Clover vs. Revel Systems: Which POS System Is Best for You?

Both Revel Systems and Clover are POS systems developed for use by multiple types of businesses. Both cater to the food and beverage industry as well as retailers.

Clover is used by full-service restaurants and bars in that space. Revel is typically used by full- and quick-service restaurants. In addition, both systems cater to all types of businesses the retail sector.

Each system excels in certain areas and has room to grow in others. Clover is best suited for small- to medium-sized businesses, while Revel serves the entire spectrum, from small to enterprise businesses.

These two systems appeal to different types of companies, but there is a significant overlap. Clover is the master of integrations, with hundreds of integration partners.

Revel has the capacity to manage one thousand business locations simultaneously from the same system dashboard. This makes it a better choice for franchise owners.

Below we’ll cover the strengths and weaknesses of each system. Then, we’ll name winners in various categories and provide our opinion on which we consider the best overall system.

Revel Systems vs. Clover: Side-by-Side Comparison Summary

Revel Systems vs. Clover: POS Software Comparisons

In our reviews, we typically run through various features of each system. We then compare each system’s respective capacity for those features to determine which system completes that function best.

However, with Revel Systems and Clover, we’re going to take a different approach. We can sum up system feature comparisons fairly quickly. Then we’ll move to an in-depth comparison of two key differentiating features that set the systems apart.

System Feature Summaries

Both Revel and Clover include most of the standard features you would expect to find in a POS solution. They also include advanced features.

These features, for the most part, are on par with one another as far as quality and strength. Clover maintains a slight edge over Revel Systems, but the two come close in the feature category.

Below we will provide an overall score for each system’s entire feature set. That score is based on user reviews from various review sites, all compiled and combined into one score.

Both systems offer the following: 

• Payment processing (see fees above)
• All forms of payments including mobile
• Online ordering
• Mobile ordering
• POS reporting
• Employee management
• Customer display
• Sales tracking
• Inventory management
• Gift cards
• Loyalty programs
• Customer relationship management
• Table-side ordering and payment
• Menu management
• Kitchen management
• Always-on mode 

Key Differentiating Features

The following two system attributes set the two apart. Many customers would call them the deciding factors that drove their decision to go with one system of the other.

Integrations

Integrations are important because they let end users complement their point of sale system with third-party apps.

These apps complete tasks the POS system itself does not, allowing you to build a system around your unique needs.

Revel Systems offers integrations with many third-party apps. Those apps solve for around 20 different business needs, such as accounting and marketing.

Customers can select from a variety of apps to add to their Revel POS solution. This lets them align their system with their business model and complete all required functions from one centralized platform.

Revel users report continual issues with its integration with the QuickBooks accounting app. Aside from that, the system is fairly robust when it comes to integration capabilities.

Clover is hard to beat when it comes to integrations. It’s true that Revel Systems offers integrations with loads of third-party apps in around 20 different categories.

However, Revel’s integrations don’t come close to Clover’s 300+ integrations.

Plus, you can purchase those 300+ third-party apps from the Clover website, making integration a short, painless process. To be sure, Clover users love its App Market because it eliminates so many unnecessary steps involved with integration.

One final point: The Clover App Market includes apps from way more than 20 different categories. On the App Market, you can integrate everything from insurance apps to human resources, charitable giving, and telephony apps.

WINNER: Clover by a landslide

Multiple Location Management

Both systems are built with capabilities allowing business owners to manage operations of multiple business locations from a single system. This can become tricky and you need a system that has nailed down the recipe for multi-store success. How do Clover and Revel Systems compare?

Revel Systems Multiple Store Location Capabilities

The system allows business owners to keep track of performance results from a high level. They can also drill down and view metrics and important business reporting by location.

The system can handle over 1,000 locations and the information about them is accessible from a single dashboard. Owners or managers can also update system attributes from that single dashboard and apply them across all locations.

For example, a franchise fast food restaurant owner could put in place a standardized menu update with new items or pricing. They can then apply those changes to the Revel systems in every one of their locations.

There are a few downsides to Revel Systems’ multi-store capabilities. These features are only available to you if you opt for their most expensive option, the enterprise plan. Plus, many users claim Revel’s sales reps lead prospects into believing that these multi-store features are standard in every package.

Want to know how much the enterprise plan costs? You’ll have to call Revel Systems for a personalized quote. Unfortunately, Revel Systems does not provide an idea of how much its enterprise system would cost you.

Clover’s Multiple Store Location Capabilities

They receive mixed reviews—so do those of Revel Systems. However, we haven’t heard any reports of Clover sales reps misleading prospects, which is a common complaint among Revel users.

Clover allows you to view metrics across multiple stores. It’s easy for business chain owners to run sales reports containing data from all stores on a single mobile device.

A few potential deal-breakers damper excitement around Clover’s multi-store location features. We’ve read multiple user reviews claiming Clover’s multi-store functionality is not robust enough and has lots of room for improvement.

Another flaw is the unexpected manual work required to use these features. For example, you can create new items, add price, category, etc., from one dashboard and apply that to all stores.

However, once that item is entered, you must pull up each individual location to set its unique tax rate. That becomes a problem when you own one thousand storefronts. This flaw essentially renders this feature useless unless you own five or 10 store locations. Regardless, it could easily be enough to dissuade a potential customer from acquiring the system.

WINNER: Revel Systems

Customer Sentiment on Additional System and Company Attributes

We compare user ratings from multiple, highly-reliable sources to aggregate composite ratings for various categories. We present these composite scores on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being best and 1 being worst.

How do Revel and Clover compare to each other in the additional system attributes we measured?

Customer Support

Revel’s Composite Score: 7.5

Clover’s Composite Score: 7.2

WINNER: Revel Systems

Ease of Use

Revel’s Composite Score: 8.1

Clover’s Composite Score: 8.4

WINNER: Clover

Value for the Money

Revel’s Composite Score: 7.0

Clover’s Composite Score: 7.8

WINNER: Clover

Features and Functionality

Revel’s Composite Score: 7.3

Clover’s Composite Score: 8.0

WINNER: Clover

Overall System Rating

Revel’s Composite Score: 7.8

Clover’s Composite Score: 8.0

WINNER: Clover

Revel Systems vs. Clover: POS Hardware

Revel Systems offers a wide variety of POS hardware, including components designed for both restaurants and retailers.

Unfortunately, you can’t purchase hardware directly from Revel’s website because the company does not post any pricing there. Rather, you must call the company for a quote on every hardware package and component it sells.

Clover—unlike most POS system providers—manufactures its own hardware components. It sells that hardware in pre-set packages and clearly lists pricing for each. The most basic package starts at $499 with no add-on components.

Clover also sells individual Clover-made hardware components as well as third-party components. These include barcode scanners, printers, cash registers, etc. Pricing varies depending on which component you select.

Clover’s transparent pricing constitutes a much better purchasing experience for the customer.

WINNER: Clover

Is Revel Systems or Clover Your Best Bet?

Clover tread on Revel Systems in our reviews and comparisons above, winning six out of eight comparisons. Although, in many of those, Clover won by a small margin.

Does that mean Clover is the better system? Not necessarily. Our comparisons and user reviews are subjective, and our opinions may greatly differ from yours.

If you’re looking for a POS system to manage an enterprise-level chain of stores, Revel would be a better choice.

Are you looking to integrate all business functions with your POS solution and operate everything from one centralized system? If so, Clover would better suit your needs.

Be sure to do your due diligence and dig deeply into any system you shortlist. Ask for a free trial or a demo so you can see the system in action. Take your time to decide.

If you’re seriously considering one of these two systems, learn more by reading our detailed review of Revel Systems. Then check out our comprehensive Clover review to gain a better overall perspective on each system.