How tip outs are usually worked out
Restaurants and bars set their own tip-out rules, and they're usually one of three kinds.
- A percent of sales. You tip out a share of what you sold, whatever you made in tips. 2% of $1,200 in sales is $24 on a good night and a slow one. Bussers, food runners and the bar are often tipped out this way, since their work follows how much you sold.
- A percent of tips. You tip out a share of what you were tipped, so it rises and falls with your tips. 5% of $300 in tips is $15.
- A flat amount. A fixed figure a shift, like $10 to the host, whatever the night brought.
A percent of sales can cost more than you'd expect on a night when guests tip poorly, because the tip out doesn't shrink with your tips. If you're not sure which rule your workplace uses, ask your manager.
This calculator works to the cent: each tip out is rounded to the nearest cent, and take home here is your tips less your tip outs. It doesn't count wages, tip ins or taxes.
Every shift, without the math
Tipmik records tip outs per shift. Give each job its tip-out rule once, a percent of sales, a percent of tips or a flat amount, and it fills the tip out in on every shift you log. Change it for the night when the split was different, and add a line for each person you tipped out. Tipmik then shows your take home per shift and per hour, with your wages and tip ins counted.