Tip pooling: fair, clear, and automatic
The common models, what makes it feel fair, and how to run it without a spreadsheet.
How a pool works
Instead of each server keeping their own tips, a pool collects them and shares them out by a rule — most often weighted by hours worked, sometimes by role or skill level, and often split between front and back of house. The goal is to reward the whole team that made the service happen.
What makes it feel fair
Fairness comes from a clear, consistent rule and visible math: hours × a weight everyone understands, the same every week. People accept a pool when they can see how their share was calculated — and lose trust fast when it’s a black box someone tallies by hand.
Mind the rules where you operate
Tip-pooling rules vary by province and state — who can be included, whether managers can share, how it interacts with wages. Set your pool up to match your local rules, and keep a record of how each period was distributed.
Run it without the weekly spreadsheet
The pain isn’t the concept, it’s the weekly reconciliation: gathering hours, applying weights, splitting front and back, settling at week’s end. That’s exactly the part worth automating so it’s right, fast and auditable.
PULSE pools tips automatically from approved clocked hours — a daily front-of-house pool and a weekly back-of-house pool that accumulates across the week, split by hours × skill level — so each person’s share is calculated the same way every time, visible to them once the day is locked, and never tallied by hand.