Core Product: Aloha Table Service
Complimentary Products: No
Separate License Required? No
Other References: Aloha Table Service Reference Guide
View/Download/Print: Tip-Share Distribution Feature Focus Guide - HKS384

About Tip-Share Distribution

Aloha Table Service supports the sharing of tips for an environment where employees who do not directly receive tips from the guests, referred to as the support staff, are compensated for their efforts by sharing in the tips the guests give to the wait staff. The practice is often a company policy that is either mandatory or strongly suggested. Restaurants use tip sharing as a hiring incentive for the support staff, which ordinarily are less desirable positions and have a higher turnover rate. These positions are indirectly tipped on top of the wages they already receive; thereby, providing a more satisfied and long-lasting employee for the restaurant.

When the employees who contribute to the tip-share pool check out, they contribute a portion of their tips into the pool based on a percentage of their sales.

The positions receiving money from the tip-share pool generally include bussers, food runners, host staff, and service bartenders. Although bartenders are normally a higher-level position, they are also considered part of the support team because they prepare alcoholic beverages for the wait staff, known as a service bartender.

A server can also contribute more than the default tip-share percentage to reward the support team or specific employees for making their job easier and allowing them to spend more time serving their guests. For example, if a server feels that a busser cleaned their station extra well, the server can tip out more than the allotted amount to that busser.

Once the contributions are put into the tip-share pool, a manager can distribute the tip-share contributions to the appropriate recipients.

Additionally, you have the flexibility to change the tip-share contribution percentage throughout the day by day part.

The above figure depicts a typical tip-share progression. You can configure the system to automatically distribute the tip share and not need a manager to perform the task, or you can configure the system to distribute tip share on a weekly basis, rather than daily.

For example, during the lunch day part, a server contributes the default of 1% to a tip-share pool. During this time, there is only one bartender on duty; the bartender receives 100% of the tip-share contribution. Due to brisk business, the manager schedules more employees during the dinner rush, such as a busser and a host staff. The manager increases the tip-share contribution of the server to 2%, and according to the defined tip-share percentages, the bartender receives 50% of the tip share, the busser receives 25%, and the host staff receives 25%.

Configuring Tip-Share Distribution

• Understanding tip-share calculations
• Defining tip-share distribution requirements
• Providing access to Tip-Share Distribution function
• Allowing employees to contributute and/or receive tip share
• Creating a tip-share pool
• Controlling the tip-share percentage using an event
• Excluding a category from tip-share distribution
• Refreshing POS data

Using Tip-Share Distribution

Learn how to perform procedures related to using tip-share distribution.

Implementing and using advanced Tip-Share Distribution features

• Using job groups for tip-share distribution
• Allowing employees to contributute excess tip-share amounts
• Contributing to multiple tip-share pools and categories
• Using multiple tip-share pools and categories
• Distributing multiple tip-share pools on the BOH

Reporting Tip-Share Distribution

Discover the reports that help you manage tip-share distribution.

Troubleshooting Tip-Share Distribution

Learn possible solutions to problems you may encounter with tip-share distribution.