Tip pool calculator

Tip pool and tip-out calculator: split the night's tips fairly.

Type the tips in the pool and each person's hours, and see what everyone gets, to the cent. Or switch to Tip-out and see what a server owes the bussers, bar and host from their sales or tips. Free, no sign-up, and it adds up every time.

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Split your tips

Pick Tip pool to share one pot among the team, or Tip-out to work out what one server gives the people who helped them. Names are optional and stay on this device.

How to use it

  1. Pick Tip pool or Tip-out: A tip pool shares one pot. A tip-out is what each server hands to bussers, the bar, the host or food runners at the end of the shift.
  2. Type the tips: For a pool, the cash and card tips together for the shift. For a tip-out, the server's tips and sales from your register's server report.
  3. Add the team: Pick each person's job and type their hours. In a points pool, give each job its points.
  4. Read the split: Each person's share shows on their card, with what it works out to an hour. The shares always add up to the pool.
  5. Keep a copy: Print it for the shift log. It also stays in this browser on this device.

The tip pool formulas

Worked example: $600 in the pool, two servers at 6 hours, a busser and a bartender at 4 hours. That's 20 hours, so $30 an hour: $180 for each server and $120 each for the busser and bartender. Give the busser and bartender half points and the servers get $225 each, the other two $75 each.

Rules to check first (general information, not legal advice)

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Questions owners ask

How do you calculate a tip pool?

Add up everyone's hours, divide the pool by the total hours to get an hourly rate, then multiply each person's hours by that rate. $600 over 20 hours is $30 an hour, so a 6 hour shift gets $180.

How does a points tip pool work?

Each job gets points, and a person's share is their hours times their points, out of everyone's hours times points. A job with 1 point gets twice the hourly share of a job with half a point. Your team picks the points.

What is a tip-out?

The part of a server's tips handed to the people who helped them, such as bussers, the bar, hosts or food runners. It's usually a set percent of the server's sales or tips, which your house decides.

Should tip-out be a percent of sales or tips?

Either works, and many houses use sales because it doesn't change when a table tips poorly. The calculator does both, and shows the total as a percent of sales and of tips so you can compare.

Can managers be in the tip pool?

Under federal law a manager or supervisor may not take tips from the pool, and an employer may not keep any employee tips (US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #15B). State rules can add more, so check with your payroll company or lawyer.

Is it free?

Yes. No sign-up, no ads, and nothing to download.

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