Tip Pooling Calculator

Split a shift's tips by hours worked or by hours × role points, to the cent

Updated 2026-10-01

Total tips in the pool

Split the pool by

Staff in the pool (name, hours)

Tips per hour: $31.11
Ana (server): $186.67
Ben (server): $155.55
Cara (bartender): $186.67
Dev (busser): $186.67
Eli (host): $124.44
Total paid out: $840.00

Shares are rounded to the cent so they add up to the pool exactly. Under the US FLSA, owners, managers and supervisors may never take part in a tip pool; if you take a tip credit, only customarily tipped staff may share it.

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Enter the total tips from the shift, choose whether to split by hours or by hours weighted with role points, and list who worked and for how long. The calculator gives the rate per hour (or per point-hour) and each person's payout, rounded to the cent so the shares always add up to exactly what is in the pool. Add or remove people as needed; nothing is stored or sent.

Worked example: one dinner shift

A restaurant pools $840 from a dinner shift. Two servers worked 6 and 5 hours, the bartender 6, the busser 6 and the host 4: 27 hours in total.

Split by hours, everyone earns $840 ÷ 27 = $31.11 an hour, so a 6-hour shift pays $186.67 and the 4-hour host gets $124.44. Split by points, where servers and the bartender are 1 point and the busser and host 0.5, the total is 22 point-hours and each point-hour is worth $38.18: the 6-hour servers and bartender get $229.09 each, the busser $114.55 and the host $76.36.

The $840 pool split two ways
Person	Hours	Points	By hours	By hours × points
Ana (server)	6	1	$186.67	$229.09
Ben (server)	5	1	$155.55	$190.91
Cara (bartender)	6	1	$186.67	$229.09
Dev (busser)	6	0.5	$186.67	$114.55
Eli (host)	4	0.5	$124.44	$76.36
Total	27		$840.00	$840.00

Hours or points: which is fairer?

Splitting by hours is simple and easy to explain: everyone who was on the floor earns the same per hour. It suits small teams where roles overlap. Points let you reflect that some roles drive more of the tips, and are common where servers, bartenders, bussers, runners and hosts all share one pool. Whatever you choose, write the points down, share them with the team before the shift, and apply them the same way every time.

If you only want some staff to give a fixed share to others (a "tip-out", such as 3% of sales to the bar), that is a different system: each server pays out of their own tips instead of everything going into one pot.

Who can share a tip pool in the US

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended in 2018, an employer may never keep employees' tips, and owners, managers and supervisors may not take part in a tip pool. If you pay tipped staff a cash wage below minimum wage and take a tip credit, the pool may include only employees who customarily and regularly receive tips (servers, bartenders, bussers, runners). If you pay everyone at least the full minimum wage and take no tip credit, the pool may also include back-of-house staff such as cooks and dishwashers. State law can be stricter, so check your state labour department as well (US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Fact Sheet #15).

Keeping records

Record the pool total, the hours and points used and each payout for every shift. Tips are taxable income for the employee and must be reported on payroll, so a shift log saves time at pay run and settles disputes quickly. Card tips collected through your POS are the easiest part of the pool to prove; count cash tips at the end of the shift with a second person present.

Keep the numbers in a spreadsheet

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Frequently asked questions

How do you split tips by hours worked?

Add up everyone's hours, divide the tip pool by that total to get a rate per hour, then multiply each person's hours by the rate. $840 over 27 hours is $31.11 an hour, so a 6-hour shift gets $186.67.

How does a tip pool point system work?

Each role gets points (for example servers 1, bussers and hosts 0.5). Multiply each person's hours by their points, add those up, and divide the pool by the total to get the value of one point-hour. Each person gets their point-hours times that value.

Can managers take part in a tip pool?

Not in the US. The FLSA bars employers, managers and supervisors from keeping any part of employees' tips, including through a pool. A manager can only keep tips they receive directly for service they personally provided.

Can kitchen staff share the tip pool?

Under federal rules, yes, if the employer pays everyone at least the full minimum wage and takes no tip credit. If the employer takes a tip credit, only customarily tipped staff may share the pool. Some states have stricter rules.

Why do the shares not split evenly to the cent?

A pool rarely divides into whole cents. The calculator rounds each share down, then gives the leftover cents one at a time to the people with the largest fractions, so the payouts add up to the pool exactly.

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