Applying Discounts or Gratuities to an Open Check

The Gratuity/Misc $ tab in the Restaurant Check page allows you to apply a gratuity (tip) and/or discounts to the check. These can be applied either as straight currency amounts (left) or as a percentage of the check (right) for both discounts and gratuities.

Restaurant Check screen, Gratuity tab

 

For gratuities in particular, whether you apply them before or after printing the check for payment depends on the situation.

NOTE: It is not uncommon for customers to simply write a Total amount to charge on their check, or to add the tip amount incorrectly. Regardless of which applies, the number entered by the customer in the Total space of the printed check is the amount that must be charged.

If the restaurant has a policy of adding an automatic gratuity (for example to tables of 6 or more), use this tab to post the additional charge to the check before printing it for payment.

Alternately, if the customer has added a tip to their payment, you could apply that amount in this tab after receiving payment from the customer, creating a zero balance for the check and no mistakes in posting amounts.

For this reason, you may want to make a habit of applying customer-added gratuity to the check after printing the check. This ensures that you do not attempt to apply a gratuity to the check that does not add up to the total payment authorized by the customer.

 

To add a Gratuity or Discount to a check:

 

Click the Gratuity/Misc $ tab to activate it.

 

Each of the (4) boxes on the tab has its own "Post" button associated with it. This allows you to enter the gratuity amount or percentage as well as the discount amount or percentage and post each separately.

 

What you do next depends on the situation you are applying.

If you must apply a coupon for the meal, or an applicable discount (for example., AARP, hotel guest VIP club), enter the amount or percentage into the appropriate Discount text box and click the associated Post Discount button to apply it to the check.

If you must apply an automatic gratuity to the check, enter either the amount or percentage into the appropriate Gratuity text box and click the associated Post Gratuity button to apply it to the check.

If the customer has added a gratuity to their payment, you have the following additional options:

Enter the total amount paid into either the Amount Tendered field (if cash payment) or the Amount field (if other type of payment), and click Post.

Then enter the remaining Total Due shown in the Postings as the Gratuity amount and click Post Gratuity. This should render a zero balance on the check.

OR:

Enter the gratuity amount written on the payment receipt and click Post Gratuity.

Then apply the full payment amount.

For further details see Applying Payments to an Open Check.