Balancing Tech and Culture with Wil Brawley of Schedulefly

How can tech work within an employee-first restaurant culture? Ask Wil Brawley. 

As co-owner and co-founder of Schedulefly, a simple scheduling and communications tool for restaurants, Wil Brawley recognizes the value tech can deliver to restaurants. If you’re not familiar, here’s a quick overview of his platform:

Through his Restaurant Owners Uncorked podcast, Wil keeps his finger on the pulse of the restaurant industry, and he’s keenly aware of how tech can both improve and disrupt the employee experience. We sat down with Wil for some real talk on the upsides and downsides of restaurant tech and how restaurant owners can innovate without taking away from an authentic, human-centered culture.  

How important is the employee culture at a restaurant? Can it affect sales and daily operations? 

I’ve done over 450 episodes of our podcast, Restaurant Owners Uncorked, and worked on two books featuring successful restaurant owners, so I’ve probably interviewed close to a thousand restaurant owners in the past 15 years. 

If there’s one common thread across all those with long-lasting success, it’s culture. That culture might vary from place to place, but it is always centered on caring deeply about the people that work in your restaurants. The employees tend to come first, creating a culture that’s about nurturing and loving the people that work in the restaurant.

When your employees are well taken care of, they treat their customers well too, and then the investors do well, too. That’s been my observation.

How do you define a positive employee culture? What are the steps owners need to take to create that culture? 

For a long time, restaurant culture has been: “If you aren’t willing to work seven days in a row, then we don’t want you here. We want people that are going to show up and bust their ass.” And that’s changed for the better, for everybody. It’s leading to less burnout. It’s leading to less negative behavior outside of work. Substance abuse has been a big issue, and the industry is going through a conversation about mental health and substance abuse.

Yesterday, I interviewed someone for the podcast who started her first restaurant in Denver a couple of years ago. She’s worked in restaurants for 15 years and has worked in places where she actually worked 13 days in a row. Obviously that restaurant doesn’t have a great culture. You’d never have somebody work 13 days in a row if your employees came first. 

She learned from that, and now at her own restaurant, she never schedules anyone for more than four days in a week because she cares very deeply about the mental health and the well-being and the work-life balance of her employees. She knows that if she gives them what they need, then everything else is going to fall into place.

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“When you’re on day 12 of 13 days in a row, are you going to represent that restaurant and that brand well? Of course you’re not. On the flip side, an employee who feels their needs are being met and their work-life balance is respected will actually enjoy what they do and pass on that good, memorable experience to customers.”

With happy customers returning to the restaurant for reliably excellent service, the restaurant thrives and therefore so do owners and investors. 

How can tech be a positive part of your culture? And how can it cause tension? 

It’s quite a balance. There are 300+ restaurant tech companies out there right now, Schedulefly being one of them. People who use our platform tend to manage their folks and their behavior more through engagement and culture than by leaning on technology. What you’re really looking for is technology that will improve on the culture, not enforce it. 

Here’s a specific example. When you schedule someone for 10 am, they’re supposed to be there at 10 am, but you start seeing people clocking in five or 10 minutes early — which costs you money. You’ve created this schedule with a specific budget in mind, and when multiple people add just a few extra minutes a day, it runs through your budget much faster than you planned. 

You have two options to deal with the problem. One is to simply implement tech that systematically prevents people from clocking in early. The other, which I recommend, is building a culture where you can communicate openly with employees. You set the expectation, explain why it’s important, and create trust that everyone will do their part. 

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There’s nothing wrong with using tech, but it creates a different type of culture where you expect tools to influence behavior versus communication. “

You run into similar situations with Schedulefly. If someone offers up a shift and another employee wants it, the manager has to make a decision: is that the right person to pick up that shift?

If it’s not the right person, they’re not going to allow that trade, and then they’ll need to talk to the person to say, “I appreciate that you’re trying to pick up this shift. This is a prime shift and we need one of our veteran servers to pick that shift up. You aren’t quite ready to handle that yet.” It creates an opportunity for engagement. Again, that’s part of a culture of engagement and trust. 

Yeah, it’s easier to use technology than to have these interactions, but to have a robust, thriving, healthy culture, you have to communicate. We really encourage people to use technology where it helps, but it can’t replace engagement and human interaction. 

Do you find that it’s harder to build this culture in larger chain restaurants?

Communication isn’t just for smaller restaurants with only one or two locations. Some people believe that as you grow, you have to become more “corporate” and use lots of technology, but you find that the culture becomes less friendly, less human-oriented. People who loved working there when it was fun and authentic will probably leave for the place down the street that can provide that.  

Big Red F in Boulder, Colorado has 800 employees across over 16 locations, and to this day, culture is king there. They really figured out culture at scale, so it’s definitely possible. They’ve been a customer of ours for 14 of our 16 years at Schedulefly, so I’ve studied them for a long time. They certainly have one of the best cultures I’ve come across. It’s been interesting to see them grow this much without losing their truly authentic, employee-focused culture. 

What should restaurant owners take into consideration when exploring new technology options? 

Some people want a comprehensive, one-size-fits-all solution that manages everything, and there’s certainly a place for that, but I think sometimes you wind up spending as much time managing the technology as you are managing your people. And that’s just a question you have to ask: Which is more important?

You definitely want to consider implementation. Is this something that takes a lot of training and focus, or is it easy-to-use, point-and-click to get started?

Support is another big one that I think may get overlooked sometimes. This tech company may have a great slick software, but do they have great support to back it up? Because your employees have questions, and you’re going to have questions.There will always be problems, like small glitches, so you should find out if the tech company you’re interested in is known for outstanding customer service. 

Finally, you need to marry the need with the priority and timing. We see people sign up for a 30-day free trial of Schedulefly, never use it, and then start the trial again six months later — only to not use it again. Eventually, they do implement and move forward. Talking to people over the years about this, I found that it’s a matter of just prioritizing. Running a restaurant, you’ve always got a long list of things you have to manage, so you have to be able to prioritize and hit the most important one first. So, be realistic about your own time management and top priorities before trying to implement new tech. 

Any final words of wisdom for restaurant owners making decisions about their tech stack? 

With 300+ restaurant tech platforms out there right now, every one of them is hoping to earn your business. It must be overwhelming to sift through all that noise to find the tools that you need.

Start with a focus on employees and trying to give them what they need and deserve to be successful — and again, you want to balance that with not bringing so many tools that there’s no engagement and management. 

As you prioritize which problems you need to resolve within your business, I always encourage people to remember good old-fashioned word of mouth. Call people you know in the industry and find out what they’re using. Ask if it’s solving their problems and if it’s backed by phenomenal customer service. 

And if you’re talking to a salesperson, ask them for a list of their customers in your area and start talking to them. That’s probably one of the most efficient ways to figure out what if a tool will be useful and will contribute to your success in the long run.

Learn more about Schedulefly or catch the latest episode of ROU.

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Kickfin has earned a top spot on the 2025 Inc. Regionals list in the Southwest region! This recognition places us among the fastest-growing privately held companies in America—and we couldn’t be prouder of what this means for our team, our customers, and the restaurant industry at large.

A Milestone Achievement

As the #1 tip distribution platform, Kickfin is trusted by thousands of restaurant teams to automate tip pooling and payouts. Since 2017, our technology has given managers hours back in their week while improving accuracy, visibility, and reporting for operators. 

Only 951 companies made the cut across all regions, and in the Southwest alone, the businesses on this list contributed 13,809 jobs to the U.S. economy while achieving a median growth rate of approximately 106 percent from 2021 to 2023. 

Powering the Future of Tip Management

In the past year, Kickfin has taken automated tip management to a whole new level. In addition to exciting new features that make our platform more robust than ever, we continue to add to the list of our direct integrations with the leading POS brands—which currently includes Toast, SkyTab, Square, Heartland, RPOWER, PAR POS, Oracle MICROS, NCR Aloha, and more.

→ See how the Kickfin-Toast integration “changed everything” for HOBNOB restaurants

Kickfin’s POS integrations give our customers the ability to auto-calculate even the most complex tip pools in just a few clicks, which eliminates unwieldy tip spreadsheets, saves managers even more time, and gives operators unprecedented visibility into payout calculations and history.

A Heartfelt Thank You

This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the trust of our customers and the dedication of our team.

As Justin Roberts, co-CEO of Kickfin, puts it: “We’re incredibly grateful to our customers who have made this growth possible by trusting Kickfin with their tip management needs. This recognition is a testament to the value that automated tip management brings to restaurant teams—helping them save time, reduce risk, and take care of their people.”

We’re honored to be included in the 2025 Inc. Regionals list, and we’re excited to see what the rest of 2025 has in store!

You heard that right — Kickfin has added yet another partner to our ever-growing list of POS integrations!

RPOWER POS has joined the list of leading POS systems that now integrate with Kickfin so users can fully automate tip calculations and payouts. 

RPOWER is a trusted name in the restaurant industry known for its handheld devices, online ordering capabilities, and robust reporting. RPOWER’s dedication to staying on the cutting edge of restaurant tech makes the integration with Kickfin a perfect match! 

With the RPOWER-Kickfin integration, restaurant operators can: 

  • Easily build out highly complex tip policies 
  • Calculate tip outs based on roles, shifts and hours worked
  • Distribute tips directly to employee bank accounts 
  • Establish an electronic “paper trail” for every tip out

( …and more. Dive into the latest Kickfin updates for the full scoop.)

Like all of our integration customers, when RPOWER users activate the Kickfin integration, they’ll have access to our robust Customer Success team (at no extra cost!). We’re here 24/7 to review and build out your tip policy within the platform, so you’ll be up and running in a flash.

Collaboration with Riot Hospitality Group

This integration was especially exciting because we worked hand-in-hand with one of our longstanding customers, Riot Hospitality Group, to ensure the integration checked every box — and that it could handle their complex tip pooling policies. 

“Kickfin has been an outstanding partner to Riot Hospitality Group for years,” said J Goldin, the systems director for RHG. 

“They had already helped us go fully cashless, which eliminated a lot of risk for our teams. When we decided to completely automate tip payouts, they were a natural choice to help with that as well. We worked hand in hand with Kickfin and RPOWER to ensure the system could handle the intense complexity of our rules, while still being incredibly easy to use for our operators.”

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“Kickfin is easy to implement and easy to use. If you’re thinking about trying it, you’ll be glad you did.”

As our co-CEO Justin Roberts puts it, this integration is a “no brainer for RPOWER users who understand how valuable their managers’ time is.”

RPOWER users, we’re ready for you! Schedule a demo to learn how you can activate your integration. 

(Not an RPOWER user but want to take advantage of these time-saving features? See if Kickfin is integrated with your POS!) 

We kicked off 2025 with some major (!) updates to our Tip Calculator features.

It was a big release, and we’ll break it all down for you here — but the big headlines are:

  • More integrations
  • More speed
  • More flexibility

If you’re not already using Kickfin — or if you haven’t integrated Kickfin with your POS to automate tip calcs just yet — this is for you! Read on to see how you can use Kickfin’s newest tip calc features to un-clunk your tip pooling process. 

More integrations, coming right up

We’re continuing to roll out integrations with the leading POS systems, giving restaurant teams the power to auto-calculate tip pools and shares in a matter of clicks. 

(Side note: Kickfin only builds direct POS integrations — not using a third-party solution! — which streamlines your tech stack and keeps your costs lower.)

We were thrilled to add RPOWER to our growing list of integrations, which already includes Toast, Square, SkyTab, SpotOn, PAR and more.

If you’re an RPOWER user and you’re not yet a Kickfin customer, request a demo and we’ll show you the integration in action!

Handle autograts with ease

For servers and bartenders handling large parties, autograts can be great — but for managers, they can turn into a logistical nightmare. Now, Kickfin can help with that…

With this latest release, you can break tips and autograts into separate categories with their own set of rules for distribution. You have the flexibility to manage autograt tip splits completely separate from regular tip outs, so you can fairly reward a hardworking server-bartender-busser trio for a job well done on a 30-top.

Tips & Autograts Broken Out on Tip Data Page

Tips & Autograts Broken Out on Review Screen

With this new set up, you’ll also get more transparency in reporting. You’ll be able to see the breakdown of tips and autograts collected by each user in your reporting dashboards (more on that later!).

Include cash tips in your distributions 

You heard that right — we can now distribute shares of cash tips digitally, directly to your employees’ bank accounts. Instead of doing the math on cash tips by hand, you can easily add cash to your tip pool, and we’ll calculate the share among employees for you. 

Important note: cash distributions aren’t available for all of our integration partners. Contact us for more info. 

Advanced Tip Rules (for even the unruliest policies)

Think your tip policy is extra tricky? Don’t worry — we’ve seen ‘em all. And there aren’t many Kickfin can’t handle, thanks to our Advanced Tip Rules feature.

If you have Advanced Tip Rules enabled, we’ve added a few new capabilities so you can further customize your tip share while we take care of the complicated math behind the scenes. Here are just a few examples of the new features we’re rolling out. 

Not using Advanced Tip Rules? Reach out to us if you’d like to enable these features. 

Per Segment Tip Sharing

We’ve been calculating tip shares on a check-by-check basis. For example, if you have servers sharing a percentage of tips with bussers, we would only calculate and deduct that percentage if a busser was working at the time that a check was processed. We call this Per Check Tip Sharing

Now, we’re introducing Per Segment Tip Sharing, which gives you the option to deduct a tip share from every check processed during a shift. Let’s go back to our example — servers sharing a percent of tips with bussers. With Per Segment Tip Sharing, we would deduct a percentage of the server’s tip for every check processed, even if the busser gets cut two hours before the server. 

Split Evenly 

Would you prefer that all of your support staff take home an even share of their tip pool? We can now make that happen.

Previously, our tip shares entered a pool and were divided among beneficiaries based on how many minutes they worked during a shift, which we call splitting by Time Worked. With our new product update, we’re introducing the Split Evenly option, which enables you to send an equal part of a tip share to every beneficiary that worked within a segment. 

More accuracy 

In the past, cash autograt payments were lumped in with credit card autograts and credit card tips, resulting in credit card fee deductions on cash transactions. But that is no more! 

Now we’re able to deduct credit card fees only where they apply, so you’ll no longer see credit card fee deductions attached to cash autograt transactions. 

Plus, we’ve gotten even better at math. With our new update, we can prevent rounding errors, so our tip disbursal should match the tips collected in your POS to the penny. 

Revamped and expanded reporting 

We added new reporting views to give you more insight into each pay period, individual pay sets, and tip calculations. Here’s a quick look at your new pay period report with expanded filters:

Main Pay Period Report - Filter Bar Expanded

You’ll notice that there are now separate columns for tips and autograts, but you can still view the gross amount earned (tips + autograts = gross).  

And it doesn’t stop at the main reporting page. You’ll see this more detailed reporting when you look at individual employee pay period reports, review a specific pay set, or export the information from any of your reporting dashboards. 

We know this is a lot of new information to take in — but we’ve got you covered with our full Product Release Recap. Simply log in to Kickfin, click on your name in the upper left corner and select “Support” to access that portal. 

Not using Kickfin? Dying to get rid of your old-fashioned gratuity management system? Drooling over these new features? We’d love to have you. Reach out to us today to see how our platform could save you time and money.

Do you start getting heart palpitations when you see a large party reservation in your section? This one’s for you.

Maybe your restaurant is a local go-to for corporate dinners, milestone celebrations, and birthday parties…or maybe you regularly get blindsided with 20-top walk-ins when you least expect it. 

As every hospitality pro knows, no matter how prepared you are, managing large parties can be tricky. But if you do it right, it can be a fast track to large tips. 

So the next time a 20-top bachelorette party drops in and “forgot to make a reservation:” no need to hyperventilate! We’ve got the tips and tricks that can keep you sane throughout a large party — and hopefully help you reel in a well-deserved tip. 

4 Tips for Staying Organized 

When your 25+ top walks in, getting overwhelmed can lead you to drop the ball on service and hospitality because, hey — you’re just trying to get right right food, to the right person, as fast as possible. But your guests can pick up on when you’re frazzled or frustrated, which can impact their experience (as well as your tip).  

Here are a few ways to stay organized and calm throughout service.

1. Get (a little more) familiar with your POS

Every POS system is different, but most have come quite a long way in terms of features and flexibility. There are likely bells and whistles on your POS that you might not use every day, but that can make managing large parties much more seamless.

So use all that tech to your advantage. Set aside time for some extra training or research to understand what your POS is capable of, so that it’s all muscle memory the next time you have a large group sitting in your section. 

For example, here are just a few things you should know about your POS as it relates specifically to large parties:

  • Is there a max number of ways you can split a bill evenly? 
  • How many checks can you create on each table? 
  • How many ways can you split a single item? 
  • Do you need manager permission to add auto-gratuity? 

2. Assign seat numbers

The only way to stay sane when dealing with a large party is to assign seat numbers — and stick to them. 

You should assign seat numbers starting with your first guest on the left and continue around the table moving counterclockwise. As you put in the first round of drink orders, your POS should allow you to assign items to a seat number. Even if guests move to different seats throughout the meal, stick to their original seat number. 

Sure, it’s tedious — but these numbers will be your saving grace when someone asks you for another drink or when they want to split the check by family. No matter how in the weeds you are, take the time to add seat numbers. You’ll thank us later.

When they ask for 15 separate bills, you can just drop each seat number into a new check and print. No need to go back and ask, “who had the fish?”

3. Don’t trust your own memory 

As a server, it’s normally a crowd-pleasing flex to take everyone’s order from memory. But when you’ve got 17 people depending on you to make grandma’s 97th birthday lunch a success: Pull out your server book

Not only are you bound to forget something, but your guests may not feel entirely comfortable either. If they’re worried you’re going to forget they want their sauce on the side, they may be less inclined to ask questions about specials or which dishes are your favorites. And if guests feel like they have to stick to the basics, you’re missing out on all of your upselling opportunities. 

Just for the night, don’t be a hero: write down everyone’s order!

4. Bring in some help 

Depending on how many guests you have at one table, you might need more help than normal — and there’s no shame in that.

If you’re aware that a big party is on the books, coordinate with your team ahead of time. For example, see if you can have an assigned busser or bartender on call to help you keep drinks filled, tables clean, and guests happy.

Wowing Your Guests 

To secure the huge tips that come with large parties, you’ll have to go above and beyond. 

  • Be ready to make suggestions. Being knowledgeable about the menu always reflects well. Explain your specials in detail, offer drink pairings, and accommodate guests with special requests. This is your shot to upsell and increase the bill! 
  • Keep the drinks flowing. No one wants an empty glass. Send bussers around with pitchers to top off waters, and always be ready to grab another round of cocktails. 
  • Stay in contact with the kitchen. Give the chefs a heads up that you’re going to put in a large order so they can prepare accordingly. With more preparation, they’ll be able to get the whole table’s food out in a timely manner. No long waits for everyone to receive their food! 
  • Pre-bus as much as possible. Keep the table neat and tidy, so they have rooms for multiple rounds of appetizers, drinks, and dessert. 
  • Use your seat numbers. You shouldn’t have to serve entrees as if it’s an auction. Instead of announcing each dish to ask, “who had the burger?” you should be able to reference their seat number and pass each entree to the right guest. It’s a simple way to show your serving prowess (and speed up the serving process!). 

Even with a crowd at your table, you can go above and beyond on service. Your guests will take notice and show their gratitude on the tip line (more on that later).

Splitting the Bill

You’ve made it through most of the craziness of a large party — but now it’s time to settle the bill. Before everyone closes out their tabs, you might have to navigate a few sticky situations. 

Who’s paying? 

It’s always awkward to stand next to the table while people fight over who’s taking care of the bill. Here’s what you can do to alleviate some tension:

  • If someone offers to pay early on in the meal, take them up on it. Go ahead and keep their card so you can run it before the arguments start. 
  • When 3 different people want to pay for the meal, offer to split the bill evenly. They probably won’t take you up on it, but your suggestion should get one of the parties to acquiesce. 
  • Ask how checks will be split at the beginning of the meal to avoid the awkward card dance at the end. You’ll also have an easier time splitting items if you know ahead of time! 

To auto-grat or not to auto-grat

Do you want to make sure you get your full 20% tip after a big table runs you ragged? Or would you rather take the risk in hopes that you’ll get an even bigger tip? 

If your restaurant has an auto-gratuity policy for large parties, some servers prefer to take the sure thing and hope that your guests feel inclined to give you an extra thanks on top of it. Most guests aren’t offended and even appreciate that they don’t have to do any math — but make sure that they’re expecting the service charge. A simple line like, “We have already included a 20% gratuity in accordance with our large party policy,” goes a long way. 

When you have a really fun rapport with a table, it might be the right time to forgo the auto-grat and let your guests decide how much they’d like to thank you. Keep your guests in the know, too! Some may assume that you included gratuity and skip the tip line altogether. 

Either way, steel yourself before you look at their final bill. You might be surprised when customers leave less than you expected, or you might be treated to a heavier-than-average tip. 

Tipping out 

After it’s all said and done, your manager may have a tip out policy for supporting bussers and bartenders who assist with large parties. Make sure you know what to expect to take home after tipping out your team. 

And managers, Kickfin makes large party tip outs easy. Make sure that your event bartender gets their fair share of server tip outs, without spending hours with your calculator. 

>>Learn more about Kickfin’s newest tip calculation features

Whether you’re hosting a graduation party or taking care of a corporate holiday dinner, be ready to handle it with the same care and attention you give to a two-top — and let the big tips roll in! 

See Kickfin in action!