Clover has become one of the most widely used point-of-sale systems in health and wellness, and for good reason. It’s cloud-based, designed for ongoing client relationships rather than one-time retail transactions, and the hardware lineup covers every practice configuration from a single front-desk terminal to a fully mobile treatment-room setup.
But Clover comes in several versions, and who you buy it through affects both the price and the ongoing processing rates significantly.
The Clover Hardware Lineup
Clover Station is the full countertop system — a large touchscreen with a customer-facing display, receipt printer, and cash drawer. It’s the right choice for a busy front desk that handles a high volume of check-ins and transactions.
Clover Mini is a compact countertop terminal — smaller footprint, same core functionality, better for practices where the front desk is tight on space.
Clover Flex is a handheld wireless device that works anywhere in the practice. For med spas specifically, this is what makes treatment-room checkout possible. A client can review their receipt and sign without walking back to the front desk.
Clover Go is the most minimal option — a card reader that pairs with a smartphone. Good for satellite locations or practitioners who see patients off-site.
What Clover Does Well in a Med Spa Context
Clover’s App Market is where it gets interesting for aesthetic practices. There are apps for appointment management, inventory tracking (useful for skincare retail), staff clock-in, tip management, and gift card programs. Not every app is worth the subscription fee, but the platform’s flexibility means you can build a system that matches your actual workflow.
The customer management features also matter in a relationship-based business. You can store client card information for future visits, set up payment plans, and access transaction history by client — all from the same device your front desk uses for everything else.
The Part Most Practices Get Wrong: Who You Buy From
Clover hardware is sold through authorised resellers — banks, ISOs, and independent processors. The hardware price is often the same, but the processing rates vary enormously depending on who you buy through.
Many practices buy Clover through their bank and end up on flat-rate pricing that costs significantly more than interchange-plus. The hardware is the same; the ongoing costs are very different.
Buying Clover through Beacon means you get the same hardware programmed to your account, with interchange-plus pricing from day one. Not sure which Clover device fits your practice? Take our 2-minute Clover quiz for a personalised recommendation, or request a free audit to see what your processing would cost.