Clover architecture

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Clover platform

You can select how you want to build apps on our flexible Clover platform. Your apps are published on the Clover App Market.

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Clover platform and third-party apps

On the Clover platform you can:

  • Build Android apps for Clover devices using the Clover Android SDK. Your apps can leverage rich business data and Clover device hardware capabilities.
  • Build web apps on the Clover platform using the Clover REST API. You can make authorized Clover REST API calls and help merchants manage their business better.
  • Build apps using the Ecommerce API to integrate with Ecommerce services tailored to the needs of merchants.
  • Use the [Clover Android Payments API] (doc:using-clover-android-payments-api) to process payments from your Android app on different Clover device configurations, without the need to be device aware.
  • Integrate your own point-of-sale (POS) with Clover devices and accept Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant dip, swipe, and tap payments.

Solutions on the Clover platform

  • Cloud-based point-of-sale service and REST API
  • Android-based point-of-sale devices
  • Android-based remote services (AIDL), content providers, and broadcasts through the Clover Services APK
  • Standard set of Android intents that Clover and third-party applications can implement
  • Clover App Market for developers to publish their applications

The Clover platform provides a basic set of point-of-sale applications for restaurants and retailers. We encourage developers to build specialized applications for particular types of establishments, for example: full-service restaurants have different needs from food trucks or yogurt shops. Our goal is that any Clover-provided application could be replaced or superseded by a third-party application.

What is a Clover app?

A Clover app can take many forms:

  • Android app that runs natively on a Clover point-of-sale device
  • Android or iOS app that runs on a consumer device
  • Server-supported web app
  • Pure HTML/JS web app utilizing CORS
  • Server-to-server app

A Clover app can be any or all of the above. For example, a table reservation app might perform server-to-server calls to take consumer reservations, provide an Android app that runs on the merchant's Clover device to view and manage those reservations, and offer an iOS app to provide reporting and analytics to the restaurant owner. The app is published in the Clover App Market, allowing merchants to install the app and grant access to their data.

Clover services

Clover offers the following services:

ServiceDescription
Commerce servicesCore commerce-related services including:

- Employee management
- Inventory tracking
- Order management
- Payment processing
- Customer management
Peripheral servicesIntegrates with hardware peripherals for:

- Receipt printing
- Barcode scanning
- Weighing
Management servicesManages the following key services for you:

- App billing
- Push notifications

Clover identifiers (IDs)

See Clover Help for information on IDs for merchants and devices.