Tip Management Software
Accurate tips, every shift. No spreadsheets. No guesswork.
Fourth’s Tip Management solution connects tip pooling and digital payouts in one place — so calculations run accurately, managers stay in control, and employees get paid with confidence.
60%
Of restaurant transactions are now cashless
15+
Manager hours saved per month on tip distribution*
1
Connected system for pooling, payout & payroll
0
Spreadsheets needed to calculate distributions
*Based on internal interviews with multi-unit operators
Tip distribution has outgrown the tools managing it.
As restaurants grow more complex, tip distribution has become a core part of daily operations. Yet most operators are still managing it with spreadsheets, manual reconciliations, and end-of-shift guesswork.
- POS data pulled manually into Excel each shift, with distribution logic rebuilt from scratch
- Different rules by role, day part, location — each one adding another layer of manual work
- Cash still flowing nightly while customer payments take 2–3 days to hit the account
- Managers spending 30–45 minutes per shift on tip math and cash counting instead of running great service
- Employee disputes and payroll corrections that surface after tips are already paid
“It’s completely automated and doesn’t require any manual input from our managers at 3:00 in the morning when they’re exhausted. So far it’s been fulfilling all the needs we had.”
Nate Whatley
Director of Technology
On Deck Concepts
One connected tip management process.
Tip pooling, digital payouts, payroll export, and employee visibility — all running through a single, connected system. No data movement between tools. No manual handoffs.
Rules configured once
Define pooling logic, tip-outs, or service charge rules. Assign to locations. They run automatically from there — no rebuilding every shift.Managers review, not rebuild
Review and approval alongside punch records in one motion. Managers stay in control without doing the math themselves.Digital payouts — no cash
Approved tips flow directly to to employee’s chosen payment method. No cash orders, no bank runs, no discrepancies.Payroll-ready exports
Tip totals flow cleanly into payroll with full audit trails.Transparent for employees
Employees see exactly what they earned, what was contributed, and how their payout was calculated — fewer questions, more trust.Built for scale
Multi-location operators manage different rules by region, copy pools across locations, and track changes with full auditability.Automated tip calculations, every day.
Replace spreadsheets with a rules-based system that pulls from your POS and time & attendance data to calculate distributions accurately — whether you run true pools, sales-based tip-outs, or service charge models.
- Supports tip pools, tip-outs & service charges
- Manager can review & approve or automate entirely in HotSchedules
- Day parts, roles & multi-location flexibility
From approval to employee payout.
- Eliminate cash orders & bank runs
- Flexibile payment options to suit your employee
- Configuration to support tax management
From shift data to employee payment.
The full tip management process — connected, automated, and auditable — in five steps.
1
Data collected from POS & timekeeping
Tip, sales, and labor data pulled from existing systems — no manual entry.
2
Pooling rules applied automatically
Configured rules calculate distributions daily based on roles, day parts, and location settings.
3
Managers review & approve in HotSchedules
Results surface for manager review. Adjustments can be made before approving.
4
Approved totals flow to Tip Payout
Calculations automatically feed into the payout process — no re-entry, no handoffs.
5
Employees paid digitally with full visibility
Earnings delivered to employee’s chosen payment method, with a clear breakdown of every calculation that can be seen by the employee and manager.
Built different. Connected by design.
Other tip tools handle one piece of the problem. Fourth connects the entire process — from the moment shift data is collected to the moment tips hit employee accounts.
One connected approach — not a patchwork
Tip pooling, payout, payroll export, and employee visibility run in one system. No moving data between tools or reconciling across platforms.
Embedded where tip decisions already happen
Built into HotSchedules — the system managers already use. No new tools, no new logins, no behavior change required.
Flexible rules with guardrails before rollout
Configure distribution rules once, then publish. Built to get pools set up right the first time.
Real restaurant complexity — no workarounds
Day parts, job types, service charges, revenue segmentation, and multi-location variation are all native. Copy pools across locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Fourth’s tip payout software?
Fourth’s tip payout software is a digital tip distribution platform that replaces end-of-shift cash payouts with automated electronic transfers. Tip amounts are calculated using data already in the operator’s POS system, and employees receive their tips digitally — to a bank account, debit card, or the Fuego Visa® Card — eliminating the need for managers to handle, count, or distribute cash.
What is the Fuego Visa® Card?
The Fuego Visa® Card is a debit card issued by Central Bank of Kansas City (Member FDIC) under a Visa license that employees can use to receive digital tip payouts at zero cost. Accepted anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted — making digital tips accessible even for employees without a traditional bank account.
How do digital tip payouts work?
Digital tip payouts allow employers to transfer employees’ tips electronically instead of in cash. Employers can use Fourth’s digital platform or app (Fuego) to input the tip amounts, which are then directly deposited into employees’ accounts.
How does digital tip payout help with record-keeping and compliance?
Tip payouts simplify record-keeping by automatically generating digital receipts and transaction logs for every payment. This helps employers stay organized and keep pace with evolving wage regulations.How does Fourth’s payment processing compare to traditional methods in terms of speed and cash flow
How does Fourth’s payment processing compare to traditional methods in terms of speed and cash flow for businesses paying out tips to employees?
On average, it takes three days for payment networks like Visa to settle card payments and reimburse a business that pays out tips in cash the night that they’re earned by employees, seriously affecting your cash flow process. Fourth pays out only the known amount and you get it back the next day, halving your funding time.
What are the fees associated with digital tip payouts?
There’s no implementation fee for the employer, no subscription fee, and zero cost tip payments. Employees can transfer tips for $0.50 for ACH (2–3 days), $1 for same day ACH, $2 to a card account (within minutes), and tip payments to the Fuego Visa® Card are zero cost. Employers can choose if/when they want to pay the cost to transfer tips on behalf of the employee, even if just for the short-term.
Does tip payout impact my current payroll process?
Tips paid out are recovered via ACH Debit daily and a breakdown is available to finance for reconciliation. Fuego provides a pay period tip report file that the company’s payroll administrator uploads to the payroll provider containing paid and unpaid tips. All in all, payroll administrators add just one step to their existing payroll process.
Can I run tips through payroll instead of paying them out daily?
Yes, employers can choose to turn off tip payouts and instead can pay out tips to their employees directly through payroll each pay period via earned wage access.
Is the tip payout process fully automated or does it require manager input?
Fully automated. As On Deck Concepts’ Director of Technology put it: it requires no manual input from managers — including at 3:00 in the morning when managers are exhausted. Fuego pulls tip data from the POS, calculates distributions, and processes transfers without manual data entry, spreadsheets, or cash counting at any point.
What are the hidden costs of paying tips in cash?
Cash tip handling carries a range of direct and indirect costs: bank runs and cash transportation, insurance for cash on premises, the labor cost of managers counting and distributing tips late at night, security measures to protect cash in the store, and theft risk — both of the cash itself and from employees being targeted while commuting home after receiving tips. Digital tip payouts eliminate all of these.
¹Central Bank of Kansas City does not administer nor is liable for on-demand pay/wage draws or tip pay out.
The Fuego Visa Card is issued by Central Bank of Kansas City, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A., Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Certain fees, terms, and conditions are associated with the approval, maintenance, and use of the Card. You should consult your Cardholder Agreement and the Fee Schedule at www.getfuego.com/legal. If you have any questions regarding the Card or such fees, terms, and conditions, you can contact us toll-free 24/7/365 at 1-855-715-8518.
