Free tool
Tip out calculator
Enter a server's net sales and total tips, set your house tip-out percentages, and see exactly what each support role receives and what the server keeps. Nothing is stored and no signup is needed.
Shift numbers
Support roles
Breakdown
| Role | Rate | Tip out |
|---|---|---|
| Bartender | 1.5% | $37.50 |
| Busser / Runner | 2% | $50.00 |
| Host | 0.5% | $12.50 |
| Total tipped out | $100.00 | |
Server keeps
$400.00
Percentages of net sales are the most common US restaurant practice. Check your state's tip-pooling rules before setting house policy.
How restaurant tip outs are calculated
A tip out is the share a tipped server or bartender passes to support staff who helped serve their guests. Most houses set it as a percentage of the server's net sales — for example 2% to bussers and 1.5% to the bar — because sales reflect the work the support team actually did, regardless of how generously a table tipped. Some houses instead take a percentage of tips collected, which is gentler on servers on slow or poorly tipped nights.
Whichever basis you use, the math has to stay consistent shift to shift, and it has to be visible to staff. Most tip disputes come from a number nobody can explain, not from a number that's too small.
When a calculator isn't enough
One shift on a calculator is easy. A week of AM, lunch, PM and banquet shifts across a dozen staff, with credit-card fee deductions, points-based pools and payroll-ready exports, is where spreadsheets break. That's what TipLedger automates — with a staff portal so every employee can see exactly how their payout was calculated.