Nightly Tip Close-Out Checklist
A step-by-step checklist for closing a tip pool the same way every shift, from pulling the POS report to filing the record.
Reviewed for 2026, updated September 8, 2026.
The tip close-out goes wrong when it depends on whoever happens to be closing. One manager reconciles the card batch first, another skips it; one asks about the busser who left early, another pays everyone at full hours. This checklist turns the close into a fixed sequence so the numbers come out the same whether the general manager or a shift lead is in the building. Print it, keep it by the terminal, and tick through it every night until the order is automatic.
It follows the structure described in our guide at /guide/ and the close-out article at /blog/speed-up-shift-tip-closeout/: verify the inputs, confirm who is in the pool, apply the written formula, review exceptions, pay out, publish, and file. If you use the Tip Pool Split by Hours and Points Calculator at /tools/tip-pool-split-calculator/, the formula step is the point where you enter the totals. Adapt the wording to your own policy, but keep every step; each one exists because skipping it has cost someone a wage claim or a good employee.
- Confirm the pool period being closed (shift, day, or week) matches what the written policy says.
- Pull the POS tip report and separate cash tips from card tips before doing any math.
- Reconcile the card tips on the POS report against the card batch total and note any gap.
- Count declared cash tips with a second person present and write down the total.
- Export hours and roles from the time clock for everyone who worked during the pool period.
- Split hours by role for any employee who worked two roles in the same period.
- Check that no manager, supervisor, or owner appears on the participant list, even if they covered a section.
- Confirm every participant is a role the policy allows in the pool, applying tip credit limits if you take one.
- Remove service charges and mandatory fees from the pool total; they are not tips.
- Apply any card fee deduction only at the actual documented cost and only if your state permits it.
- Apply the distribution formula exactly as written in the policy (hours, points, or hours times points).
- Calculate tip-outs to support roles at the policy rates, weighted by hours when more than one person filled a role.
- Review exceptions: voided checks with tips attached, tips on comped items, walkouts, and cash declared late.
- Write down the reason and the approver for every manual adjustment to a share.
- Check that the individual shares add back to the pool total within rounding.
- Have a second person review and sign off when the pool is large or any adjustment was made.
- Record what each person receives in cash tonight versus through payroll.
- Collect a signature for any cash paid across the bar.
- Send per-employee tip amounts to payroll in the format your provider accepts, with no retyping.
- Publish the per-person breakdown in the usual place at the usual time so staff can check their own share.
- File the POS report, card batch, time clock export, and calculation sheet together for this shift.
- Note anything that should trigger a policy review, such as a new role, a new service model, or a repeated complaint.
https://tippoolr.com/templates/nightly-tip-closeout-checklist/Use it in your business, share it with your team, or link to it from your own site.
Also from TipPoolr
- Shift Tip Pool Record Sheet: A per-shift record that lists every pool participant with hours, role points, weighted hours, share, and how it was paid, so any close can be rebuilt months later.
- Free calculators