pricing, ease of use, features, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating.
Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we look at specific attributes, like whether reduced fees are available for multiple terminals, which payment processing options are available, and how well the hardware integrates with POS or payment processing software apps. We’re also paying careful attention to hardware’s relative cost, any associated fees, and whether financing is available, among other things.
Learn more about how we rate POS hardware.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Clover Mini |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Clover Mini for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Clover Mini |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Clover Mini for yourself.
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Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
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Our team of experts spends hours on every review so that we can find the best companies to recommend to our readers. Clover Mini made the cut.
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