Sales and Tip Distribution

Core Product: Aloha Table Service
Complimentary Products: No
Separate License Required? No
Other References: Aloha Table Service Manager Guide, Aloha Table Service Reference Guide, Aloha Table Service Report Guide, Tip Declaration Feature Focus Guide, Custom Checkout Feature Focus Guide, Tip Share Distribution Feature Focus Guide.
View/Download/Print: Sales and Tip Distribution Feature Focus Guide - HKS379

About Sales and Tip Distribution

Sales and Tip Distribution (formerly known as Tip and Sales Distribution and Team Tip Distribution) enables you to distribute sales and tips among all employees who work in cooperation with each other as a team to provide service. You can configure it so that only one person on a team can access and modify the check, or every person on a team can access and modify the check. This Aloha® Table Service feature also benefits restaurants with multiple bartenders working the same shift, and to-go environments with multiple order entry personnel.

SCENARIO: LARGE PARTIES A large party arrives at your restaurant for a birthday celebration. The manager pulls several tables together and assigns three servers to work the table. As soon as a server starts a table (creates the check), the manager creates a check team consisting of the three servers. The job code under which the servers log in determines who owns the sales and financial responsibility of the check; however, the system performs an automatic even distribution of the sales responsibility and tip to each member on the team when a team member closes the check. A manager can then use the Back-of-House (BOH) distribution function to redistribute the sales and tip using varying percentages, if desired and if current day is enabled for this function, or wait until the next business day to do the redistribution.

SCENARIO: TEAM SERVICE ENVIRONMENTS Your restaurant works in a team service environment where the servers work in cooperation with each other to provide service throughout a shift. Each member of the team can access a team check, make changes, and close the check. The manager creates several shift teams consisting of the employees on each team. The job code under which the employees log in determines who owns the sales and financial responsibility of each team check; however, the system performs an automatic even distribution of the sales responsibility and tip to each employee on the team when a team member closes a check. A manager can then use the BOH distribution function to redistribute the sales and tip using varying percentages, if desired and if current day is enabled for this function, or wait until the next business day to do the redistribution.

SCENARIO: BARTENDERS Your bartenders work together in a team service environment. Each bartender can access any tab, add drinks, and tender and close the tab when the guest is ready to leave. The manager creates a shift team consisting of the bartenders scheduled to work the shift. The job code under which the bartenders log in determines who owns the sales and financial responsibility of each tab; however, the system performs an automatic even distribution of the sales responsibility and tip to each bartender on the team when a team member closes a tab. A manager can then use the BOH distribution function to redistribute the sales and tip using varying percentages, if desired and if current day is enabled for this function, or wait until the next business day to do the redistribution.

SCENARIO: TOGO COUNTERS Your restaurant provides a 'to go' counter, where guests call ahead, place an order, and pick it up at a designated time. You have two employees working this counter, one to take orders and one to assemble and bag the orders in preparation for the guest. The manager creates a shift team consisting of the employees scheduled to work the shift. The job code under which the employees log in determines who owns the sales and financial responsibility of each check; however, the system performs an automatic even distribution of the sales responsibility and tip to each employee on the team when a team member closes a check. A manager can then use the BOH distribution function to redistribute the sales and tip using varying percentages, if desired and if current day is enabled for this function, or wait until the next business day to do the redistribution.

How does the system know to whom to distribute the sales and tips?

Managers create teams of employees who work in cooperation with each other to provide service. The team can be a group of employees who work an entire shift together (shift team), or a group of employees who work a single table together (check team). If a restaurant uses a labor scheduler, such as the basic labor scheduler available within the Aloha Point-of-Sale (POS) system or Back Office (NBO), a manager can create a shift team before the required employees clock in; however, an employee must either be scheduled to work or already on the clock for a manager to add them to a team. A server must have already started a table (created a check) before a manager can create a check team.

Tip: Only employees with order entry capability appear in the selection list when you create teams.

Once you create a team, the system offers the flexibility of adding or removing employees from the team, as needed. You can configure the system so that only one person on a team, or multiple people on a team, can access and modify a team check.

All employees assigned to a team must clock in using a job code with order entry capability, and if an employee on the team other than the employee who starts the check needs the ability to access and modify a team check, that employee must clock in using a job code with 'team service get check' capabilities.

Tip: If you also use tip-share pools, if one member of the team logs in under a job code configured to contribute to a tip-share pool, all employees on the team must log in with a job code configured to contribute to a tip-share pool. Refer to the Tip Share Distribution Feature Focus Guide.
As soon as a member of the team closes a team check, the system performs an automatic equal distribution of the sales and tip to each employee on the team. If only the employee who starts the check can access and make changes to the check, the financial responsibility remains with that employee; however, if each employee on the team can access and make changes to a team check, how you configure the job code for 'team service get check' capability determines who has financial ownership.
It is common for an employee on a team to clock out before the team closes all team checks for which that employee also provided service. A team member who assists with a check may receive a share of the sales and tip if (1) the team member is on the clock at some point during the life cycle of the check, and (2) a team member closes the team check within the 'grace period' allowed after clocking out that allows an employee to be included in the sales and tip distribution. For example, Nick opens a check at 5:30 p.m. Elliot assists a team by entering orders and serving food. Elliot clocks out at 7:05 p.m., and the check is still open. Nick closes the check at 7:15 p.m. By configuring the system to allow 15 minutes after an employee clocks out for an employee to be included in the distribution for team checks still open, Elliot is rewarded for his service.
As a best practice and if at all possible, it is best if the distribution of the sales and tip for each check is how you want it before your employees clock out and declare their tips for the day. This reduces the number of corrections to declared tips that have to be done later using the Edit Punches function.

How does the sales and tip distribution occur?

The actual sales and tip distribution can occur using several methods:

Automatically, when you close a check serviced by a shift or check team. The system distributes the sales and tips equally among the employees on the team. You can manually redistribute the check later, if needed. If you reopen a team check, any adjustments, such as voids and item additions, cause the system to redistribute the sales and tip upon close of the check, based on the new amounts.
Manually, from the Front-of-House (FOH). You can perform redistribution from the FOH for the current day only, as many times as needed. The system distributes the checks equally among the employees on the team.
Manually, from the BOH. Depending on the configuration, you can perform redistribution from the BOH for both current and previous days, or only for previous days, as many times as needed until the payroll end date. You can stipulate to do the redistribution by a designated percentage or equally among all employees on the team. When you redistribute a check on the next business day or after an employee on the team has already clocked out, the system corrects the reported sales and tip amounts, but you need to access Edit Punches to change the declared tips for each employee on the team.

How does each employee receive notification of their sales and tips?

The employee checkout report reflects the total sales, charge tips, gratuity, and tip-share contribution for both team sales and individual employee sales, making the employee aware of sales received by working in cooperation with a team to provide service, if any.

The check out report provides the exact amount of sales allocated to the employee for payroll and tax purposes, as well as the amount of charge tips and gratuities. If the employee contributes to a tip-share pool, the system shows the tip-share contribution for the employee based on the most current distribution of sales; all of which assist employees in the most accurate tip declaration, as well as more accurate reporting of tippable sales.

Additionally, the system allows a manager to redistribute the sales and tips for checks already distributed while providing notification to both manager and employee of the adjustments. When an employee checks out or clocks out, the employee checkout report and the tip declaration screen reflect the appropriate distribution of sales and tips for that employee. It is possible to print a disclaimer on the bottom of both the checkout report and the clock-out chit alerting the employee that the information is subject to change if redistribution occurs.

If redistribution occurs after an end of day, it is also possible for an acknowledgment to appear at clock in on the next business day for any employee who worked on the team check, letting them know of the redistribution and prompting for approval.

Configuring Sales and Tip Distribution

Using Sales and Tip Distribution

Learn how to use sales and distribution.

Reporting Sales and Tip Distribution

Discover the reports that help you manage sales and tip distribution.

Troubleshooting Sales and Tip Distribution

Learn possible solutions to problems you may encounter with sales and tip distribution.

Revision History

View the development history of the Sales and Tip Distribution feature.

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