Running a tip pool without arguments

Published on October 7, 2026

A tip pool works when everyone understands how it is split and can check it. When they can't, suspicion creeps in: who recorded what, why this month came out lower, whether someone changed the hours. These six practices prevent that, whatever tool you use.

1. The rule, in writing and before you start

Decide together how the pool is split (equally, by hours, mixed or by role) and write it down where everyone can see it. Changing the rule once the split is done, even with good intentions, always looks self-serving. If you are not sure which one to choose, how to split tips compares the five usual methods with a single example.

2. Hours, on the same day

Hours recorded at the end of the month are an estimate; hours recorded on the day are a fact. If everyone enters their own when their shift ends and the manager reviews them, mistakes get fixed while people still remember.

3. Every tip recorded, and none deleted

Record every tip, or the total of each service, with its payment method. If one is wrong, don't delete it: void it with a reason and record the right one. That way the total can always be rebuilt.

4. Closing the split

Once everything has been reviewed, the split is closed, and from then on the figures don't change. If a mistake turns up later, it is reopened with a reason and closed again: both versions are kept.

5. Everyone sees their share and why

Publishing one number per person is not enough. Everyone should be able to see where theirs comes from: what part is split equally, what part by hours and how it was rounded. For example, this is how a split by hours is explained:

6. Deciding who sees what

In some teams everyone sees everyone's amounts; in others, each person only sees their own and the totals. Both are reasonable; what matters is choosing one and saying so. A word of warning: in a team of two, seeing the totals is enough to work out the other person's share.

How Split the Tips does it

Split the Tips is built to follow these six practices with no extra work:

• each split has its rule, and you can compare it with another one before saving it;
• everyone enters their hours from their phone, without creating an account;
• tips are never deleted: they are voided with a reason;
• on closing, the result is frozen with a fingerprint that lets anyone check it hasn't changed;
• everyone sees their share explained, and the history keeps who changed what;
• in private mode, each person only sees their own share and the totals.