KLARA vs. Nexi Comparison

Comparison: KLARA vs. Nexi

Nexi is a solid solution if you’re primarily looking for a payment terminal or acquiring service. KLARA handles payments too — and integrates them directly with your point-of-sale system, payouts, daily closing, accounting, inventory, payroll, and online appointment booking.

The key difference is what happens after the payment. With KLARA, the payment process becomes a streamlined sales and administrative workflow.

Nexi offers payment terminals — KLARA offers an all-in-one SME platform that integrates payments, POS, accounting, inventory, payroll, and additional modules in one system.

In a nutshell: Nexi handles payments. KLARA handles payments, records them, and keeps them organized.

If you just want to connect a single terminal to an existing POS system, Nexi may be sufficient. But if you want payments, TWINT, POS, payouts, accounting, inventory, payroll, appointments, and reports all in one integrated system, KLARA is clearly the better choice.

KLARA isn’t just a comprehensive all-in-one solution. You can start with Payments or POS and add additional modules as needed. The advantage: You won’t have to start from scratch later when you add accounting, payroll, inventory, or appointment scheduling.

Requirements / Profile

Recommendation

Why

Hair, Beauty & Wellness

KLARA

Appointments, clients, payments, point-of-sale, and accounting are all part of daily operations. KLARA connects these steps directly.

Restaurants, Cafés, Food Trucks

KLARA

Orders, tables, menus, split payments, tips, daily closing, and payments are all handled in a single solution.

Retail

KLARA

Products, variants, inventory, checkout, TWINT, cards, online/offline sales, and accounting are all integrated.

Multiple cash registers, terminals, or locations

KLARA

Payments can be analyzed by time period, cash register, terminal, and store; compatible with multi-store and multi-POS setups.

Businesses with accounting and payroll needs

KLARA

Automatic daily closing, payout posting, synchronization with accounting, and Swissdec ELM5-certified payroll.

Already have a cash register; just looking for a terminal

KLARA & Nexi

Nexi is a good option if you only need a terminal or acquiring services. However, if you want to combine sales and administration, KLARA is the better choice.

Tourism businesses requiring DCC, Tax Free, and WIR/REKA support

KLARA & Nexi

Nexi may be a good fit for specialized payment features. If point-of-sale, accounting, and daily closing are your main priorities, KLARA remains the better choice.

Crucial for Swiss SMEs

KLARA

Nexi

Digital payments

TWINT, cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay are all available directly through the KLARA payment setup—with a flat fee of 1.7% and no need for an additional third-party contract. Lower fees for larger merchants.

Wide range of payment options, including specialized payment methods; greater focus on terminals and acquiring.

TWINT

Part of the KLARA payment setup—everything in one system and in a single payout.

Possible, but requires a separate Nexi contract process and a TWINT Business account. Having a separate payout account just for TWINT creates additional work during bookkeeping.

Checkout and Payments

POS, terminal, and payment systems seamlessly integrated—depending on the setup, using Kasse Flex, Kasse Duo, or mobile KLARA payment terminals.

Good terminal solution; POS integration is handled by a separate POS provider.

After payment

Payments are automatically processed in Payouts, daily closing, and accounting; less manual follow-up work.

Reports and statements are available; further processing depends more on the setup.

Daily Closing and Bookkeeping

Automatic synchronization with KLARA Accounting, payout posting, and automatic daily closing.

Transaction and billing data are available via portals. Additional reporting and export processes for further processing.

Payouts

Payout dashboard directly in KLARA; documents available for download for bookkeeping purposes.

Transaction data is available, but payouts are processed separately depending on the payment method. The setup is critical for posting and reconciliation.

Inventory / Warehouse

Sales from the cash register, online store, and orders can be synchronized with inventory and accounting.

Inventory, inventory management, and accounting are handled by separate systems.

Wages / Employees

Swissdec ELM5-certified KLARA Payroll; payroll payments can be posted automatically.

No payroll module in the payment setup; payroll and employees must be handled separately.

Online Appointment Scheduling

✓ Appointments, customers, point-of-sale, and accounting all work together.

✗ No comparable integrated scheduling, customer, and point-of-sale functionality.

Catering Services

Tables, menus, split payments, tips, receipt printers, and daily closing in the KLARA POS system.

Terminal connectivity, tipping feature, and DCC are supported. Operational restaurant processes such as point-of-sale, daily closing, and accounting depend on a separate POS system.

Retail functions

Point of sale, products, variants, inventory, online/offline sales, and accounting—all in one system.

Strong in payments and specialized payment methods; less strong in integrated retail process solutions.

Key advantage

More than just collecting payments: sell, pay out, close transactions, post entries, and manage—all in one Swiss SME system.

Strong in payment processing; additional systems or integrations are needed to cover all aspects of daily SME operations.

Cost

KLARA

Nexi

Transaction fee

1.7% flat fee for KLARA Payments; no additional fees or subscription costs for payments, and no need for a separate third-party contract. Lower fees for larger merchants.

Industry-specific plans and tiered pricing based on sales volume. Fixed costs/subscription fees (terminal rental) may apply depending on the plan.

TWINT Setup

Integrated into the KLARA payment setup and linked to payment overviews, payouts, and accounting.

TWINT is possible, but requires the Nexi onboarding process and a TWINT Business account.

Getting Started with Payment Hardware

POS Mobile Mini: CHF 199 plus tax; additional cash register and terminal setups as needed.

SmartPay rental plan with a contract; specific costs depend on the offer.

Point-of-sale system

Kasse Flex starting at CHF 48/month plus VAT; Kasse Duo starting at CHF 69/month plus VAT, depending on the contract term. Includes POS software.

Focus on the terminal and payment; the cash register operates separately or through the existing POS system.

Inventory

Starting at CHF 26/month with annual billing; inventory and accounting work together.

No integrated inventory/accounting solution included in the payment offering.

Wages

CHF 4.90 per pay stub, or CHF 3.90 with KLARA Business; Swissdec ELM5-certified.

No integrated Swiss payroll solution included in the payment offering.

Online Appointment Scheduling

CHF 39/month or CHF 35/month with annual billing; can be combined with cash register/accounting software.

No comparable integrated scheduling/point-of-sale functionality in the payment offering

Smartphone Payments / SoftPOS

Payments via in-house cash registers and payment terminals with direct KLARA integration. No smartphone soft POS app available.

SoftPOS: 1.49% on Mastercard/Visa plus CHF 0.02 per transaction; additional fees may apply for corporate cards and intra- or interregional transactions.

Payments are not only displayed but also processed

KLARA displays payments in the Payments Dashboard, payouts in the Payouts Dashboard, and automatically syncs the cash register and payments with KLARA Accounting. Payouts can be posted, and the daily closing runs automatically.

This is KLARA’s biggest advantage in day-to-day operations: fewer exports, fewer manual transfers, and less reconciliation between payments, the cash register, and accounting.

TWINT is fully integrated into the KLARA workflow

Both providers support TWINT. With KLARA, TWINT is part of the KLARA payment setup and integrates with payment overviews, payouts, and accounting. With Nexi, TWINT activation is handled via a Nexi contract or contract addendum plus a TWINT Business account.

Convenient payment options matter to your customers. For you, it’s also important that payments are accurately recorded in your overview, payouts, and accounting. This is exactly where KLARA excels.

Retail: KLARA does more than just handle the checkout process

In retail, it’s not just about whether a payment goes through. You want to sell products, keep inventory up to date, integrate online and offline sales, and maintain accurate accounting records.

KLARA Inventory synchronizes sales from the register, online store, and order management with inventory and accounting. This connects purchasing, inventory, sales, and accounting in a single system.

Restaurants: KLARA is better suited to the actual service workflow

In the restaurant industry, a terminal isn’t enough. You need tables, menus, staff logins, orders, split payments, tips, receipts, kitchen integration, and daily closing.

KLARA covers these processes directly within the restaurant POS system. Nexi can handle payments and terminal functions; KLARA provides a more comprehensive solution for day-to-day restaurant operations.

Beauty, Hair Salons, and Services: Appointments, Customers, and Payments in a Single Workflow

For appointment-based businesses, payment is just one part of the customer journey. Customers book appointments, employees schedule resources, services are billed, and revenue must be recorded in accounting.

KLARA offers online appointment booking, customer information, point-of-sale, payments, and accounting all in one system. Nexi is primarily relevant here for payments; KLARA covers the entire process more comprehensively.

Payroll and employees: KLARA goes beyond payments

As soon as you have employees, a basic payment setup isn’t enough. KLARA Payroll is Swissdec ELM5-certified and can handle payroll processing, electronic payroll reporting, and automatic posting.

For SMEs with employees, this is a clear advantage of KLARA: payments, cash management, and HR administration can all grow within the same ecosystem.

Where KLARA is clearly stronger

Hardware, software, POS, and payments—all from a single source
1.7% flat fee with transparent pricing. Lower fees for wholesalers. No fixed/subscription costs or hidden fees.
All payment methods directly in the KLARA payment overview—everything in one system, everything in one payout.
Payments and payout dashboard for reporting and analysis directly in KLARA
Automatic daily closing and sync with KLARA accounting
Inventory sync for online and offline sales
Restaurant features, online appointment booking, and industry-specific logic as needed
Swissdec ELM5-certified payroll
Modularly expandable: Payments, POS, accounting, inventory, payroll, and appointments—all in one system as needed

When Nexi may be the better choice

If you only need a terminal or acquiring services
If you’re already using a non-KLARA POS system
For special payment methods such as WIR, REKA, or lunch checks
If you’re primarily looking for an additional payment integration

What both basically offer

Cashless payments in stores
Cards, TWINT, and wallet payments
In-store and mobile payment solutions
Transaction overviews and reports
Solutions for Swiss SMEs

Hair Salon and Beauty

KLARA is clearly the better choice here because appointments, customer data, payments, point-of-sale, and accounting all go hand in hand. Nexi can assist with payments; KLARA handles the entire process—from appointment to accounting—more effectively. Recommendation: KLARA.

More about KLARA for Hair and Beauty Salons

Retail

For retail, key areas include products, variants, inventory, point-of-sale, TWINT, payouts, and accounting. KLARA integrates all these aspects into a single system. Nexi excels in payment methods, but KLARA is the better choice for day-to-day sales and administrative tasks. Recommendation: KLARA.

More about KLARA Retail

KLARA_Gastro_Visual_Catering_iStock-1667329616

Gastronomy

In the restaurant industry, it’s not just about payments. KLARA supports tables, menus, staff, split payments, tips, receipt printers, daily closings, and payments. Nexi can provide terminals; KLARA provides the better operational workflow. Recommendation: KLARA.

More about KLARA for the restaurant industry

Bottom line: Paying is just the beginning

Nexi is a solid choice if your main goal is to accept payments. For many Swiss SMEs, however, what happens next is crucial.

With KLARA, payments aren’t just processed—they’re directly linked to the cash register, payouts, daily closing, accounting, inventory, payroll, and appointments. This saves manual work, reduces system disconnects, and makes your business easier to manage.

The difference: Nexi helps you take payments. KLARA helps you take payments and efficiently run your business after the transaction is complete.

For Swiss SMEs that handle cash, accounting, inventory, payroll, scheduling, or have multiple employees: yes. Nexi excels in payments and terminals. KLARA is a better fit if you want payments to be directly integrated into your day-to-day operations.

KLARA covers the main digital payment methods used by Swiss SMEs: TWINT, cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Nexi offers a wider range of specialized payment methods. The advantage of KLARA is that payments are directly integrated with the POS system, dashboard, payouts, daily closing, accounting, and inventory.

Yes. Both providers support TWINT. With KLARA, TWINT is part of the KLARA Payment setup. According to Nexi’s website, activation requires a Nexi contract or contract addendum, as well as a TWINT Business account.

Because KLARA Point of Sale and Payments automatically sync with KLARA Accounting. Payouts can be posted, and the daily closing process runs automatically. This reduces the need for manual follow-up work.

KLARA. Restaurants, cafés, bars, and food trucks need more than just a terminal: tables, menus, staff, split payments, tips, and daily closings are all operational challenges. KLARA handles them better.

KLARA. Retail businesses benefit more from having point-of-sale, products, variants, inventory, online/offline sales, payments, and accounting all in one system. Nexi excels in specialized payment solutions but offers a narrower scope in the sales process.

Nexi can be a good option if you already have a point-of-sale system and just want to add a terminal, acquiring services, DCC, Tax Free, WIR, REKA, Lunch-Check, or SoftPOS. For an integrated SME solution, KLARA is clearly the better choice.

Area

Source

URL

KLARA POS Hardware

Hardware, Software, Payments, 1.7% flat fee, Pricing for Kasse Flex, Kasse Duo, POS Mobile Mini

https://www.klara.ch/pos-hardware

KLARA Payments

Payments Dashboard, Payout Dashboard, Accounting Sync, Automatic Daily Closing, Multi-Store/Multi-POS

https://www.klara.ch/payments

KLARA Retail

Point of Sale, Products, Variants, Inventory, Stock Levels, Online/Offline Sales, Accounting Sync

https://www.klara.ch/pos-retail

KLARA Gastro

Tables, menus, staff logins, split payments, tips, receipt printers, daily closing

https://www.klara.ch/pos-gastro

KLARA Inventory

Synchronization of point-of-sale, online store, order management, inventory, and accounting; inventory pricing

https://www.klara.ch/inventar

KLARA Online Appointment Scheduling

Appointment scheduling, price: CHF 39/month or CHF 35/month with annual billing, customer import, compatibility with point-of-sale systems and accounting software

https://www.klara.ch/online-terminbuchung

KLARA Wages

Swissdec ELM5, CHF 4.90 per month and payroll run, or CHF 3.90 with the Business Package

https://www.klara.ch/lohnbuchhaltung

Nexi Payment Methods

Cards, local payment methods, TWINT, PostFinance, Lunch-Check, REKA, WIR, Apple Pay, Google Pay

https://www.nexi.swiss/de/produkte/zahlungsmethoden

Nexi TWINT

Activation via the Nexi Merchant Agreement/new agreement plus a TWINT Business account

https://www.nexi.swiss/de/support/faq/twint

Nexi SmartPay

SmartPay for small businesses without POS integration, < 1.55% per transaction, local customer service, next-day payouts