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Rock N’ Roll Sushi Trades Tip Cards for Kickfin’s Digital Tipping Platform

About the company

Eric Robison owns all of the Rock N’ Roll Sushi franchise locations in Georgia, opening his first in 2018.

Atmosphere

No California Rolls here. Rock N’ Roll Sushi draws inspiration from rock music and culture. You’ll find interesting sushi rolls like the Punk Rock Roll — and of course, rock music at all of their locations.

Number of locations

Eric Robison owns 7 locations, but Kickfin also serves 21 other Rock N’ Roll locations.

Service type

FSR, Franchise

“One of the biggest benefits of switching to Kickfin is that we don’t have employees questioning their money or worrying about when their tip cards will be ready. [Employees] are confident knowing that money is going to just flow into their accounts.”

Christina Antizzo

Director of Human Relations
Rock N’ Roll Sushi

Key Results

  • Up to 2 hours saved, daily. Admin can quickly upload tip outs to the Kickfin platform, reducing their weekend tip distribution time from four hours to an hour and a half.
  • Simplified transition. All seven locations seamlessly implemented Kickfin with the help of the customer success team. 
  • Employees save money. Employees previously had to pay $1.50 in transfer fees every shift, on top of the cost of transferring money from their tip cards to their bank accounts and ATM fees.
  • Account replenished daily. Rock N’ Roll no longer has to float large sums to their tip-out account on a weekly basis. Kickfin keeps their account sufficiently funded day to day.

Meet Christina.

As Director of Human Relations for all of the Georgia franchise Rock N’ Roll Sushi restaurants, Christina wears many hats. Between recruiting, onboarding, and tip distribution to over 80 employees, she basically has a hand in everything HR.

Trying out cashless tipping

At Rock N’ Roll Sushi, we’ve always been cashless. Originally, we paid tips on payroll, but we were looking for a more streamlined option. We started working with a different cashless tipping platform, which wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as user-friendly nor as streamlined as Kickfin. We had to issue Visa cards to all of our employees, which made things pretty complicated for them. They had to move money around and pay fees to get the tips into their bank accounts to pay bills. 

We weren’t looking to switch from our pay card provider and were kind of complacent when it came to our tip program at the time. We didn’t even realize there could be an easier process, but once we found out about Kickfin, there was no question about switching over. 

We found out that corporate Rock N’ Roll Sushi locations were using Kickfin, so we started looking into it. We checked out an info session and spoke with a few people at Kickfin to dig in deeper. We ultimately decided to make the switch—which went so smoothly. The transition was so effortless with no residual issues or anything like that. 

Administrative issues

One thing that really stood out to me was the ease of adding new employees. When we had a new employee ready to get on the floor and start earning tips, we had to set them up with a new tip card, upload their ID, and have them activate their account. We may not have had cards in stock or run into other issues, so sometimes this process could take up to two weeks, which not only left them without pay but also created a frustrating administrative process. 

If a new employee had gone two weeks without activating their tips cards, we would have to go back at that point and look at their tip earnings and input each day’s tips into their account. Now, I can send new employees a Kickfin invite and start inputting their tips immediately. If for some reason that employee doesn’t get around to activating their account for a few weeks, the money is sitting in a sort of limbo account, ready for them to access. I no longer have to parse through 14 days of tip-out reports and can just run my normal tip-out distribution process instead.

I went over everything with my managers and explained to them how much more efficient Kickfin would be, both for the company and for employees. That’s easy to say since it’s saving them time and money too. Using tip cards, employees were charged $1.50 per transfer to their tip card, and from there, they’d be hit with ATM fees or fees to transfer tips into their bank accounts. With Kickfin, they’re saving at least a dollar if not more each shift, which meets our goal of keeping more money in employees’ pockets. Everyone loves it.  

It was really simple because I’m the only one who pays out tips. Our managers don’t have to worry about it at all. With the tipped employees, we had no issues either. We just send them the invite via text or email, and it takes only about a minute to set up their accounts. And then boom, they have tips going straight to their bank accounts. We had really no issues and no complaints. 

Visibility into tipping

One of the biggest benefits of switching to Kickfin is that we don’t have employees questioning their money or worrying about when their tip cards will be ready. Once they’re set up, they’re confident knowing that money is going to just flow into their accounts. Before, there would be a lot of confusion about the tip cards and visibility, but now we don’t even have technical issues enrolling people with Kickfin.  

We do mention it when recruiting because one of the first things servers will ask is how they’ll be paid. It’s a determining factor for a lot of people in the service industry, whether they’re paid in cash daily, on payroll, or digitally. Servers don’t care about the hourly rate because tips are how they really make a living. It helps us sell them on working at Rock N’ Roll when we tell them their tips will go directly to their bank accounts after each shift. 

Money & time saved

Another huge plus for me was the amount of time I saved. With our previous gratuity management platform, I had to manually enter each employee’s tip amount for the day. It was time-consuming, but also nerve-wracking. God forbid, I’m off by a line and pay tips to the wrong person, so I was constantly double and triple-checking my work. Now, I can upload a spreadsheet to Kickfin, which not only cuts down on mistakes but also the time it takes me to input tips. It went from three or four hours of work down to now about an hour and a half to input tips for all seven locations. 

On a company level, Kickfin has also made a huge difference in our cash flows. Before switching to Kickfin, we would have to deposit funds into our float account on a weekly basis for all of our locations, which could mean a $40,000 withdrawal every Monday, because it’s hard to anticipate how much we’ll need to tip out each week. Some locations are busier than others, and obviously, some weeks are busier, too. Some weeks we’d have to reach out and ask them not to replenish the account because we still had too much sitting there. Other times, the float account would be empty by the time the weekend rolled around, so employees would have to wait until our account was replenished to access their tips. 

Now with Kickfin, we pay out our tips, and then our float account replenishes every single day to bring us back up to $5,000. We never have to worry about having enough (or too much) money sitting in the float account and we don’t have to make huge cash allotments to pay our workers as we balance the budget. I don’t even look at our float account anymore because I know I don’t have to worry about it. 

The transition team

When you’re making a big transition to a new platform, you always have fears and ask yourself, “Is this going to screw everything up? Am I going to have technical difficulties?” And I take it seriously because this is our employees’ livelihood, so you want it to go as smoothly as possible to not interfere with their pay. I normally would have been more stressed, but they would get back to me even with the silliest questions. We had a location that wasn’t quite open yet during our transition, but it would be ready very soon. We had a direct line of contact about this location, and basically, the Customer Success team just needed to know when we’d want the funds. We reached out once it was ready, and just like that, we were able to pull funds and pay employees. I’ve been more than satisfied with the service from Kickfin. 

The bottom line. 

“I definitely credit the Kickfin transition team for being so accessible along the way. Anytime I had a question, I would get a response within five minutes, or I could call customer support to talk through it. The follow-up has been nothing short of excellent.”

Christina Antizzo

Director of Human Relations
Rock N’ Roll Sushi

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  • Product and Company News, Technology and Software

Kickfin Partners with Union POS to Automate Tip Distribution for High-Volume Bars and Restaurants

Kickfin is excited to share the latest addition to our integration marketplace. Read on for all the details around our partnership with Union POS. (If you’re a current Union POS customer and you’d like to learn more about how Kickfin automates tip pooling and payouts, schedule a live demo here.)

AUSTIN, Texas (August 13, 2025)—Kickfin, the leading tip management software, today announced the launch of its integration with Union, the purpose-built POS and engagement platform powering the nation’s busiest bars, nightclubs and restaurants.

Thousands of operators use Kickfin to eliminate tedious tip calculations and remove cash from the tip distribution process so managers can move faster, track everything, and ensure accuracy and compliance.

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By activating the Kickfin-Union integration, we eliminated clunky spreadsheet formulas and fully automated our tip pooling process. After going live, we reduced our time to close out by an average of 30 minutes after every shift.

The Kickfin-Union integration gives Union’s customers the power to auto-calculate tip pools in a matter of clicks and send payouts directly to employees’ bank of choice—no cash or pay cards required.

“By integrating with Kickfin, we’re giving operators the power to choose best-in-class tools that work seamlessly with their Union POS and data,” said Alex Broeker, the CEO and founder of Union. “This direct integration brings automated tip management to our operators while unlocking new opportunities for operational efficiency, employee satisfaction and simplified compliance.”

KPG Hospitality, which operates experiential bars and unique concepts throughout Texas and Tennessee, was among the first operators to activate the Kickfin-Union POS integration.

“Our venues run at a very fast pace. When you consider the time it takes managers to manually calculate tip amounts every day, after every shift, across every location, it’s a lot of unnecessary admin hours,” said Troy Cramer, the managing partner at KPG. “By activating the Kickfin-Union integration, we eliminated clunky spreadsheet formulas and fully automated our tip pooling process. After going live, we reduced our time to close out by an average of 30 minutes after every shift.”Key Features of the Union + Kickfin Integration:

  • Automated Tip Pool Calculations: Calculate complex tip pools in seconds, saving managers hours of administrative work while ensuring accuracy and transparency.
  • Instant Cashless Payouts: Pay out tips directly to employees’ bank of choice instantly, eliminating the need for cash handling and bank runs.
  • Simplified Compliance: Maintain a digital record of every payout, making tip reporting and tax compliance straightforward.
  • Enhanced Tracking: Easily track tips by pay period with comprehensive reporting capabilities.
  • Streamlined Operations: Implement complex tip policies with just a few clicks through an extremely easy-to-use interface.

“Our integration with Union, a leading POS system built specifically to support the busiest venues in the industry, makes perfect sense,” said Kickfin co-CEO Brian Hassan. “Together, we’re creating a solution that saves time, reduces errors, and delivers a better experience for both operators and their staff.”

Available immediately through both Union and Kickfin, venues can integrate their systems and begin leveraging these capabilities today. To learn how this partnership can transform your tip management operations, schedule a demo at GetUnion.com or kickfin.com/demo.

About Union
Union powers a first-of-its-kind venue operating system purpose-built for the nation’s busiest bars and restaurants. More than a point-of-sale, Union connects 1,500+ establishments with 5M+ consumers and leading brands through real-time consumption data. The platform drives operational efficiency, enables frictionless mobile ordering, and facilitates brand-patron interactions that enhance venue loyalty. With $2B+ in annual transactions, Union creates a virtuous cycle where venues improve customer experiences, brands gain direct consumer engagement, and patrons enjoy personalized rewarding hospitality—transforming high-volume operations into next-gen guest experiences. To learn more about Union, visit http://www.getunion.com

About Kickfin
Kickfin is a leading digital tip management platform that automates tip pool calculations and delivers cashless tip payments directly to employees’ bank accounts. Designed to eliminate the administrative burden of tip management, Kickfin helps restaurants, bars, and hospitality venues save time, reduce errors, and improve employee satisfaction. With features like instant payments, digital record-keeping, and simplified compliance, Kickfin is transforming the way venues handle tip distribution in today’s increasingly cashless economy. 

  • Industry Trends, Restaurant Management

Kickfin vs. TipHaus: Which Tip Management Software is Best for You?

If you’re in the market for tip management software, you might find yourself comparing Kickfin and TipHaus. 

Kickfin is the largest provider of instant tip payouts on the market and has processed more than $2 billion in employee payments for all kinds of restaurants, from “mom-and-pops” to national franchises — and everything in between. 

Kickfin and TipHaus are both designed to digitize tip distribution for restaurants. However, there are some significant differences between the two platforms that you’ll want to consider before making a decision. 

Kickfin and TipHaus: Compare at a Glance

Why Do Operators Choose Kickfin Over TipHaus?

Kickfin Offers Better Pricing 

Kickfin’s direct-to-bank transaction fees are more competitive than the transaction fees TipHaus quotes their customers.

This is primarily due to the fact that Kickfin is the largest provider of instant payouts in the country (validated by Visa and MasterCard data), with more than $2 billion in employee payments and multiple payment processor relationships.

Employees Prefer Kickfin

Kickfin was built to make life easier not just for operators, but also for their employees.

  • No app downloads: Kickfin only requires a one-time, 30-second enrollment for employees. (No app downloads or extra phone storage needed!) Payment history and reporting data can be viewed as needed simply by logging into their browser.

  • No paycards required: Kickfin also doesn’t require pay cards, while TipHaus offers “HausMoney” as a primary payout option for employees. HausMoney is essentially a pay card that employees’ tips are loaded onto. Funds aren’t available to use until the following day. HausMoney may be free for operators, but many employees don’t want to be forced to use a pay card due to the hassles of transferring funds to their own bank accounts, as well as the transaction fees and wait times they may incur. They’d prefer their earnings streamed to their accounts instantly, after every shift—which is how most Kickfin customers choose to pay out their employees.

Zero Prefunding* With Instant Payouts

With Kickfin, customers can send instant, direct-to-bank payouts with zero prefunding required.* While TipHaus does offer zero prefund, employee payouts must be sent to a TipHaus paycard (HausMoney). In other words, if you want to use a zero prefund option with TipHaus, you won’t be able to offer instant, direct-to-bank payouts to your employees.

Option to Manually Input Tip Data

With TipHaus, a POS integration is required, and all tip payment data is generated by the software’s tip calculator.

Kickfin was designed for ultimate flexibility. While many customers use Kickfin’s POS integration to auto-calculate tip amounts, some restaurants don’t need automated tip calculations and prefer to use Kickfin unintegrated. That isn’t an option with TipHaus.

Additionally, some Kickfin customers use Kickfin to auto-calculate tip pools, then manually upload other tip data on an as-needed basis. This comes in handy when you need to pay out “extra” staff, like entertainers, security guards, etc.

Easy, Accurate Distribution of Auto-Gratuities and Service Charges

Kickfin tracks Tips and Auto-gratuities separately. As a result, you can report those types of payments to payroll separately and handle them independently for tax purposes.

Why does that matter? In light of the 2025 “No Tax on Tips” legislation, tipped employees no longer have to pay federal income tax on the first $25,000 in tips earned each year. However, they do need to pay taxes on earnings from services fees, autogratuities and other compulsory charges that are not considered tips by the IRS.

(If 100% of your service charges does not go to your employees, Kickfin allows the “house account” to retain a portion of service charges, while the rest is distributed to your team.)

Enhanced Tip Calculation Functionality and Features

Kickfin’s Tip Calculator was designed to be both highly robust—so it can handle the most complex tip pooling policies—while also being incredibly simple and intuitive to use.

A few unique things about Kickfin’s Tip Calculator:

  • No data sync delays: Tip calculations are immediate and on-demand. With Tiphaus, a data sync process is required which can add extra time to your tip calculation process.

  • Built-in flexibility: Kickfin releases new Tip Calculator features on a regular basis based on feedback we regularly source from customers. For example, Kickfin now offers check splitting for both individual checks and groups of checks, making it easier to handle large parties and events.

  • Ease of use: Customers regularly shout out our sleek, high-quality user interface compared to other platforms. Notably, we’ve made it easy for managers to review all details before hitting “submit,” ensuring the accuracy of every payout.

Cash Tip Tracking and Payouts

Many operators choose Kickfin because they don’t have enough cash on hand to pay out credit card tips, and they want to reduce the amount of cash handling in their restaurant altogether.

However, we know cash will probably always be (a small) part of the equation. Kickfin makes it easy for you to handle that with some added functionality:

Tips left in cash: If a diner leaves a pile of cash at your table, it might not get recorded in your POS. However, Kickfin allows you to record it and distribute it through our platform.

Cash payouts: Many operators may want to distribute all of the cash left in their register at the end of a business day to avoid bank runs. Again, that’s easy to do with Kickfin.

Multiple Payment Processors for Guaranteed Deliverability

For many employees, especially those living paycheck to paycheck, it’s critical that they receive their tip earnings and that they’re instantly accessible/ready to use.

TipHaus uses only a single processor. Kickfin uses multiple payment processors to ensure deliverability of payouts should a processor experience a disruption or become insolvent.

Direct POS Integrations

All of Kickfin’s POS integrations are direct API integrations, while TipHaus has been known to utilize third-party software to integrate with some POS systems. The problem with third-party software is that it can be susceptible to more connectivity issues, creating problems with data reliability.

Top-Ranked Customer Support

Kickfin has an award-winning Customer Success team that is exclusively focused on helping our operators get the most value possible out of Kickfin.

Every member of our team is based in the U.S. We provide free, personalized training and onboarding for your whole team, and when questions or issues arise, we can be reached by phone, email, text or chat. We also have a robust library of support documentation and videos that provide step-by-step guidance for every aspect of the platform.

Credibility and Recognition

At the end of the day, Kickfin’s large and fast-growing customer base speaks for itself, as do their rave reviews of the platform.

For multiple years, Kickfin has been the only tip management software that is recognized on both the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Fast 500 lists. Kickfin has received recognition from peer software review sites like G2 and Capterra for consistently high customer rankings and reviews.

*Zero prefund is available to select customers after a credit review to confirm their fit with the zero prefund program.

Ready to take the next step?

See why thousands of restaurant pros use Kickfin to auto-calculate tip pools and pay out tips in real time, no cash or math required! Get a demo today.

 

  • Industry Trends, Restaurant Management

FAQ: What the “No Tax on Tips” Act Means for Restaurant Operators and Your Restaurant Team

We’ve been talking about “No Tax on Tips” for months, and now it’s a reality. But what exactly does that mean for restaurant operators and their tipped employees?

Signed into law on July 4, 2025, as part of the broader “One Big Beautiful Bill” tax package, the new policy eliminates federal income tax on tipped earnings (up to a cap…along with some other caveats…) for qualifying workers. 

While No Tax on Tips garnered widespread support from hospitality employees and employers alike, there’s still a lot of confusion about how it works, who qualifies, and what it means for your restaurant team.

Our FAQ breaks it all down: the fine print, the benefits, the limits—and how you can make sure your team is positioned to take full advantage.

What does “No Tax on Tips” actually mean for my team?

The No Tax on Tips Act has created a new federal income tax deduction — up to $25,000 of “qualified tips” per year for employees in traditionally tipped occupations. 

  • Tipped employees can deduct up to $25,000 in tips from their federal taxable income. (For added context, based on Kickfin customer data, the average tipped employee earns $125 per shift and works 15 shifts per month. That totals $22,500 in annual tip earnings.)

  • The deduction starts to phase out at $150,000 in annual income.

  • The deduction is currently restricted to those who earn $160,000 or less in 2025, but that’s expected to change in coming years to account for inflation.

  • These earnings are assessed based on employees’ income as of December 31, 2024.

Two other important items to note:

  1. Deduction, not exclusion: This is a deduction, not an exclusion. That means all tips still need to be reported; the deduction will be claimed when your employees file their taxes. The deduction is on top of the standard deduction ($16,000 for individuals, $32,000 for married couples filing jointly).

  2. Other taxes still apply: This bill is all about federal income taxes, so Social Security and Medicare taxes still apply. Also, keep in mind that this is a federal tax deduction. States will individually decide whether or not to align with the change.

Which types of tips are eligible?

The bill applies to cash tips—but it’s technically a little broader than that. According to the Senate Finance Committee, “cash tips” includes:

  • Physical cash tips

  • Credit card tips

  • Tips shared through pooled or tip-sharing arrangements

Other types of charges and fees that restaurant customers pay are not eligible for the dedication. 

Essentially, any earnings from compulsory charges are not considered tips. Even if a restaurant passes those funds on to employees, they’re not eligible for the deduction. Do employees have to report their tips to get the deduction?

Short answer: Yes. And aside from being legally required to fully report their tip earnings, it actually behooves them to do so. 

It’s no secret that many tipped employees don’t fully report their tip earnings. There are a variety of reasons for this: general confusion about tip reporting, poor tracking, and of course, a desire to avoid taxes. 

Credit card tips are automatically tracked in most POS systems, so those are typically accounted for. Cash tips, on the other hand, are often underreported. 

Again, because this new bill is a deduction, not an exclusion, employees must report their tip earnings to qualify. 

Not only will this (legally) allow employees to reduce their tax burden; reporting their full income can really come in handy with things like loan applications, unemployment benefits, and Social Security earnings.

Is this all good news for employees?

Again, for the most part in the hospitality and service industry, there’s a lot of support for this legislation.

It will put money back in the pockets of many tipped employees—which can make a meaningful difference, especially for those who live paycheck to paycheck.

But some in the industry have voiced concerns: 

  • Lowest-earning tipped workers won’t see much benefit. Many of the lowest-earning tipped workers wouldn’t benefit much, or at all.because they’re not paying a significant amount in federal taxes to begin with.

  • Some workers excluded: Not all hospitality employees are tipped employees – if you’re not operating a tip pool for example, a lot of your BOH employees aren’t going to see any benefit here.

  • Service/surcharges/auto-gratuity: Compulsory charges are not considered tips, so even if all of those funds are going to the employees, they will still be taxed. Again, that means BOH workers who aren’t tipped but who benefit from service charges won’t get a tax break.

What do restaurant operators need to do?

While there’s no major compliance burden on employers (yet), the smartest operators are thinking ahead—especially when it comes to digitizing tip management.

Here’s why that matters:

  • Accurate reporting: Employees need clear, auditable records to claim the deduction

  • Transparency: With platforms like Kickfin, employees can log in to view their full payment history—no guesswork required

  • Tip pooling: If you want your BOH team to benefit, you’ll need to operate a formal, compliant tip pool.

  • Efficiency: Automating tip pools (and ensuring accuracy), managing payouts, and syncing with payroll is easier than ever.

Is it time to hit the reset button? 

If you’re already using a digital tip management platform like Kickfin, you’re a step ahead—your team will be well positioned to take full advantage if and when the law goes into effect.

If not: This new policy is a great reason to refresh your tip management approach, including digitizing your distribution process, re-evaluating your tip pool policy, and improving payment tracking for your team. And good news—Kickfin can help with all of that. Let’s talk.

  • Restaurant Management

Tales from Reddit: (Brutally) Honest Opinions on Tip Pooling

Have you ever wondered how your employees really feel about your tip pool?

While you can (and should!) source feedback from your own team, Reddit is always a great place to get brutally honest opinions on…well, just about anything. 

So we did some digging in a few lively Subreddits (r/TalesFromYourServer and r/KitchenConfidential, among others) to understand how real workers feel about their own restaurant’s tip pooling policy. 

Of course, no two tip policies are alike, but these Reddit tales may offer some helpful useful insights as you evaluate your own tip policy — and help you avoid common pitfalls. 

Tip Pooling Tales from Reddit

Not surprisingly, there are strong feelings about tip pooling from servers and other restaurant employees on Reddit. The conversations often centered around these high-level themes: 

  1. Does tip pooling really foster teamwork?
  2. Do top performers take the biggest hit?
  3. Can tip pooling help with income consistency?
  4. Is it fair to include back-of-house?

Read on for a deeper dive! 

1. Tip pooling and teamwork 

Many Redditors noted that tip pooling can help to create a collaborative, team-first culture where everyone wins. 

Of course, that comes with some caveats from the Reddit crowd:

“I own a fine dining restaurant with tip pooling. … servers help each other out and care what’s going on in others sections … the servers REALLY care about training their coworkers right.”

“It’s the best system in the world if you work with a team where everybody is competent and pulls their weight.” 

“We do tip pool… Less drama, more teamwork… efficient when you work with people that are hardworking and pull their own weight.” 

“It forces a stronger team mentality…No system is perfect and the strongest servers definitely take a hit most days, but it’s the positive environment that makes up for it usually.”

“I think it helps encourage the senior staff to invest in the newbies. Obviously, if the newbies efforts or attitude aren’t cutting it, time to go.”

The takeaway: If you have the right people, then your tip pool becomes a motivator for your employees to have each other’s backs, to participate in training the newbies, and to be accountable to each other. As the last Redditor here noted, it also means you have to be willing to weed out your weakest links.

2. Does tip pooling penalize top performers?

On the flipside, some commenters highlight how employees — particularly top performers — feel the system redistributes their hard-earned earnings to less productive coworkers, which can erode motivation to upsell, promptly turn tables, or cultivate regulars.

“You lose the need to hustle…tip‑pools have taken away my ability to control how much money I walk with … which made me less willing to hustle.” 

“‘Lazy people…hold up the tables so they work less than others but make the same money.’” 

“I was pulling $400‑$600 by myself and then … only saw $150‑200 of it which really sucks.” 

“Personally not a fan of tip pooling. I typically have the highest tip percentage and I’d rather keep that for me.”

The takeaway: When the link between effort and reward is weakened, the drive to earn more through performance can dwindle. Again, as always, the goal is to have a team of top performers across the board — but in reality, you’ll always have a range of talent. 

If you’re using a tip management system like Kickfin, you can track your employees’ tip payouts over time and see how payouts actually stack up across your team. You can always tweak your tip pooling policy to ensure your performers are getting rewarded for their extra-hard work. Or consider offering shift-based performance bonuses outside of the pool, based on things like guest feedback or upselling performance. This keeps the pool intact but allows standout employees to earn more.

3. The case for income consistency

When tips make up the majority of your take-home pay — as is the case for many restaurant workers — you may not know what to expect from one shift to the next. That can make managing finances hard, especially for workers who are living paycheck to paycheck. 

Tipping is supposed to reward high quality service, so theoretically, tipped employees wield a fair amount of control over what they earn. And tip-pool detractors argue that tip pooling takes away that control. 

But in reality, it’s not so black and white. For example, some sections are busier than others; the employee working the patio on a warm summer evening might be set up to earn more than the server working the back corner next to the restroom. The bartender working the night shift is going to earn more than his coworker who’s there for lunch.

And unfortunately, research shows that customer bias and discrimination can impact tip earnings.

As some Redditors pointed out, tip pooling can help reduce this income variability.

“Pooling tips offsets any issues with tables that don’t leave a tip…Overall, this system has increased the quality of service…” 

 The income might decrease a little bit on busier days but it does usually increase on slower days. And the income is more consistent.”

The takeaway: Of course, it’s not fair to always work the busiest section of the bar, only to split tips evenly with bartenders who work in a much more laid-back section. If you’re pooling tips to help with income variability, it’s wise to find additional ways to control for other variables. For example:

  • Strategically rotate busy and slow sections among your different servers. 
  • When scheduling, make sure the same people aren’t always opening and closing — and as much as possible, rotate your employees through high- and low-volume shifts.
  • Offer easy section or shift trades for employees.

4. Should Back-of-House Be Included in Tip Pools?

In addition to the general pooling benefits (collaboration, culture) — there are some valid reasons to include BOH in your tip pool:

  • Guest experience: When tipping, guests take into consideration things like quality of food and speed of service —  which BOH staff heavily contribute to.
  • Guest expectations: Guests may assume that their tips are getting distributed to everyone — not just servers. (And taking it a step further: clearly communicating that to your guests could generate higher tip volumes.)
  • Retention: With rising labor shortages, offering tip sharing can help attract and retain skilled BOH workers who might otherwise leave for better-paying jobs.

(Keep in mind: There are some legal restrictions when it comes to including BOH in your pool — e.g., if you’re taking the tip credit, you generally can’t include BOH. Find more details on tip pooling laws and compliance here.)

So what do real-life servers say about including BOH? 

“Many places in new orleans had made the switch after quarantine. It’s a God send to the back of house, for most cooks it can be life changing. The FOH is a revolving door now though, why split tips with the kitchen when you can make 600 a night at the bar down the street.”

“I am not upset, I’m getting paid decent and I know how hard it is to smile and be nice all the time and interact with the dreaded public. They are welcome to the extra money and the headache.”

The takeaway: First and foremost, ensure you can legally include back-of-house workers in your tip pool. If you feel it’s right for your restaurant, a few ways to make it work well for everyone:

  • Get buy-in from FOH and BOH: Clearly communicate how and why the structure works. Share real numbers and example breakdowns, and emphasize shared success — tips reflect everyone’s effort (not just what happens tableside).
  • Start small: If FOH is resistant, make the tip-out percentage minimal and see how it goes before increasing
  • Use a weighted distribution model: To fairly divide the tip pool, assign different weights or percentages to each role based on their contribution.  

📝 Final Thoughts

Reddit feedback makes it clear…that there’s a lot of gray area when it comes to employee perspectives on tip pooling.

Ultimately, restaurant workers seem to agree that well-executed, shift-based pools under strong management can foster unity and a dependable livelihood. 

But in mixed teams or mismanaged setups, performers lose motivation, and the culture quickly deteriorates — which ultimately affects morale and retention. And unfortunately, all of that can spill over into the guest experience.

If you’re pooling tips, one of the most important things you should do (aside from ensuring your tip pool is compliant!) is track everything. Having a digital paper trail not only ensures accuracy and prevents tip disputes — but it also gives you the hard data you need to truly evaluate your tip policy.

Has Reddit swayed your opinion on tip pools? Or made you rethink your current tip policy? With Kickfin’s tip pooling software, you can easily customize and automate your tip pooling policy — then track every payment, all in one place. Schedule a demo today!

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