Tip Pooling Calculator (Multi-Shift)
Split a shared tip pool fairly among staff in proportion to hours worked, across multiple shifts, with each person's share and percentage. Runs in your browser.
Splits a shared tip pool in proportion to hours worked: each person’s share = pool × (their hours ÷ total hours), which equals a flat per-hour rate ($30.00 here) times their hours. This hours-weighted method is the most common fair split across multiple shifts. Some houses instead weight by role (points system) — adjust hours to act as points if needed. Educational; everything runs in your browser.
About this tool
Many restaurants, cafés, and bars pool tips and divide them among staff rather than letting each person keep their own, and the fairest and most widely used method is to split the pool in proportion to the hours each person worked. This calculator does exactly that: enter the total tip pool and each staff member's hours (across one or many shifts), and it computes each person's share as the pool multiplied by their fraction of the total hours. Equivalently, it works out a single per-hour tip rate — the pool divided by total hours — and pays each person that rate times their hours, which is why it shows both the dollar share and the percentage of the pool. The hours-weighted approach handles multi-shift weeks naturally: someone who worked 30 hours simply gets more than someone who worked 10, in exact proportion, without any manual per-shift bookkeeping. Some establishments use a points or role-weighted system instead, giving servers, bartenders, and bussers different weights; you can replicate that here by entering each person's points in place of hours (or hours × role-weight), since the math is identical proportional division. A few practical and legal notes worth keeping in mind, though they're outside the calculation: tip-pooling laws vary by jurisdiction and, in the US, generally prohibit managers, supervisors, and owners from sharing in employee tip pools, and rules about including back-of-house staff have changed in recent years — so confirm your local labor regulations. This tool handles the arithmetic of a fair split; it doesn't account for taxes, tip credits, or mandatory service charges. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
How to use it
- Enter the total tip pool to be shared.
- Add each staff member with the hours they worked (combine multiple shifts into total hours).
- Read each person's dollar share and percentage of the pool.
- For a points/role-weighted split, enter points instead of hours.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you fairly split a tip pool?
- The common method is by hours worked: each person's share = pool × (their hours ÷ total hours). This pays everyone the same per-hour tip rate, which most consider fair across shifts of different lengths.
- How does it handle multiple shifts?
- Just total each person's hours across all their shifts and enter that. The proportional split automatically gives more to those who worked more, with no per-shift math needed.
- Can I weight by role instead of hours?
- Yes. A points/role-weighted system uses the same proportional math — enter each person's points (or hours × role-weight) in the hours field and the shares will reflect those weights.
- Can managers or owners share in the tip pool?
- In the US, federal law generally prohibits employers, managers, and supervisors from keeping employees' tips or sharing in a mandatory tip pool. Rules on including kitchen staff vary. Check your jurisdiction — this tool only does the split math.
- Does this account for taxes?
- No. It divides the gross pool. Tips are taxable income and there may be tip-credit and reporting rules; handle those separately or with payroll.
- Is anything uploaded?
- No. All calculations run entirely in your browser.