Three different tip totals for the same Saturday
The till's end of day report shows one figure for card tips. The card terminal's report shows a slightly different one, because two bills were closed on the till as cash after the guest paid by card, and one tip was added on the terminal but not keyed on the till. The bank shows the settlement a couple of days later as a single amount, combined with the sales and minus fees.
The manager uses the till figure for the tip pot because it is the one in front of them. Nobody knows whether it is right.
Tips pass through several systems on the way to the bank
In many restaurants the till and the card terminal are separate, or only loosely linked. Servers key tips into one, the guest adds them on the other, and the bank sees only the total. Each system is right about what it saw, but none sees the whole picture.
- Terminals not integrated with the till mean tips are keyed twice or not at all.
- Bills closed to the wrong payment type move money between cash and card.
- Card settlements arrive in the bank days later, grouped and net of fees.
- Refunds, voids and split bills make matching by amount unreliable.
A worked example: a table of six splits the bill three ways by card, and one guest adds a tip. The server closes the bill on the till as one card payment with no tip. The terminal shows three payments and a tip. The till report is short of the tip, and the tip pot is short by that amount unless someone notices.
Why it matters beyond the tip pot
Staff trust the tip pot only if it is right. If card tips on the terminal are higher than the figure used, the team is short; if they are lower, the business is paying out money it did not receive. The same gaps also affect your takings figures and your accounts, and they are much harder to untangle a month later.
Hours spent at the end of each week comparing reports by eye are hours a manager does not have.
How we build a daily card and tips reconciliation
- Each day's card transactions are taken from your card provider, by API or report export, with amount, tip and time.
- Bills and payments are taken from your till or EPOS, including payment type and any tips keyed there.
- Transactions are matched to bills by time, amount and terminal, allowing for split bills and part payments.
- Bank settlements are matched to the days and terminals they cover, with fees shown separately, using your bank feed or your accounting system, such as Xero.
- A daily view shows card tips from each source, the agreed figure, and a short list of unmatched transactions or differences.
- Resolved differences are recorded with a reason, so the weekly tip total is built from agreed daily figures.
| Difference | Common cause | Resolved by |
|---|---|---|
| Tip on terminal, not on till | Not keyed on the till | Adding it to the bill record |
| Card on terminal, cash on till | Bill closed to wrong payment type | Correcting the payment type |
| Settlement short | Fees or chargebacks | Showing fees separately |
| Unmatched card payment | Split bill or deposit | Linking to the right bill |
How tips are treated in your payroll and accounts is for your accountant and payroll provider. The reconciliation gives them figures that agree.
A week that adds up
Each morning, yesterday's card sales and tips are either agreed or come with a short list of differences to look at while the shift is fresh in people's minds. The weekly tip pot is the sum of agreed days. When the accountant asks about a settlement, the matching is already done.
Patterns also show up, such as one terminal where tips are often missed on the till, which is usually fixed with a quick word or a change of setting.
Signs your card tips need reconciling
- Till, terminal and bank figures for tips never quite agree.
- Your card terminal is not integrated with your till.
- The tip pot uses whichever figure is easiest to find.
- Bank settlements are matched to days by hand, if at all.
- Staff have questioned whether all card tips reached the pot.