Skip to main content

Tips

To use tip functions, you must have Track Server for Each Sale checked under Maintenance > Configuration and Settings > Workstation Settings > Options on each computer and there MUST be an item named Tip with TIP (Must be capitalized) as the item number. The first time you open the inventory items window, a TIP item is created for you. You will need to assign a category to it and confirm that the roomMaster account code is set correctly. This item will be used to manually post a tip to a check in a bill to room scenario and will be used by the system to post a tip to a check if a credit card is used for payment.

Adding a Tip to a Credit Card Charge

If you use a credit card interface, such as Shift4's Dollars on the Net or Windcave, with iQ-POS, each time you ring a credit card, you will be prompted with a window that asks you to Present Card Receipt (Authorize). Pressing this button will bring up the credit card processing interface window to get pre-approval on the card. If successful, a summary receipt for the guest to sign and add a tip will print. Place the check back on hold and present the summary receipt to the guest. Once the guest signs the receipt and adds a tip, if desired, recall the check, and press Finish Sale, then press the payment card type again. Press Confirm/Close Check(Settle Check), and a prompt appears to enter the tip amount and then display the credit card processing window again with the total charge amount including the tip. Press Process to complete the sale and close the check.

Manually adding a Tip to a Check

A tip can be added manually at any time to a check, just like any other item. iQ-POS also has the Gratuity/Tip Options feature available after clicking the Payment/Print(F4) to make it easy to add a tip when closing a check. If there is not an item on the check, the Gratuity/Tip Options button does not appear.

  • Tip by Amount lets you enter a monetary amount for the tip.

  • Tip by Percentage is used to enter a percentage of the total check as the tip.

  • Tip By Difference is used when the guest says "keep the change." Take whatever the guest gave you either on the credit card or in cash and enter it. iQ-POS will automatically post the difference as a tip.

  • Quick Tip Selection allows you to quickly add a percentage amount to the total check as a tip. This works well for banquets or large parties where an automatic gratuity needs to be added.

Declaring Tips

Before closing out, each user should Declare their Tips using their drawer to obtain cash for all the credit card and direct bill tips they have collected for the day. From the iQ-POS Terminal screen, each user would press Other Functions > Employee Report/Options > Declare and Process Tips. The amount of the Tip Liability will appear. This is the amount of tips that were charged on credit cards and bill to room charges the server is owed. The user can then press Press to Process this Tip. The cash the server is expected to drop is reduced by the amount of charged tips and a receipt prints for their records. The server can then physically remove this amount from their drawer and put it in their pocket.

Each time a Tip Declaration is processed, it will not be able to be duplicated, such as the server pressing this button more than once. In the case where a user then continued to process more checks on their shift (say they picked up some more tables), they could come back here and use this same process again, and the system would only display the new tips they are due.

Closing Shifts/End of Day

To make sure each Server successfully Tips Out before closing their shift, you can set the system to always warn when printing receipts and prior to the dayend close if all Tips have not been paid out. To do this, select Maintenance > Configuration and Settings > Global Settings tab > Declaring Tips Prior to Shift/Dayend Close. It is recommended to switch this option to Require that all be declared to make sure each employee does declare their tips prior to closing the shift and the dayend close. This also helps ensure all accounting functions report accurate totals when using shifts.

In order to be able to use the Tip functions, the CASH and CASH REFUND accounts must be setup in iQ-POS. To do this, select Maintenance > Configuration and Settings > Global Settings > Account Codes > Paid Outs and Override Accounts.

Tip Report

A Tip Report can be generated for accounting purposes by employee, date, tip amounts (Bill to room and Charge Tips only) from the Reports > Quick Reports > Employee Tip Report. This is a Quick Report and must be setup by the user with the desired columns from the available field list. A query can be used to run the report for certain dates and/or specific employees.

Splitting Tips for Multiple Employees

For large parties or banquets, the tip often needs to be split among many servers, or between servers and bus staff. iQ-POS has the Disburse Posted Tip function to make this fast and easy. This can be completed for any check that has a tip amount on it, but does need to be completed within the same shift the check was closed for proper reporting. Use the following steps to distribute a tip to multiple employees:

  1. Open an active check with a tip or recall a closed check where the tip has already been added and select the Payment/Print(F4) option.

  2. Select Gratuity/Tip Options.

  3. Select Disburse Posted Tip. The tip item and amount appear in the window.

  4. Split the tip:

  • Split Item By Quantity - Use this option to split the tip evenly among a certain number of servers. So if there were 5 servers working a banquet splitting a $150 tip evenly, enter 5 on the on-screen keypad. On the main screen there would now be five tip entries for $30 each. (Assigning the amount to the server happens in the next step.)

  • Split Item By Amount - If servers are getting different amounts of the tip, use this function. Again the keypad will appear. Enter the amount one of the servers should receive. (Assigning the amount to the server happens in the next step.) On the main screen the amount entered is subtracted from the original total. Using the same example as above, when complete there should be 5 tip entries that total $150.

  1. Highlight a tip entry and select Update/Assign Employee. The employee lookup screen appears. The arrow keys at the bottom of the window can be used to navigate to the correct employee. Highlight the employee to receive that portion of the tip and press Select. The employee name now appears next to the tip entry and will appear on this employees tip report. Follow the same process for each employee to receive a portion of this tip.

  2. Select Done when the tip has been disbursed correctly.

  3. The tip amounts will appear on each employees tip report and be declared before closing the shift or completing the dayend close for iQ-POS.

If an error is made in splitting the tip, select the Start Over button and the original tip entry(s) appear. Use the steps above to disburse the tip correctly.

To split a cash tip received after the shift has been closed, open a new check and enter a TIP for the same amount as the cash received. Then ring in the cash received for the tip. Click Payment/Print(F4) and follow the steps above. The tip amount will be assigned to the employees and declared before closing the shift or completing the dayend close for iQ-POS.