Toast vs. Clover: 2024 Comparison of Features, Pricing & Integrations & More

Restaurants have gone through significant changes in how they operate over the past several years. The majority of these changes have to do with the digitization of service processes, particularly ordering and payment. These days, many food-related businesses have incorporated restaurant management software solutions into their operations.

However, there are still business owners who stick to traditional means of restaurant management. This is understandable. There is the issue of the cost, plus, they may not be familiar with software. Fortunately, there are restaurant management platforms that are user-friendly and do not require a steep learning curve. On top of that, they do not break the bank either. There are two leading applications that hit the right notes in terms of features, price, and usability—Toast vs Clover. This article directly compares them for your reference.

Customer preferences dictate industry trends—this reality was apparent in the foodservice industry during the pandemic. The limited mobility and business operation restrictions drove customers to order online. Online ordering quickly turned into a habit. It is one that persists even in the post-pandemic era. Although restaurants have now resumed their operations under the “new normal” guidelines, 60% of diners are still expected to order their food online in 2022.

To align with the changing preferences of their patrons, restaurants are focusing on business optimization. A survey conducted by TD Bank revealed that restaurant operators want to invest in modern technology. In particular, they want to put more of their efforts and money into mobile ordering technology. After all, it became the lifeline of restaurants during the height of the pandemic.

Boosting their business’ online accessibility, however, is just one of the reasons behind restaurants’ technological investments. The food service sector is experiencing a labor shortage. On top of that, consumers want faster and more efficient service. This calls for modern restaurant technology. Toast POS and Clover are two software that can provide solutions in those areas. Below, we will look at Toast vs Clover systems comparison to help you decide which is better for your business.

Overview of Toast POS and Clover

Toast POS

Toast POS may have the point-of-sale tag on its name, but in reality, it is just one of its many functionalities. This all-in-one restaurant management solution is both cloud- and tablet-based. Because of its flexibility, it can help restaurants of any size streamline their online and in-house operations.

This Toast POS comparison shows that the solution offers menu and table management capabilities. Additionally, it has digitized tableside ordering. It pairs this functionality with communication with the kitchen staff. This ensures the fast and accurate preparation of meals. Plus, it makes possible fast and efficient service for guests, whether dine-in or takeaway/delivery.

Other notable features of Toast POS include reward programs and gift cards. With these, you can entice customers to keep coming back. You can also appreciate its inventory management. It can assist you in ensuring you always have enough ingredients in your stock room. The capability keeps tabs on items in real-time so you can immediately order items as soon as they hit the low margin. What’s more, Toast POS provides you with team management features. These tools simplify the onboarding of new hires, employee scheduling, and payroll processing.

For now, though, Toast POS is only available for use by a number of restaurants in the United States.

Toast POS

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Clover

Clover is a POS and restaurant management system for mid-sized and large restaurants. It offers a 360-degree view of your business with its floor plan, table availability, inventory, and sales. The great thing about all these is that you can see changes in real-time. On top of that, the solution lets you monitor cash logs and sales per employee. And in case you need to change up the schedules and table assignments, you can do it with ease. All of these you can do on your Android or iOS devices. Because of this mobility, you can oversee your business wherever you are.

Managing inventory and restaurant menus is also a breeze. You can update offerings to ensure that customers only see items that are available. To complement that, Clover has an intelligent ordering feature. it allows servers to take customized orders easily. Then, the system takes care of sending the details to the kitchen.

If you are worried about payment processing, do not worry. Clover covers that with its contactless card payment processing. Plus, if there is a group of people who want to split the payment, you can offer that, too.

Comparison of Toast vs. Clover

Although Toast and Clover are both equipped with the must-have features of a restaurant management system, there are areas where one platform does better than the other. In this section of Toast vs Clover comparison, let us take a look at each system’s core features and how they fare against the other.

Core Features

Digital Ordering

Toast is designed to minimize physical contact between customers and staff. The former creates a contactless environment by letting restaurants install kiosks powered by its system. With these, customers can send their orders directly to the kitchen. This gives diners the freedom to curate their own dining experience. As well, it keeps you aligned with one of the new restaurant software trends. Apart from that, Toast has an online ordering system. You can list your business with the vendor for customers to order for takeout and delivery online. You still maintain control over the website and guest relationships without worrying about platform commissions.

Meanwhile, Clover offers online ordering. Using it, foodservice businesses can enforce social distancing without sacrificing the customer experience. This feature lets customers order online for pick-up and even dine in. Thus, it assists restaurants in keeping their patrons and staff safe. Setting up this solution is a breeze, as the app bases the selection on your existing menu. What customers order in the app, Clover sends directly to the kitchen.

Toast POS has a Digital Ordering Suite that allows restaurants to offer contactless and seamless food ordering experience online.

Payment Processing

People these days like the convenience of cashless payments. It can even make or break their decision to dine at a restaurant. With Toast, you do not have to fear customers turning away because of that. You can provide with them the ability to pay for their orders using their own device. Or you can enable them to pay by using their cards with Toast’s mobile handheld payment processor. Other payment options include a contactless payment solution and point-of-sale hardware.

Clover, on the other hand, lets you accept payments quickly. It can process credit cards, gift cards, and debit cards. Plus, it empowers you to offer contactless payments. You can opt for any of Clover’s hardware or devices or you can use your own smartphone or tablet. Regardless of your preference, you can enjoy simple and seamless payments that will delight customers.

Menu and Inventory Management

Food costs can go up, especially when you do not manage your inventory well. Toast can assist you in this regard with an inventory management software. It is a simple tool that lets you know the value of what you have in inventory currently. You can also calculate your food cost percentage with it. As well, you can track food wastage to reduce over-portioning. This will help you in buying more than you need, too.

Toast’s inventory system is tied with its menu management solution. Because of this, you can see which items do not perform well. Thereon, you can decide whether to keep them or shed them from the menu.

Clover does not fall behind when it comes to inventory management. Its application, like Toast’s, allows you to manage your menu, too. It is accurate in tracking the items in your inventory so that you do not have to over-order items and get only what you need. Additionally, you can see trends in the inventory app. In this way, you can prepare bigger quantities of items in popular dishes.

Team Management

You do not have to oversee your team’s schedules and task assignments using a different solution. This is because you can do it directly from your restaurant management system. Both Toast and Clover make this possible.

Toast makes employee onboarding a speedy process. The platform lets you build schedules and communicate changes with your team easily. And if you are worried about timesheets and payroll, you do not have to. This software has timesheets integrated and synchronizes with payroll without a hitch. On top of that, you can approve or deny leaves directly from the system.

Similar features are available on Clover. Efficient employee management is at hand with its solutions. You can add and manage employees for your store and provide them with roles and passcodes. If you like, you can set up nicknames for them as well. But on to other things. Clover can remind employees about upcoming shifts to ensure that you are always fully staffed. This aids in reducing no-shows and late arrivals. It can talk with leading payroll software so that you do not have to calculate pay manually.

CRM and Rewards

If yours is a small food and beverage business, you might not be ready yet to invest in a separate CRM software and rewards program. Worry not, though, as Toast has an integrated loyalty program. You can design it to fit your own needs such as when and how many points to give. In line with this, you can add redemption rates and birthday rewards. Customers can check by themselves how many points they have accrued from the checkout screen of the system.

As well, you can get to know customers better with Clover. It has a solution for building up customer data from sales, especially credit card sales. The system does so automatically so you can keep customer information current. Because of this, you can provide them with the most relevant marketing content, too. And when it comes to rewards, you can give them access or create special promotions for specific customers or particular groups.

Gift cards are among the payment options that Clover can process.

Integrations

Siloed software are the bane of organizations nowadays. This is why it is critical that software vendors develop solutions that can play well with other platforms. Toast vs. Clover is a close fight in this area. The former does not have any of the popular integrations that people have come to expect. For example, it does not have native integrations with QuickBooks, Menufy, and Gusto. Nevertheless, it makes up for that with other applications like Sling, Uber Eats, and DoorDash.

Clover, on the other hand, has powerful integrations with Woo, Xero, and even MailChimp. There is a wide selection of solutions available with Clover. Despite that, the lists that both software offer are not so extensive. Nevertheless, they have REST APIs that allow developers to create integrations.

Toast partners with various software developers for integrations.

Pricing

A huge factor in choosing a restaurant management solution is the pricing of the software. Restaurant owners will be relieved to know that Toast POS has affordable pricing plans. You can start using it free and get access to the essential features of a restaurant management system like order and table management, reporting and analytics, and menu management. Foodservice establishments can even enjoy simple, flat rates when it comes to payment processing. Plus, you can take advantage of real-time fraud monitoring at no additional cost. If you are not yet ready to scale up to a paid tier, you can get add-ons. This will let you choose which modules to add to your platform that you really need.

Meanwhile, Clover has three pricing plans, each for full service and quick service dining systems. You can expect to shell out a huge amount of money for starters. For instance, if you go for the Starter plan for full service dining systems, you need to pay upfront $1,699. On top of that, there is a monthly fee of $74.95. Additionally, there are processing rates per transaction. When a customer orders and pays in person, there is a flat rate charge. However, this is slightly higher when you process payments for online sales or phone orders.

Clover has three plans each for full service and quick service dining systems.

Ease of Use

Another main point of consideration in choosing a software is its ease of use. After all, there is no point in selecting a solution that you and everyone else will have difficulties utilizing. In Toast vs. Clover, when it comes to ease of use, the two come close.

Restaurateurs find Toast to be simple and easy to use. This is likely because it is an Android-based cloud POS, making it familiar to most people. It is intuitive and allows you and your staff to focus on doing business. Thus, you can fully delight your customers with your food and hospitality. And because it serves as a single point for all your foodservice operations, all features are accessible. It also helps that the developers and designers laid out the interface nicely. What’s more, it can adapt to any concept, whether you flip the screen, make it wall-mounted, or carry it around as a tablet.

Foodservice business owners like Clover for its ease of use as well. All of its apps are accessible from one place. Because of this, you and your employees can work quickly and focus on customers. It has an optimized layout that keeps the menu and submenus a tap or two away. And just like Toast, it is Android-based. Therefore, even those who are not familiar with it can find their way around the interface.

Toast’s ease of use is demonstrated in its employee management module.

Getting Started

Ease of use would not matter if the implementation and configuration of a software do not go smoothly. After all, you can start experiencing whether a platform is easy to use or not when getting started. This is something you can see in Toast POS. Setting up the software using the guide should only take you approximately two hours. You can add your restaurant information such as location and hours and services. After that, you can set up your kitchen and dining room. Then, you can move on to team management. And, of course, you can configure how to process payments afterward.

If you run into trouble in the installation and setup processes, you can get help from Toast Central. There, you can find in-depth guides for every module.

To start using Clover, you need to reach out to the sales team to acquire the hardware. Once you have your device, you can begin setting up by following the guide on the Clover website. It should take only a few minutes to complete. And regardless of the device you have, you can find clear instructions on Clover’s resource center. As a customer, you can also avail of personalized help by logging in to your account. That is the case whether you are one of the most expensive Michelin-starred restaurants or a local go-to diner.

When that part is done, you can move on to setting up payment options. From there, you can move on to other features like online ordering and loyalty program.

You can set up Clover Online Ordering when you first configure the system.

Use Cases

Toast POS is exclusively designed for foodservice establishments. Rather than that being a con, it is actually a pro. This means that developers and designers are focused on addressing the needs of food and beverage businesses. In particular, it works for quick service businesses like cafes and bakeries, pizzerias, and food trucks. The system also works for full-service restaurants such as casual dining and fine dining places as well as bars and nightclubs.

On the other hand, Clover is meant for a wide array of businesses. Aside from quick service and full-service restaurants, the platform is ideal for retail stores and personal services. As well, professional service businesses and home and field service organizations use it.

Toast caters to a wide array of businesses in the foodservice industry.

Comparison Table

Toast vs. Clover—Which Is Better?

Between Toast vs. Clover, it is easy to see which one has a leg up over the other. To recap, both software have the essential features for running a restaurant. However, Toast wins when it comes to digital ordering and payment processing. This is because the platform allows you to install kiosks. And when it comes to payment processing, restaurateurs can count on transparent flat rates per transaction. It also provides a free trial that you can test-drive now to see how it works in real-time handling your operations.

There really is no clear winner between the two in terms of integrations, though. Their app marketplaces are not that extensive. The only good thing is that they provide REST API to allow organizations to develop their own integrations.

Moreover, Toast has clear pricing for its plans. On top of that, small businesses can start using it at no cost. And in case they want to add a module or two to their suite, they can do so without breaking the bank. Meanwhile, Clover pricing is expensive at the outset because you need to pay for a device. You can pay for it upfront or stagger the payment across three months with a monthly plan on top of it.

In terms of ease of use and implementation, Clover and Toast are neck to neck. They have optimized layouts for their interfaces to make it easier for users to access all applications. They also remove most of the challenges from the setup process with clear guides.

Moreover, Toast is designed for foodservice establishments. Clover can work for quick service and full-service restaurants, too, but it is designed more for a larger audience. If you still have trouble deciding between the two, check this guide on how to choose the best POS solution.

Key Insights

• Toast POS Overview:
  • All-in-one cloud- and tablet-based restaurant management solution.
  • Features include menu and table management, digitized tableside ordering, communication with kitchen staff, inventory management, team management, reward programs, and gift cards.
  • Available only in the United States.
• Clover Overview:
  • POS and restaurant management system for mid-sized and large restaurants.
  • Features include floor plan management, table availability, inventory and sales tracking, intelligent ordering, and contactless payment processing.
  • Supports mobile access via Android and iOS devices.
• Core Features Comparison:
  • Both Toast and Clover offer digital ordering, payment processing, menu and inventory management, team management, and CRM and rewards programs.
  • Toast offers unique features like kiosks for contactless ordering and integrated loyalty programs tied to customers’ credit cards.
  • Clover supports payment processing through a variety of devices, including smartphones and tablets.
• Integrations:
  • Both platforms offer REST API for custom integrations.
  • Toast integrates with applications like Sling, Uber Eats, and DoorDash.
  • Clover integrates with Woo, Xero, and MailChimp.
• Pricing:
  • Toast offers a free plan with essential features and flat rates for card payment processing.
  • Clover requires an upfront payment for hardware and has higher fees for online and phone transactions.
• Ease of Use and Setup:
  • Both platforms are Android-based, making them familiar and easy to navigate.
  • Toast setup can be completed in approximately two hours, with extensive support available via Toast Central.
  • Clover setup is quick, with personalized support available through its resource center.
• Use Cases:
  • Toast is exclusively designed for foodservice establishments, suitable for cafes, bakeries, pizzerias, food trucks, casual dining, fine dining, bars, and nightclubs.
  • Clover is versatile, catering to both foodservice and non-foodservice businesses like retail stores and personal service providers.

FAQ

1. What are the main differences between Toast and Clover in terms of digital ordering? Toast offers kiosks for contactless ordering, allowing customers to send orders directly to the kitchen. Clover provides an online ordering feature that is easy to set up and integrates with existing menus for pick-up and dine-in options.
2. How do Toast and Clover handle payment processing? Toast supports cashless payments through devices, mobile handheld payment processors, and contactless payment solutions. Clover accepts payments via credit, debit, and gift cards and offers contactless payments using various hardware options, including smartphones and tablets.
3. What inventory management features do Toast and Clover offer? Toast’s inventory management system tracks real-time stock levels, calculates food cost percentages, and integrates with menu management to identify underperforming items. Clover’s inventory app tracks items accurately and provides trend analysis to help with inventory planning.
4. Can both platforms manage employee schedules and payroll? Yes, Toast simplifies employee onboarding, scheduling, and payroll integration. Clover also offers efficient employee management, including shift reminders and integration with leading payroll software.
5. What are the pricing structures for Toast and Clover? Toast offers a free plan with optional add-ons and flat rates for card payment processing. Clover requires an upfront payment for hardware and charges a monthly fee, with higher rates for online and phone transactions.
6. Which platform is easier to set up and use? Both Toast and Clover are designed to be user-friendly and are Android-based. Toast setup takes about two hours with comprehensive guides, while Clover setup is quick and supported by detailed instructions and personalized help.
7. Who are the ideal users for Toast and Clover? Toast is ideal for foodservice establishments of all sizes, including cafes, bakeries, and full-service restaurants. Clover caters to a broader audience, including retail stores, personal service businesses, and professional services, in addition to foodservice businesses.

By Jenny Chang

Jenny Chang is a senior writer specializing in SaaS and B2B software solutions. Her decision to focus on these two industries was spurred by their explosive growth in the last decade, much of it she attributes to the emergence of disruptive technologies and the quick adoption by businesses that were quick to recognize their values to their organizations. She has covered all the major developments in SaaS and B2B software solutions, from the introduction of massive ERPs to small business platforms to help startups on their way to success.