Clover
Clover is an all-in-one point of sale system that integrates payment processing, business management software, and specialized hardware to help small businesses track sales and manage daily operations.
Xero
Xero is a cloud-based accounting software designed for small business owners and accountants to manage invoices, bank reconciliation, inventory, and payroll through a real-time financial dashboard.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Clover | Xero |
|---|---|---|
| Website | clover.com | xero.com |
| Pricing Model | Subscription | Subscription |
| Starting Price | $14.95/month | $15/month |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 30 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2010 | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Sunnyvale, USA | Wellington, New Zealand |
Overview
Clover
Clover provides a unified platform that combines sleek hardware with powerful software to run your entire business. You can accept every type of payment—including credit, debit, and contactless mobile wallets—while simultaneously tracking your inventory and managing your staff schedules. Whether you run a quick-service restaurant, a retail boutique, or a professional service business, you can customize the system with specialized apps to fit your specific workflow.
The platform centralizes your data so you can monitor sales performance from any device, even when you are away from your storefront. You can also launch customer loyalty programs and send digital receipts to build better relationships with your patrons. It simplifies the complexities of merchant services by bundling hardware, software, and payment processing into a single, cohesive ecosystem designed to grow alongside your business.
Xero
Xero is a cloud-based accounting platform that helps you take control of your small business finances from anywhere. Instead of manual data entry, you can automate your bank feeds so your transactions flow directly into your accounts for easy reconciliation. You can track your cash flow in real-time, send professional recurring invoices, and manage your bills to keep your suppliers happy.
The platform is built for collaboration, allowing you to share access with your accountant or bookkeeper so you are always looking at the same numbers. Whether you are managing inventory, processing payroll, or tracking project expenses, you can handle everything through a single dashboard. It simplifies complex tasks like tax preparation and financial reporting, giving you more time to focus on growing your business.
Overview
Clover Features
- Payment Processing Accept credit cards, debit cards, and mobile payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay with built-in security and encryption.
- Inventory Management Track your stock levels in real-time and receive automated alerts when it is time to reorder your best-selling items.
- Employee Management Manage your staff schedules, track individual sales performance, and set custom permissions for your team members directly from the console.
- Customer Engagement Build your own loyalty programs and collect customer feedback through digital receipts to keep people coming back to your business.
- Reporting and Analytics Access detailed sales reports and trends from your dashboard to see which products are performing best at any time.
- Clover App Market Expand your system's capabilities by connecting with hundreds of third-party apps for accounting, marketing, and specialized industry needs.
Xero Features
- Bank Reconciliation. Connect your bank accounts to automatically import and categorize your transactions every day for an up-to-date view of your cash.
- Online Invoicing. Create and send professional invoices from your desktop or mobile device and let customers pay you instantly via credit card.
- Bill Management. Track and pay your bills on time to build better supplier relationships and get a clear overview of upcoming accounts payable.
- Expense Tracking. Capture costs by taking photos of receipts with your phone to automate expense claims and keep your records digital.
- Inventory Management. Keep track of what you have in stock, populate invoices with items, and monitor which products are your best sellers.
- Project Tracking. Monitor your project profit margins by tracking time and expenses against specific jobs to ensure every hour is billed.
Pricing Comparison
Clover Pricing
- Basic payment processing
- Inventory management
- Employee shifts and roles
- Virtual terminal access
- Standard reporting
- Everything in Starter, plus:
- Advanced inventory tracking
- Item variants and modifiers
- Customer loyalty programs
- Enhanced sales analytics
- Weight scale support
Xero Pricing
- Send up to 20 invoices
- Enter up to 5 bills
- Reconcile bank transactions
- Capture receipts with Hubdoc
- Short-term cash flow snapshots
- Everything in Early, plus:
- Send unlimited invoices
- Enter unlimited bills
- Bulk reconcile bank transactions
- Standard business reporting
Pros & Cons
Clover
Pros
- Sleek and professional hardware design
- Extensive app market for customization
- Easy to set up and use
- All-in-one solution for payments and software
- Reliable offline processing capabilities
Cons
- Hardware is proprietary to Clover
- Long-term contracts can be difficult to exit
- Customer support response times vary
- Additional apps can increase monthly costs
Xero
Pros
- Clean and intuitive user interface
- Excellent mobile app for managing finances
- Seamless collaboration with your accountant
- Massive ecosystem of third-party app integrations
- Automated bank feeds save significant time
Cons
- Strict limits on the entry-level plan
- Multi-currency support requires the highest tier
- Customer support is primarily online-only
- Recent price increases for long-term users