kickfinadmin, Author at Kickfin

What Digital Tipping Really Means: Tip Acceptance vs. Tip Distribution

Confused by digital tipping? We hear you. Get up to speed with this quick rundown so you can keep up with the ever-expanding world of restaurant tech.

Digital tipping is an umbrella term that gets used interchangeably — but it covers a few different use cases. If you’re in the market for a digital tipping solution, it’s important to understand the different types of digital tipping.

Here’s how we break it down: tip acceptance and tip distribution. One is important for accommodating customers’ needs (and frequent lack of cash on hand); the other allows your business to pay employees more efficiently.

Depending on the type of company you’re running and the way your team is structured, you might have a need for digital tip acceptance, digital tip distribution, or both.

Digital Tip Acceptance

We’re probably stating the obvious here, but cashless tip acceptance isn’t new: every time a customer pays for a meal or service and leaves a tip on their credit card — well, you’ve just accepted a cashless tip.

But now more than ever, companies are using POS systems and digital tipping software (like Kickfin) to accept cashless tips where cash had been the norm — or where a tip may not have been offered at all. For example:

QSR and fast casual restaurants: Rather than dropping their change into a tip jar at the coffee shop or to-go counter, customers are being prompted to leave a digital tip directly on the POS. (You know, the old iPad swivel…)
Online ordering: Online ordering systems now allow users to leave a tip from their phone instead of paying a delivery driver in cash. Brands like Panera even give you the option to tip when you’re placing a rapid self-pickup order and wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to interact or tip the people preparing your food.
Hotel guest services: Many hotels are adopting text-to-tip options and QR code tipping so that guests can easily tip their housekeepers, valets, and concierges if they forgot to swing by the ATM first.

With the expanded uses of digital tip acceptance, we’re seeing many more opportunities to thank service industry employees for their work, even when we don’t have bills in our wallets or a direct interaction.

More tipping options allow employees to boost their incomes (and who doesn’t love that?), so they stop losing out on tips just because customers don’t carry cash. Plus: it allows even more employees to become tip eligible Business owners and managers can also use the opportunity to earn tips to attract and retain more hourly workers.

See cashless tipping in action! Get a Kickfin demo today

Digital Tip Distribution

Since most of your employees’ tips are cashless anyway, paying out cash tips has become a major operational challenge — which is why so many restaurant teams are choosing to move away from cash tip-outs.

But that doesn’t mean employees can’t get paid on the daily. Enter: digital tip distribution.

Instead of having your managers run to the bank, count out tips, and distribute envelopes of cash day after day, shift after shift, there is now a range of options for digital tip distribution — payroll, paycards, or instant digital tip-outs.

This side of cashless tipping is a little newer, and it’s impacting how restaurants, hotels, and other service industry businesses view their daily operations and hiring practices (for the better):

Digital tip distribution saves managers from running to the bank during a shift — when they could be touching tables, helping on the line in the kitchen, or getting caught up on inventory.
Operators save money because digital tipping eliminates costs associated with cash deliveries and employees waiting for their tips on the clock.
Digitizing tip payments can reduce the risk of error and theft.
Gen Z and Millenials are increasingly demanding instant, digital payment options. If you’re competing with other restaurants for the hourly workers, offering instant digital tips can make your establishment stand out from other employers.

Ready to check out cashless tipping for yourself? At Kickfin, we offer cashless tip acceptance and instant digital tip outs that are sent straight to your employees’ bank accounts, the second their shift ends. Request a demo of Kickfin.

8 Ways to Manage Change at Your Restaurant

Change is constant in the restaurant world — and it can be a great thing. (Carryout cocktails, anyone?)

But for upwards of 11 million people, restaurants are workplaces. And change in the workplace? That can be pretty scary for all parties involved.

In the last few years, there’s been a whole lot of change for restaurant workers: between a pandemic, an unstable economy, a tough labor market, supply chain nightmares, and a rapid digital transformation…it’s been a lot, to say the least.

Which means there’s never been a better time to implement a well-considered change management strategy. Whether it’s a new menu, new software, or even new ownership, there are a few things you can do to help your staff prepare for and adapt to the changes that always seem to be coming down the pike.

If you’ve never had a change management strategy, or if yours needs an update: here’s a list of 8 best practices for successfully introducing and implementing changes in your restaurant.

1. Communicate the change — and the why behind it

The number-one way to ensure a smooth transition: effective communication.

Don’t just spring a completely new system on your staff. Communicate changes as early as you can and offer as much transparency as possible.

Remember: while change can be a hard pill to swallow, it’s a whole lot more palatable if your employees understand why it’s happening. Here’s a simple way to structure your initial communication around a change:

Overview: Give them a brief summary of the change. Keep it short and simple — and let them know that further details are coming soon.
Logic: Explain your rationale behind the change. Was there an obvious problem that this change will solve? And why now?
Benefits: Show your employees how the change will positively impact the restaurant (and, hopefully, the employees themselves). For example, if a new system will improve the customer experience, then your servers and bartenders can expect higher tips (woo!). And of course, remind them that a successful restaurant means greater job security.
Details: How will the change play out? Explain how the change will affect day-to-day operations and processes.
Timeline: Lay out all of the key dates for the transition. Mark down any big training or implementation days, the day when the change will officially take effect, and a future date for employees to provide their feedback about the new system.

2. Use the proper channels (hint: more than one)

Make sure that no employee misses the memo on a major change.Here are a few things to remember when getting the word out:

Employ multiple channels. Whatever your “primary” communication is, you likely have multiple ways of reaching employees and distributing information. Especially for big changes, make them hard to miss. Maybe in addition to a team meeting, you also send out a text, hit up the #announcements channel on Slack, and hang a flier in the kitchen. (Pro tip: This is also a great time to evaluate and optimize your communication channels.)
Consider the gravity of the change. Does your staff need to start wearing blue socks instead of black ones? Might not be worth an all-staff meeting. Was a seasoned manager let go? Probably want to communicate sensitive news in person. Make sure the channels you’re using are appropriate given the nature of the change.
Squash the rumor mill: In a close work environment, people are going to talk. But getting ahead of “breaking news” in your restaurant and communicating it to employees all at once — instead of letting it trickle through the team — will go a long way in maintaining a healthy, transparent culture.

3. Gather feedback the right way

No, you don’t have to make every decision by committee, or put every change to vote.

But when you do it right, soliciting feedback can be beneficial. Your employees are on the front line and will likely be most affected by a major change — be it a new menu or new closing procedures — so they might bring valuable insights to the table. Bonus: it shows you care about your employees’ POV.

With that being said, we humans are naturally averse to change. If you ask for opinions, expect to hear some strong ones.

So, the million-dollar-question: How do you show that you value your employees’ without creating a free-for-all?

A few tips:

When you initially communicate the change: Along with presenting the logic behind the decision, be honest about whether the topic is actually open for discussion.

If it’s open for discussion: Put an organized system in place to solicit and review feedback. To help minimize negative, knee-jerk reactions, give employees time to digest the news before asking them to submit feedback. And consider providing guidance to keep that feedback focused and healthy. This could be something as simple as a series of prompts, e.g.:

What do you like about the change?
What questions or concerns do you have about the change?
What suggestions do you have that you think might improve the change?
If it’s final: You should still make sure every member of your team feels heard and supported. Give them a clear path to voice concerns and be willing to talk through objections.

(If and when you gather feedback, bear in mind: It’s always going to be harder for your employees to effectively weigh all risks and benefits. They’re not running a company, and they don’t have insight into every aspect of the business. At the end of the day, employee feedback should be thought of as an input, not the entire equation.)

4. Get buy-in on the front end

If there’s a natural, trusted liaison between employees and upper management – like your head servers or FOH managers – consider pulling them in early to make them aware of the change before sharing it with the broader team.

A few reasons why this could work in your favor:

It’s a great relationship-building tactic to demonstrate the trust you have in that person as a team leader.
They might be able to help you anticipate concerns or objections from the rest of the team, so you can be prepared to address those early.
If they show that they’re comfortable with — or even excited about — the change, that can help set the tone for everyone else.
They can act as an additional channel of communication and sounding board for employees and relay back additional insights that you might have missed.

5. Offer options when you can

Again, soliciting feedback can be tricky. Because the status quo tends to be very comfortable, given the choice between change and no-change, many employees will likely choose the latter.

So consider framing the situation as: “The status quo is no longer workable, so we need to make a change. Here’s the option that our management team believes is best for everyone — and here are a few other options on the table.”

Our Kickfin customers do this all the time. While employees love getting their tips instantly, directly to their bank account — moving away from cash can feel daunting for some folks at first. So before making the switch to digital tipping, management might set the stage this way:

“Cash tip distribution is having a negative impact on our business. We need to move away from cash tip-outs, and we believe Kickfin’s digital tipping solution has the most benefits for you, as employees, and for our operations. We’ll provide all the details as to how Kickfin works and what this change means for you. Another option is to receive your tips on payroll. Let’s talk it through!”

6. Provide training and support

You wouldn’t want to learn a completely new process overnight — so don’t expect the same of your staff. With any major change, make sure to provide several opportunities for staff to prepare before they hit the ground running. Here are a few ways you can do this:

Host a tasting event for new menu items (a good opportunity to teach them how to suggest drink pairings)
Hold (paid!) training sessions on a new POS system or technology
Invite new managers to meet with staff before they take over the helm
Be available for one-on-one training and questions

Most importantly, don’t expect employees to just “get it” right away. Be accommodating to their questions and provide as much support as they need.

7. Create positive energy

Once again, for the people in the back: change is hard. Acknowledging that your employees might be experiencing some disruption — and recognizing their hard work — can make all the difference when it comes to adjusting and adapting.

Here are just a few ways you can express your appreciation for their flexibility, patience and positive attitude:

Shout-out employees at pre-shift meetings
If employees don’t already get a free meal each shift, offer a week of comped employee food
Give away merch (branded hats, bags, t-shirts, etc)
Offer a gift card or small bonus as a token of thanks
Throw a staff party to celebrate a successful transition

8. Check in with your team

After you’ve implemented a new process or change, your work isn’t quite done.

Check in with your staff regularly to see how things are going. Ask them specific questions around the impact of the change — don’t get offended if they answer honestly. You need to know if a new process is actually improving your restaurant’s workflows and day-to-day operations.

Most importantly, give your team ample time to settle into the change and work out any kinks before attempting to course correct.

Bottom line: managing change is really all about managing people. Effective communication, proper training, and fostering a culture of trust and transparency will ensure a smooth transition for all parties involved.

Looking to change how your restaurant manages tip outs? Check out Kickfin’s cashless tip-out platform, and request a demo today.

SITCA: How to Navigate the IRS’s New Tip Reporting Program

Three things in life are certain: death, taxes, and confusing updates from the IRS.

This year, the IRS has rolled out a new tip reporting program that should help restaurant owners use technology to stay in compliance with tax laws — once we’re all on the same page as to how it works. Here’s a quick rundown of the new program and what it means for employers.

How do employers typically handle taxes on tips?

Most of the burden of tip reporting falls on the employee. They’re responsible for keeping a daily record of tips, reporting tips to their employers, and reporting their tips on their tax returns. And while tips aren’t wages, employers do still have a hand in reporting tips and withholding taxes.

Did you know that even though tips aren’t wages, you still have to pay your share of income taxes on them? That’s why it’s so important to accurately report employees’ tips and keep meticulous records.

In the past employers have had a few options for how to track and report tips:

Tip Rate Determination Agreement (TRDA)
Tip Reporting Alternative Commitment (TRAC)
Employer-designed TRAC (EmTRAC)

All of these programs require employers to educate their employees on the importance of properly reporting both cash and credit card tips — with some minor differences regarding how tips are reported to the IRS.

One key thing to note: the TRDA does not use actual tip revenue to determine tax liability. Instead, employees are expected to report tips at or above an estimated tip rate that is determined by the IRS. If reported tips fall below the established rate, the employer is expected to provide detailed documentation of employees’ names, social security numbers, hours worked, sales, tips reported, and job titles.

The TRAC and EmTRAC programs do not establish a tip rate, but they do require employers to take on the responsibility of ensuring their employees report their tips. No matter which tip-reporting program you choose, they all generally entail lots of paperwork and vague language — but that might change in the near future.

What is SITCA?

Under the new IRS proposal, a new tip reporting program called the Service Industry Tip Compliance Agreement (SITCA) would allow employers to take advantage of their point-of-sale systems and other restaurant tech in order to report their employees’ tips. The IRS created SITCA in order to replace the outdated TRDA, TRAC, and EmTRAC tip reporting programs.

Most diners are paying with credit cards or digital payment methods these days — so the transaction data is right at your fingertips. And rather than take an educated guess at your average tip rate, the IRS will use actual tip data pulled from your POS to determine tax liability for both employees and employers. They can also easily pull employees’ hours worked and sales information to ensure tips are being properly reported.

This move by the IRS should relieve some of the tax reporting burdens and save time for employers by getting rid of the endless forms and paperwork that were previously necessary for tip reporting.

What about cash tips?

As always, employees are required to report their cash tips — which of course can’t be backed up by POS data. The onus is still on the employee to accurately report all tips. If the IRS notices major discrepancies between sales and tips (especially missing cash tips), the employee could be audited.

What do restaurant owners need to know for the 2023 tax season?

For now, you don’t need to overhaul your tax practices. You will remain in your current tip reporting program until one of the following occurs:

Your restaurant is accepted into the SITCA program
The IRS finds you noncompliant with your current TRDA, TRAC, or EmTRAC program
The end of the first full calendar year after the final revenue procedure is published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin

That being said, you should start looking to ensure that your restaurant has everything it needs to succeed under SITCA. Ask yourself: Do you have a POS system that you trust? Do you use a digital tipping solution? With the right technology, your restaurant’s tip reporting and tax liability should run smoother than ever before.

Interested in the SITCA program? Follow these instructions by May 7, 2023 to enroll.

Tax Tips for Service Industry Workers

Tax season is here — and like many U.S. employees come springtime, you’re probably feeling the pressure. Soon, you’ll be sitting in front of your computer wondering just how much you’ll owe to the government … and maybe even worrying that you’ll get audited.

No one likes doing their taxes, but for servers, bartenders, and other service industry workers, your tipped income can make things even more complicated. Here’s how to survive tax season as a tipped employee.

Stay on top of your tip reporting

Tip reporting is a year-round job. Well before tax season comes around, make sure you know how to properly report your tips.

If you make more than $20 a month in tips, the government needs to know. According to the IRS, it’s your responsibility to report your tip income to your employer, who then reports those tips to the IRS. By the 10th of each month, you should hand over a detailed report with the total tips you received for the prior month.

We know what you’re thinking: Do you really have to report cash tips?

Sure, it would be great if all of those cash tips were just money in your pocket — but failing to report all of your tips could cost you even more. If you’re audited, you could be on the hook for 20% more of your income.

Technology is also making it easier for the IRS to sniff out under-reported tips. Under a new proposal called SITCA, the IRS would have access to POS data that includes sales, credit card tips, and hours worked. And while cash tips will still be reported through an honor system, the IRS will have a much easier time proving unreported income.

We’d rather be safe than sorry — so make sure your tip reports are as accurate as possible each month.

Get to know your W-2 (and other tax forms)

Once your employer sends out your W-2 for the year, you’re ready to get to work on your taxes.

Thoroughly check your W-2 to make sure the information is accurate — especially if your restaurant pools tips. You should only pay taxes on income that you actually realized, not all the tips that were distributed among your coworkers.

Most likely, you’ll be filing with a form 1040 — but which one? Depending on your filing status, yearly income, and your deductions, you can use a 1040 long-form, 1040A, or the 1040EZ. Get familiar with what each tax form allows, and use the one that will allow you the largest possible return (or the lowest possible liability).

Take advantage of write-offs

Think of all the small things you have to buy for your job. For example:

Do you have to buy work-specific clothing or uniforms, like branded polos or khakis?
What about work-appropriate footwear that — while not exactly a fashion statement — keep you safe on slick restaurant floors?
Or did you pay out-of-pocket for a training course on alcohol or food safety?

While these might not be big-ticket items, they all add up and help to reduce your taxable income.

But don’t forget to keep a paper trail: Make sure to ask your employer for a receipt when you’re buying uniforms, and keep thorough records of other items you’ve purchased specifically for work.

(Also, take a closer look at your restaurant’s credit card processing fee policy. If you live in a state where your employer can deduct credit card processing fees from your tips, you may be able to write those off too!)

Be prepared for your tax liability

How many zero-dollar paychecks did you open last year? Like most service industry workers, your hourly wage likely went toward your income tax liability from your tips. And unfortunately, the hourly minimum wage for servers probably doesn’t cover the whole tax bill.

Instead of wiping out your savings account to pay your taxes, start planning for your tax liability a year in advance. After each week (or even each shift) set aside about 15% of your tips, so when you see what you owe the IRS, it doesn’t leave you scrambling. And if you happen to have anything left over — treat yourself!

Make reporting a breeze with Kickfin

When restaurant teams sign up for Kickfin, tip tracking is a cinch. Refer your restaurant employer or request a demo today!

Hot Tips & Takes: Restaurant Accounting Tips from MarginEdge

How can restaurant operators use tech to stay on top of their accounting? Ask Kevin and Eric.

At Kickfin, we know the right technology helps restaurants run more efficiently — and makes operators’ jobs easier. But if you know, you know: restaurant accounting can be a beast. So we connected with MarginEdge’s Kevin O’Nell (SVP of Payments and Partnerships) and Eric Jeffay (Senior Partnership Manager) to talk about the specific accounting challenges restaurant owners face, and how tech is solving them.

What makes restaurant accounting different from other businesses?

Kevin O’Nell: I think two things stand out when it comes to accounting at a high level. First, most restaurants are structured on 4-5-4 accounting, which is unique from other small businesses and not necessarily supported in QuickBooks Desktop as well as restaurant owners would like it to be.

The second thing: A lot of owners own multiple locations, so they probably run accounting across those locations. Perhaps those locations have different ownership groups, so then when they report out earnings and dividends, they have to account for that as well.

What are some common accounting mistakes restaurant owners make?

Kevin O’Nell: The mistakes someone would make are not unique to the restaurant industry. For example — any growing entrepreneur will see accounting become more and more important as you grow and become profitable.

Sometimes, in the beginning, it’s not always the highest priority. Surely building a business, hiring the right people, putting the right processes in place, and growing sales matters, but as an organization expands and as there are more stakeholders, then all of a sudden accounting really matters.

Many people start off with their accountant as themselves, their spouse, or someone in their family. But at some point, outsourcing or hiring a professional becomes an important piece of growing their business.

Eric Jeffay: Restaurant owners very often are not traditional business people. They don’t have offices and desks, and it’s easy to fall behind on your data entry when you’re doing accounting as a restaurant operator. So they should be aware that accounting is not something that happens on the last day of the period —and certainly not at the end of the year. That’s not the time to do your data entry.

And it’s a fairly common mistake to think accounting is not a daily process. But at the end of the day, somebody has to do the data entry on a somewhat daily basis, whether it’s a software or the restaurant operator themselves.

How does tipping play into restaurant accounting?

Eric Jeffay: I’m sure you guys know this at Kickfin — but tips are liabilities, not assets. It’s important to make sure you have those funds set aside. You’re not realizing those funds, or if you are, you have to be really careful you do pay those out in full. It’s really the same as sales tax. It’s not your money.

How can tech ease the burden of accounting?

Kevin O’Nell: No one wants to have to stay and do accounting either at two o’clock in the morning after a restaurant closes or all day on Sunday morning instead of spending time with their family.

With technology like MarginEdge, QuickBooks, and Kickfin, we are allowing restaurant owners to easily digitize those transactions and that information in a way that just wasn’t possible five or 10 years ago. And so all of the paper processing that you would have done now is in a digital format that saves people tons and tons of time.

Eric Jeffay: I think Kevin is spot on. You just have to realize a lot of accounting reporting is not meant to be actionable on a day-to-day basis or a week-to-week basis. Tech can really translate a lot of those like end-of-period reports into more flash reporting where you can get more actionable data, so you’re not waiting until the 15th of the month to figure out what happened the previous month or period.

“Tech can really translate a lot of those like end-of-period reports into more flash reporting where you can get more actionable data, so you’re not waiting until the 15th of the month to figure out what happened the previous month or period.”

Are restaurants automating their accounting?

Kevin O’Nell: The main way restaurants are automating their accounting is in the data entry. You used to manually enter that data, but now there are a number of tools, including MarginEdge, that do it automatically.

For one, we’re seeing that automation is moving sales from their point of sale system into accounting software. You’re also seeing it in payroll – which is a large expense for restaurants – it can now be pulled into your accounting software on nearly a real-time basis. And, of course, receivables (like food and other orders) can be pulled into their accounting software digitally as well.

Eric Jeffay: Yes and all that data entry is super important. I also want to mention one thing — there’s absolutely a role for an accountant. Tech helps to speed up an accountant’s work to get you more actionable insights faster and to make it more efficient, but there’s 100% still a need for the accountant. Tech is a tool in their belt, but it’s not nearly at the level of replacement.

“Tech helps to speed up an accountant’s work to get you more actionable insights faster and to make it more efficient, but there’s 100% still a need for the accountant. Tech is a tool in their belt…”

What are the advantages of outsourcing your accounting?

Eric Jeffay: The advantage of outsourcing your accounting, especially if you’re a smaller restaurant or a small group of restaurants, is that you need the economy of scale to have an in-house staff accountant that you can afford to pay. So if you are smaller, if you’re growing, if you’re in an early stage, then it’s really much more cost-effective to outsource your accounting. But there are disadvantages to that. Oftentimes, I think when you outsource, you fit into that accountant’s processes and their workflow.

As you grow, the advantage to keeping your accounting in-house is you have more autonomy over accounting. That speeds up your reporting very often, and you can better customize your accounting reporting and your accounting processes if you are doing it in-house. You probably have more flexibility on what your period structure is, what your chart of account structure is, what type of flash reporting you get, and what type of tech you use.

I would also say — obviously all restaurants strive for profitability, but they do so to varying degrees and varying levels. So there are operators who have more of an economic focus on their businesses compared to others, and you probably want to shore up your weaknesses.

If you’re a chef-owner who maybe doesn’t have experience in business school – which, quite frankly, that was me – you would want to shore up by having a really strong accountant. Then you might say, “I’m going to outsource my accounting because I’m not an expert on it.” If you can’t manage an accountant or a team of accountants onsite, it might make more sense to go with experts from the outside who are going to manage themselves.

What accounting advice would you give to new restaurant owners?

Eric Jeffay: Operators often view accounting as almost a dirty word, but accounting can be a really positive thing. It’s much better to know what’s happening in terms of building a sustainable business, taking care of your staff, and making sure you’re efficient with your resources. There’s a real upside to having good accounting practices.

The other thing I would say is to get an early start on it. Make sure that you spend time on setting up systems, setting up software, and setting up processes early on that will help sustain you because it’s really easy.

Accounting is not the focus of restaurant owners and it shouldn’t be, but you should be able to have the processes on the back burner. That way you can focus on what’s happening in your dining room, what’s happening in your kitchen, and what’s happening with your marketing — the things that are sexier and more fun to spend your time on.

I think that’s where we get back into the discussion of tech being helpful. There are a lot of great programs that can make your life so much easier and more efficient by setting a lot of those things on autopilot for you.

Kevin O’Nell: When set up correctly, accounting can be a tool that allows you to spend more time with your customers and know when you’re making a dollar or losing a dollar. Set up incorrectly, it can be a complete blind spot, so it’s completely worth the time to do upfront.

Hot Tips & Takes: How Independent Pizza Restaurants Are Using Tech to Take on Big Chains in 2023

How are pizza restaurant operators adapting to new technology and taking their businesses to new heights? Ask Steve Green.

If you haven’t seen this year’s Pizza Power Report, you’re in for a surprise. Independent pizza restaurants experienced explosive growth, outpacing their big-chain competitors. We sat down with Steve Green, founder and publisher of PMQ magazine, to talk about the reasons behind independents’ success last year — and how they’ll continue to take off in 2023 with the help of new tech.

Can you define an independent pizza brand and how they differ from a larger chain?

People always ask that and I used to be somewhat uncomfortable with the answer until I just went along with the crowd. According to the companies that do a lot of this research, independent pizza restaurants mean you have fewer than 10 locations. Once you hit 10 stores in a restaurant group, you can define that as a chain.

What kind of challenges are pizza restaurants facing? And how are independents addressing them differently than larger chains?

Labor is the biggest challenge, and of course, adopting technology is a challenge. But there are great solutions coming up, like the evolution of local RDS companies popping up — think: local DoorDash or GrubHub. One way to address the labor problem is by outsourcing delivery to these services.

I’m a former Domino’s franchisee, and it was pretty easy to just follow the program. But problem-solving as an independent is a really tough job. The thing is, 60% of all pizzerias in the US are owned by an independent, so that’s where most of the people are. Independents have been doing things out of an instinct to survive, so that’s where you see most of the creativity and action.

“…Problem-solving as an independent is a really tough job.”

There’s no question about it — things have really changed. Domino’s said they were a technology company eight years ago, and they’ve made it so competitive that our whole industry has become a technology business. I’m pretty optimistic about the independents’ chances, though. I’m surprised by how adaptable they’ve been, and they’ve benefited from the army of technology companies like Kickfin that are helping solve problems. It‘s a great time to be an independent.

Do you believe independents are using tech more creatively than the bigger chains?

Yes, definitely. We’ve been following Andrew Simmons, owner of Mama Ramona’s in Ramona California, and I just love this guy. In the last three months, he’s made a commitment to showing the pizza industry how technology can really make a difference. He decided not to hire any more staff than his current 18 employees, and yet he’s on his way to doubling sales.

He’s introducing robotics, including robotic vacuum cleaners and a Picnic robotic pizza maker. He also switched from a legacy POS system to something that allows more online ordering and automation. He’s tearing down walls, remodeling his kitchen, and ordering a new Hot Rocks pizza oven. And of course, he’s outsourcing labor. His whole idea is that he can reduce the cost of making pizza and let his customers know that they’re getting real value and more pizza for their money. He’s going for the gold, living the dream.

How else can independents keep up with rising food and labor costs without alienating their customers?

I’ve seen a lot of people reminding their customers that they’re an independent pizza restaurant. They care about pizza as more than just a commodity but a part of their community. Independents have an obligation to play the personality card, use showmanship and authenticity that a chain can’t offer in their communications and social media. They need to remind customers that they aren’t choosing to raise the price but that prices are rising from the roots.

“I’ve heard more positive stories than negative ones about customers accepting price increases for pizza that they feel is above average and special.”

How can independents stay competitive in the labor market?

I know that a lot of independents already pay more than a bigger chain would, but how do they do it? It takes a bit of creativity.

When I had a Domino’s franchise in Marin County California – the richest county in California during the ‘80s – it was hard to find drivers (and when you did some of them would be driving BMWs). After we were up and running, I ended up spending my marketing dollars on hiring efforts instead of, you know, telling people about how great Domino’s was. I cut radio ads, I did box topping, I did door hanging, and if I was still in it today, I would be using social media.

My message was that we’re a fun place to work and could use some help. Then I’d introduce you to a driver to tell you what she likes about working at this Domino’s — that she likes to drive and listen to the radio and that it’s about more than the money. This strategy might be something that independents can get away with more so than a chain could these days.

In spite of rising costs and labor shortages, how did independent pizza restaurants manage to grow so much in 2022? Do you expect the trend to continue in 2023?

Yeah, it’s interesting. Most of the time it’s the chains that have the muscle to keep growing. The pizza industry is a mature industry in that there’s always growth.

One theory is that the number of new businesses that opened in 2022 outpaced the number of businesses that went under, giving the appearance that independents grew much more. It could be regrowth from the destruction we saw in the past three years of business. But I’ve also heard a number of people say that maybe the independents weren’t necessarily growing extra fast but that the chains are looking at the risky environment and opting not to grow as aggressively.

On the other hand, you always have new people who want to get into the pizza business who bring new enthusiasm to the industry. It’s like a volcano, always bubbling up with hot, new ideas. And you end up with a steady stream of people coming in to make better pizza and offer a better pizza experience.

Are there any specific trends we should expect this year from both independent and chain pizza restaurants?

That’s always the big question. It’s probably going to be working with less on the labor side and leaning into automation. But it’ll also be creating an experience that seems like it’s not automation — keeping the humanity while also becoming more efficient.

On the consumer side, great pizza at a fair price will just never get old. When you look at the bottom line, that’s always what’s driven the industry.

Do you have any advice for pizza restaurant owners?

Stay on top of new technology. We’re definitely following this closely in our PMQ Think Tank, which is our online community where people in the pizza industry can ask each other questions. We’ve got 15 years of wisdom and information from our users, and it’s a great place to go when you’re just getting started in the industry.

Also, subscribe to PMQ magazine. It’s not written by us as experts but by our readers who are really connected to the industry. We spy on them through our Think Tank, we talk to them, and we do stories about them. And of course, our editor inserts some wisdom from his interviews with people in the industry. We put a lot of effort into it to show what’s really going on in pizza.

What You Need to Know About Florida Tip Laws

Filled with tourist destinations and great weather, Florida is the perfect place for restaurants to thrive — as long as they can comply with tipping regulations. Like many other states, Florida has unique state tipping laws that are often in flux.

Whether you own a seafood shack right on the beach or a fine-dining spot in a Miami hotel, you need to know the ins and outs of Florida’s tipping laws.

Is Tip Pooling Legal in Florida?

Many restaurants implement tip pooling systems to create equitable pay for servers and foster a collaborative work environment, but laws around tip pools can get fuzzy state-by-state.

Florida restaurant owners can breathe a sigh of relief, though — Florida’s tip pooling laws align with the federal regulations laid out by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Florida’s Minimum Wage & Tip Credit

Florida joins the majority of states in allowing employers to take the tip credit — but not quite as much as other states. Federal rules set the minimum wage at $7.25 per hour and allow employers to take up to $5.12 in tip credit.

At the time of publication, Florida’s minimum wage is $11 per hour, significantly higher than the federal minimum wage. On top of an increased minimum wage, Florida only allows employers to take a tip credit of $3.02 per hour. With these regulations in place, Florida restaurant owners must pay tipped employees at least $7.98 per hour.

But head’s up — the minimum wage is increasing. As of September 30, 2023, Florida’s minimum wage will increase to $12.00 per hour, and will continue increasing each year until it reaches $15.00 per hour in 2026. Looking ahead, restaurant owners can expect to pay a tipped minimum wage of $11.98 per hour.

Mandatory Service Charges Are Wages in Florida

If you’re charging a mandatory service fee for large parties or to reserve a table, you might hope that will count as a tip for your service staff.

Mandatory service charges are not considered tips in Florida, but rather are the property of the employer. The employer may choose to distribute the service charge to an employee, but these would count as wages and would be subject to payroll tax withholdings.

That being said, Florida has not joined other states in requiring employers to make it clear to customers that mandatory service charges are not considered tips.

Tip laws can get tricky, so always consult a lawyer when changing tip policy.

At Kickfin, we want to help restaurants comply with tipping regulations and save you time and energy. We put up guardrails that prevent improper tipping practices and make it easy to instantly tip out your staff. Request a demo to see for yourself.

What’s Driving Hotel Technology Trends? Key Insights from HT-Next

Kickfin recently sponsored and attended HT-Next, a premiere hotel technology conference. Over four days in Miami, Kickfin co-founders Justin Roberts and Brian Hassan met with hospitality industry leaders, tech innovators, and top hotel operators to learn about key goals and concerns for 2023. Here are some of the key takeaways from the event.

Renewed Focus on Sustainability

Grant Romundt, co-founder of Ocean Builders, spoke to an industry trend that’s been building for a while (and isn’t slowing down): sustainability. Now more than ever, guests want to patronize businesses that share their core values and beliefs. Specifically, they’re choosing hotels based on how much those brands are doing to protect the environment, especially in beautiful, tropical locations.

Ocean Builders is aiming to do just that by building high-tech eco-restorative floating homes that provide guests with a one-of-a-kind experience while also preserving the ecosystem to serve guests for generations to come.

Expanding the Guest Experience

The hospitality experience you create isn’t limited to the four walls of your hotel. Instead, it extends to every aspect of your guest’s stay, including the activities they do while they’re away from the hotel. With that in mind, HT-Next partnered with Mobi to explore the possibilities of hyper-personalized guest experiences built by AI.

AI now offers you the opportunity to build the perfect trip for each individual guest. Using guest data and your knowledge of the area around your hotel, you can build AIs that will plan a personalized suggested itinerary for your guests, taking hospitality to the next level.

Bouncing Back from Covid

Most of us might feel like things are “back to normal,” but some hotels are still feeling the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic. And they’re turning to tech to bring them back to life.

A panel of Miami hotel general managers shared how they stayed afloat during the height of the pandemic, how the travel and hospitality industries are bouncing back, and how tech has quickly become a huge part of their daily operations.

Solving Labor Shortage Concerns

Labor continues to be a point of contention in hospitality. Questions about how to attract new hires and how to retain the employees you have continue to vex hoteliers in this tight labor market. The answer isn’t as simple as raising wages (although that doesn’t hurt). Instead, industry leaders are looking to technology to help create better work environments and more streamlined processes to get things done, even at sub-optimal staffing levels.

At Kickfin, our goal is to provide hotel staff with more opportunities to earn tips through digital tipping software — allowing for guests to tip more often in an increasingly cashless society. We also simplify the tip payment process so employees have access to their earnings faster (a major selling point for potential hires).

Our main takeaway: Hotel technology isn’t going anywhere. Expect to see more automated hotel operations, better uses of guest data, and sky-high guest experience expectations.

How to Calculate the Tip Credit

Tipping could be considered the ultimate win-win for restaurant teams. Not only do tips significantly increase the earning potential of restaurant employees; in states that allow the tip credit, tips can also help offset labor costs for employers.

While the tip credit can be a boon to a restaurant’s bottom line, calculating the tip credit can make payroll a little trickier.

While most business owners can simply multiply their staff’s hourly wage by their hours worked, restaurant owners who want to take advantage of the tip credit will need to take a few extra steps to determine how much they need to pay their employees on payday.

The downside? A little bit of math. But don’t worry — we can help you out with that part. Here’s what you need to know in order to calculate the tip credit.

First things first: Does the tip credit exist in your state?

Before you start running the numbers, you need to make sure the tip credit is legal where you operate. Tipping regulations vary pretty widely state by state — and the tip credit is no exception.

In a few states, you must pay the full minimum wage, even for tipped employees. At the time of publication, those states are:

Alaska
California
Minnesota
Montana
Nevada
Oregon
Washington

(If you operate restaurants in one of these states, we’ve got another post on tip calculations that might be helpful to you)

If your state isn’t listed above, then the tip credit is probably allowed in your state. Read on to ensure you’re calculating the tip credit accurately and legally. (And please keep in mind — this post isn’t intended to be legal guidance. Always contact a lawyer with specific questions to ensure your restaurant is compliant with state and federal tipping regulations.)

How does the tip credit work?

With the federal minimum wage still set at $7.25 an hour, employees are required to make at least that much while working at your restaurant — but that’s not how much you have to pay them. Based on the federal tipped minimum wage requirements, you could take a tip credit of up to $5.12 an hour.

How do you calculate the tip credit?

(Keep in mind: these steps are based on federal laws. Your state may have additional or different regulations that apply to your restaurant — so again, consult a lawyer if you have questions.)

1. Keep meticulous records

One of the key tenets of taking the tip credit: making sure employees earn at least minimum wage on an hourly basis. But in order to do that calculation, you’re going to need detailed records that include hours worked, tips earned, and any tips shared with other employees. This will all come in handy when it’s time to process payroll.

2. Grab your calculator

When payroll time arrives, it’s time to revisit some of those multiplication tables that you thought you left in grade school.

As an example, let’s calculate payroll for a part-time server who worked 40 hours during the two week pay period, and earned $250 in tips.

How much she must earn by federal minimum wage standards: 40 hours x $7.25 = $290
How much can you take in tip credit: 40 hours x $5.12 = $204.8
How much she earned in cash wages: 40 hours x $2.13 = $85.2

Now, we’ll use all of these calculations to see if she earned enough to meet minimum wage:

$250 tips + $85.20 hourly = $335.20 total

Since this server earned well over the minimum wage, you can claim the full tip credit of $204.80.

But what if she had come up short?

If the same server worked the same hours but only earned $200 in tips, she would have earned $285.20 — a little short of minimum wage. You’ll need to make up the $4.80 difference in that situation.

How do you calculate the tip credit when paying overtime?

While most restaurants try to avoid paying overtime, short-staffed restaurants may not have an option. If you do pay overtime, here’s how it works when also calculating the tip credit. For example, let’s say that a server worked 50 hours and earned $300 in tips.

$7.25 minimum wage x 1.5 = $10.88
Maximum tip credit remains $5.12/hour
Overtime hourly tipped wage = $5.76

Now, let’s do some math:

How much must she earn in overtime minimum wage: 10 hours x $10.88 = $108.80
Add her regular hourly minimum to the overtime minimum: $108.80 + $290 = $398.80
Tip credit minimum wage: 10 hours x $5.76 = $57.76
Maximum tip credit: 50 hours x $5.12 = $256

Finally, you can add tips, regular tipped minimum wage, and overtime tipped minimum wage to see if she earned at least $398.80:

$300 in tips + $85.20 regular hourly wage + $57.76 overtime minimum wage = $442.96

Even with overtime, this server still made enough for you to claim the maximum tip credit of $256. Again, if she hadn’t, you would have to make up the difference.

Additional tip credit resources

Simplify employee payments with Kickfin!

Kickfin makes it easy to pay out your tipped employees — no calculator (or cash) required. Request a demo today and see our cashless tipping software in action!

Can Restaurant Owners and Managers Keep Tips?

In a word: Nope.

Okay, it’s not actually that simple. But if you’re in doubt (and in a hurry), the safest answer is generally no, owners and managers can’t keep tips their employees received, or participate in a tip pool.

If you’ve got a minute: read on for the full story on why owners and managers (usually) can’t earn tips, when it’s actually legal, and a look at some rather extreme examples of wage theft in restaurants.

Wait: Are managers really taking tips from their employees?

You’ve probably heard of restaurant management teams that found themselves in legal hot water because owners or managers have taken a cut of their employees’ tips. These lawsuits can be financially devastating for hospitality brands.

Why does it happen? Unfortunately, sometimes managers knowingly steal tips from their employees. And yes, that’s very bad.

But often, greed isn’t the (only) culprit. Tipping regulations are notoriously complicated. Plus, they’re apt to change, and they can vary at the federal, state and even local levels. While you can’t plead ignorance in court, it’s certainly understandable if people are confused.

Here’s where it gets tricky: Restaurants move fast. The best managers pitch in when they see their team needs support. It’s not uncommon to see them showing a guest to their seat, delivering food to a table, helping out a busser.

If they’re jumping into front-of-house work on a regular basis, it’s only natural to assume they might deserve a share of tipped earnings as well. But generally speaking, it’s not theirs for the taking.

Why can’t owners and managers keep tips?

If owners and managers are directly contributing to a guest’s experience, shouldn’t they benefit from that guest’s show of thanks?

Not really.

The logic here is that owners and managers earn a salary. Tipped employees are hourly, and they generally rely on their tips to support their livelihoods — especially for employees who earn as little as $2.13 an hour. While it may feel unfair that managers can’t keep tips during shifts where they jumped in and saved the day, there were likely plenty of slow shifts where they still consistently make their salary. Servers, on the other hand, don’t have that level of predictability: when business slows down, so do tips.

Rationale aside, the bottom line is that it’s illegal for owners and managers to keep tips. Tips are seen as the property of employees only, so if owners are skimming their tips, they’re taking part in wage theft. The practice is often called “tip pocketing,” as servers (rightfully) view this as their employers grifting their hard-earned tips.

Owners and managers most commonly make this mistake through tip pools. When requiring employees to pool their tips, owners cannot legally redistribute any tips to managers, owners, or non-tipped employees who are earning the full federal minimum wage.

While you might think tip pooling will garner teamwork and collaboration, check out the strict laws around tip pooling and consult a lawyer before you get started.

Exceptions for managers

It wouldn’t be a rule if there weren’t an exception, right?

When it comes to keeping tips, managers have a little bit more leeway than owners do. Managers can keep tips earned through service they provide directly and solely.

So what does that mean?

The keywords here are “directly” and “solely.” If a manager took a table’s entire order, ran all of their food and drinks, and presented them with their check, then they are technically allowed to keep any tip the customers leave. This often occurs when “shift managers” (who are generally just head servers) oversee a shift while still relying on tips for their own income.

But again: if you’re a manager who just stepped in to help out a server who was in the weeds, the tip still belongs to the server.

What happens if a manager or owner keeps a tip?

For restaurant owners, the consequences of keeping employee tips could bring down your entire business.

Repayment: First of all, you’ll owe all of the stolen wages back to the employees, plus a fine of over $1,100 per violation. The repayment can be devastating — just ask these restaurant owners who owed over $157,000 in tips.
Damages: Restaurants can also be sued for damages, and some establishments simply can’t come back from such a devastating loss.
Poor customer experience: If customers are aware that management is keeping tips, they might not feel comfortable tipping at all.
Employee distrust and resentment: A restaurant’s culture will take a major hit if employees sense that they’re not receiving the tips they have earned.

One important thing to note: The consequences and fines for violating tip laws apply, whether you were aware it was illegal or not.

How do you ensure everyone is playing by the rules?

The short answer: cut the cash and go digital.

Tipping out in cash creates the perfect opportunity for skimming and wage theft, given the lack of visibility into cash flow and inability to track payments.

But even if your team is 100% trustworthy, tip distribution is far from foolproof. When your tipping system relies on cash, human error abounds, and managers can unknowingly create or participate in illegal tip pools.

A digital tipping platform allows you to put guardrails in place, so the only the right people (in the right roles) get tipped out. A software like Kickfin is built for flexibility, so if you have people who work multiple roles — or at multiple sites — you can ensure everyone is getting what they are legally entitled to.

Most importantly, a digital tipping system gives you the power to track everything. If an issue ever arises, you can easily pull payment history by individual, shift, or site.

Want to ensure your team is legally tipping out? Check out a free demo of Kickfin today to learn about our instant digital tipping software!