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POS SYSTEMS · MIGRATION GUIDE

Switching from Square to Clover

Moving to Clover means new hardware, a new processor and a spreadsheet import of your items. Read the contract terms first, because Clover hardware is locked to Clover.

Jump to migration steps Read the full comparison
By Bill Belcamino · Last updated September 19, 2026 · Our methodologyResearched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team
Switching from Square to CloverVerified Sep 19, 2026
Bill Belcamino
Bottom line up frontby Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
Editorial assessment

Bottom line up front: Should a Square seller switch to Clover for the lower card rate?

Not for the rate alone: Clover Growth's 2.3% + 10¢ beats Square Plus at 2.5% + 15¢, but it comes with $84.95 or more a month, new hardware and a 36-month hardware subscription.

I'd make this move only with real card volume, or a need for Restaurant Growth's table mapping, tabs and bill splitting. The part sellers overlook is what stays behind: items move by spreadsheet, but Square gift cards, loyalty and the online store don't transfer. Every unredeemed gift card is money you already took and still owe a customer, so decide before cutover how you'll honor those balances, whether by keeping Square Free open at $0 a month or tracking them by hand as store credit. Do the same for loyalty points, and tell regulars what happens to them before the counter changes. Then keep Square running until Clover payouts arrive as expected.

My read of the verified data on this page, checked against vendor sources on September 19, 2026. Disagree or spot an error? Tell Bill

Estimate · your inputs

Switching Cost & Friction Estimator

Most buyers only budget for the new subscription. This estimates the hidden labor, data-cleanup, and retraining cost of actually making the switch.

25,000
10

Estimate assumes: 1 hour of data-mapping/cleaning labor per 2,000 records, a blended $75/hr ops rate, tiered migration & cleaning tooling fees, and 4 hours of retraining per seat at a $45/hr fully-loaded rate.

Estimated Migration Time —
Data Friction Rating —
Total Hidden Switching Cost $0

    Why teams move from Square to Clover

    Lower in-person rate

    Clover’s Growth plans charge 2.3% + 10¢ in person, against 2.5% + 15¢ on Square Plus.

    Restaurant bundles

    Restaurant Growth includes table mapping, tabs and bill splitting.

    24/7 support

    Clover lists 24/7/365 support on all plans.

    How the migration actually works

    Compare your real monthly card volume on both rate cards: the lower rate has to cover a higher monthly fee and hardware cost.

    StepWhat you do
    1Export your Square catalogue and customersIn Square Dashboard, export the item library as Excel (.xlsx, recommended) or CSV from Items, then Item library, then Actions; export customers from Customers, then Directory, then Import/Export.
    2Choose a Clover bundlePick Essentials, Retail Growth or Restaurant Growth, and confirm hardware payments and contract terms in writing.
    3Import itemsDownload Clover’s item template from the web dashboard, paste in your Square items and import.
    4Load customersRe-create or import your customer list; Clover documents CSV export of customers but we could not confirm its customer import steps.
    5Set up staff and taxesAdd employees, permissions, tax rates and receipts on the new devices.
    6Run a parallel dayKeep Square Free active (it costs $0 a month) until Clover payouts arrive as expected.

    What this path doesn’t do for you:

    No direct Square importer exists; items move by spreadsheet. Square gift cards, loyalty and online store do not transfer. Clover hardware cannot be reused with another processor if you leave later.

    Pricing side by side

    PlanSquareClover
    Monthly softwareFree $0; Plus $49; Premium $149 per locationEssentials $29.95; Growth $84.95–$129.85 (bundles)
    In-person rate2.6% + 15¢ (Free), 2.5% + 15¢ (Plus), 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium)2.6% + 10¢ (Starter), 2.5% + 10¢ (Essentials), 2.3% + 10¢ (Growth plans)
    Card reader$59Go $199
    ContractNo locked-in contracts36-month hardware subscriptions, non-cancelable
    Processor lock-inNot statedClover devices work only with Clover

    US prices checked on each vendor’s own pricing pages on September 19, 2026. Clover.com prices may differ from bank and reseller offers. Card processing is charged on top of software fees.

    Feature parity check

    CapabilitySquareClover
    Import from the other toolExcel/CSV item templateSpreadsheet item import only
    Monthly fee to start$0 (Square Free)$29.95 (Essentials)
    ContractNone36-month hardware subscription
    Offline paymentsUpload within 24 hoursUp to 7 days if enabled
    Online storeIncluded on FreeRetail Growth or add-on

    Going the other direction, or want the full comparison first?

    Read the Square vs Clover comparison Switching from Clover to Square instead?
    Verified data

    Security & access: what changes when you switch

    Security, offline and access rules that differ between Square and Clover. Rows where both tools are the same (2) are left out; the full side-by-side is on each tool’s page: Square, Clover.

    What changesSquare (today)Clover (after)
    ISO/IEC 27001CertifiedsourceNot published
    Other certificationsPCI DSS Level 1sourcePCI DSS (QSA-validated; level not stated)source
    Two-factor authenticationYessourceNot published
    EncryptionCard-present payments encrypted end to end; no unencrypted payment data touches the devicesourceEnd-to-end encryption and tokenization via Clover Security Plussource
    Offline limitsUpload within 24 hours, no later than 72 hours; not supported on Square Reader 1st gen v1/v2, Kiosk, Tap to Pay, manually entered cards, gift cards, Afterpay, Cash App Pay, Invoices app or services mode.sourceUp to 7 days per device; optional per-payment limit, total offline limit and approval threshold; not for EBT or gift cards; uninstalling the app while offline deletes offline payments.source
    Device & session controlsYesRemote device management: device profiles and codes, printer profiles, monitoring from off-site.sourceNot published
    Office & room hardwareSquare sells its own POS hardware: Reader for contactless and chip ($59), Terminal ($299), Handheld ($399), Stand ($149), Kiosk ($149) and Register ($899).sourceClover sells its own locked POS devices: Go reader ($199), Compact ($349), Flex and Flex Pocket handhelds, Mini, Station Solo, Station Duo ($1,899), Kiosk and Kitchen Display System; they cannot be used with other processors.source

    Checked September 19, 2026 against each vendor’s own trust center, help docs and app pages. Hover or tap “source” to see the exact wording we relied on. “Not published” means we could not find the vendor saying it on its own site; it doesn’t mean the feature is missing. Plan names are the lowest plan the vendor says includes the feature. Security · Offline · Remote vs office · Download the data

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can Clover import my Square items?

    Not directly. Export Square’s item library and import it with Clover’s spreadsheet template.

    Can I use my Square reader with Clover?

    No. Clover processing needs Clover hardware.

    Is Clover cheaper than Square?

    Only at higher volume: Clover Growth charges 2.3% + 10¢ in person but $84.95 or more a month, against Square Plus at $49 and 2.5% + 15¢.

    Will my sales history move?

    Not as live records. Download sales reports from the old system for your accounting and tax records before you close the account; the imports cover items and customers.

    Canonical data for the tools on this page

    Every pricing fact, rating, AI billing model and switching guide we hold on each tool, on one page, with the date each figure was last verified.

    SquarePricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›CloverPricing, free plan, AI cost & every comparison›
    Square vs CloverHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs PayPalHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs StripeHead-to-head comparisonClover vs Shopify POSHead-to-head comparisonSquare vs Shopify POSHead-to-head comparison
    Clover to SquareSwitching guideClover to Shopify POSSwitching guidePayPal to SquareSwitching guideShopify POS to CloverSwitching guideShopify POS to SquareSwitching guideSquare to PayPalSwitching guide

    Sources

    Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

    Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

    Cite this page: HelpCompare, “Switching from Square to Clover”, helpcompare.com/square-to-clover-migration/ (updated ).

    Source links on this site are checked every month; last check . How sources are checked.

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    01 · CompareWhich tool fits your team, side by side.133 comparisons 02 · Price & approveSourced, dated pricing and a one-page brief for sign-off.Decision brief 03 · SwitchWhat moves, what you rebuild, what it costs.264 guides 04 · ShareDownload and cite the data. CC BY 4.0.Open data
    Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
    About the author

    Bill Belcamino

    Founder and author, HelpCompare

    Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent eight and a half years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

    “I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

    Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 19, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.

    Read Bill’s story How we verify pricingSpot an error? Tell Bill