Tip-out calculator

Work out what you owe the bar, the bussers and the runners at the end of a shift, and what you take home. Each role can be a percentage of your sales or of your tips.

Free
No sign-up
Made on your device, nothing is uploaded

Your sales this shift

Your tips this shift

Currency

Who you tip out

Result

The link holds your numbers, so you can check them with your manager.

How it works

Enter the shift
Your sales and the tips you made, in your currency.
Set the tip-outs
Add each role with its percentage of your sales or of your tips.
Check what you keep
See every tip-out and your take-home, and copy a link to check it later.

What a tip-out is

A tip-out is the part of a server's tips that goes to the people who helped them serve: bussers, bartenders, food runners, hosts and sometimes the kitchen. It is different from a tip pool, where everyone's tips go into one pot and are shared out. To share a pot by hours or points, use the tip split calculator.

By sales or by tips

A percentage of tips is the easy one: with $320 in tips and a 15% tip-out to the busser, the busser gets $48.

A percentage of sales is common for the bar and food runners, because it follows how busy you were rather than how generous your tables were. With $1,800 in sales and a 1% tip-out to the runner, the runner gets $18, whatever you were tipped. On a slow-tipping night this can take a big part of your tips, which is why the calculator shows the total as a share of both.

What is normal

There is no single standard. Each restaurant sets its own percentages, and they vary with the menu, the team and the local rules. Ask for the policy in writing, and check each shift's numbers.

The rules in the United States

Under federal law, managers, supervisors and owners cannot keep any part of employees' tips, including through a tip-out. When an employer takes a tip credit, so pays less than the full minimum wage in cash, tips can only be shared with staff who customarily receive tips, such as bussers, bartenders and runners. Many states add their own rules. See the tipped minimum wage by state for your state's figures.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Common questions

How do you calculate a tip-out?

Multiply the number it is based on by the percentage. A 15% tip-out on $320 in tips is $48. A 1% tip-out on $1,800 in sales is $18.

Is a tip-out based on sales or on tips?

Either, depending on the restaurant. Bussers are often tipped out from tips, and the bar and food runners often from sales.

What is the difference between a tip-out and a tip pool?

In a tip-out each server pays set percentages to support staff. In a tip pool all tips go into one pot that is shared by hours, points or equally.

Can a manager take part of my tips?

Not in the United States. Federal law bars managers, supervisors and owners from keeping employees’ tips, including through a tip pool or tip-out.

Can my tips be shared automatically?

Yes. With a TipIns group, one QR code takes the tips and each tip is split as it arrives, by equal shares or set percentages, into each person’s own account.