How Do Tip Outs Work?
A tip out is when a server or bartender hands over part of their tips to the support staff who helped them during the shift. Bussers, food runners, bartenders, and hosts usually get a cut, since they help the server do a good job but don’t get tipped directly by most guests.
There are two common ways to figure it out.- Some restaurants take a percentage of the server’s sales, like 1% to 3% of total sales to the busser and 2% to 4% to the bartender.
- Others take a percentage of the server’s tips.
Sales-based is easier to track and feels fairer to many owners, because a server with a slow night still owes the same share of the work they got help with.
Most restaurants do the math at the end of the shift in the POS system, and the system pulls the tip out from the server’s total. Some do it in cash.
As an owner, you set the numbers, so keep them reasonable. If servers feel they’re giving up too much, your best ones leave. Also remember that managers and owners can’t take part in a tip-out, and some states have rules about which jobs can be included. Put the policy in writing and go over it with every new hire.