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Tipping

Tipping is configured under Settings → Payments. It applies to card payments taken on a reader — customers choose a tip on the reader's own screen.

Turning it on

  1. Go to Settings → Payments.
  2. Turn on Enable tipping on card readers.
  3. Set your tip presets — three percentages, comma-separated.
  4. Save.

You must set exactly three presets

This is a hard requirement of the card reader, not a ForkLine preference. Set exactly three percentages — for example 15,18,20.

If you set a different number, the reader may simply not ask for a tip at all — with no error message anywhere. If tipping seems switched on but customers are never prompted, count your presets first.

Choosing percentages

Common sets are 15,18,20 for full service and 10,15,20 for counter service.

Two things worth knowing:

  • The first option anchors everything. Most people pick the first or middle option. Setting the lowest at 20% reads as pushy in a counter-service setting and can generate complaints.
  • Percentages are calculated on the order total. On very small tickets, a percentage tip is pennies — some counter shops prefer no tipping at all rather than prompting for 30¢.

Customers can always enter a custom amount or skip.

One set of percentages, everywhere

The same three presets apply to counter and dine-in. The reader holds a single configuration, so it isn't possible to show different percentages per flow.

You can still turn tipping on or off independently for counter and dine-in — that part is per flow. It's only the percentages that are shared.

Where the tip prompt appears

On the counter flow, the tip is the first thing the reader asks — before the receipt and rewards prompts. That ordering is deliberate: asking someone about receipts and loyalty before asking for money is the wrong way round.

The full counter sequence is tip → receipt → rewards. See Using the Register.

Auto-gratuity (dine-in)

For table service you can add a gratuity automatically to large parties:

  1. Go to Settings → Payments.
  2. Set auto-gratuity party size — the number of guests at which it applies.
  3. Set auto-gratuity percent.

Six or eight guests at 18% or 20% is typical.

Tell guests before they order. Print it on the menu. An unexpected service charge on the bill is one of the most reliable ways to generate a complaint and a dispute — see Refunds & Cancellations.

Tips and fees

Card processing applies to the total charged, including the tip — the card networks charge on the full amount. A $30 order with a $5 tip is processed as $35.

Tips arrive in your Stripe payouts along with everything else. Distributing them to staff is up to you and your local law. See Payouts & Timelines.

Cash tips

ForkLine doesn't track cash tips. A cash tip goes straight in the jar and never touches the system.

Troubleshooting

The reader never asks for a tip.

  1. Count your presets — you need exactly three. This is the most common cause.
  2. Confirm tipping is on for the flow you're testing (counter and dine-in are separate switches).
  3. Confirm the reader is connected — see Using the Register.

Tips aren't in my payout. They are — a tip isn't paid separately, it's part of the charge. See Payouts & Timelines.

Where to go next

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