The TipScan blog
Money guides for tipped work
No fluff, no corporate-speak — how checkouts, tip-outs, and tip taxes actually work, from the worker's side of the tray.
Toast Shift Review: Cash Owed, Credit Tips & What You Keep
Understand your Toast checkout: why cash owed can be negative, how payroll payouts change the math, and how to separate cash settlement from tips earned.
Micros Employee Tip Report, Explained: Charged Tips, Direct Tips and Tips Paid
How to read an Oracle Micros Employee Tip Report: Gross Receipts, Charged Tips, Direct Cash Tips, Total Tips and Tips Paid — with a worked example and the tip-percentage math managers use.
Aloha Server Checkout, Explained: SALES, GROSS, CHARGE TIPS and CASH OWED
How to read an NCR Aloha checkout: what SALES, GROSS RECEIPTS, LESS CHARGE TIPS and CASH OWED mean, a worked example, and why your restaurant's slip looks nothing like the one down the street.
The $2.13 Tipped Minimum Wage, Explained: How Tip Credits Actually Work
Why some servers earn a $2.13/hr base wage, how the FLSA tip credit works, the 16 states still at $2.13, the 7 states that require full minimum wage plus tips, and what your employer legally owes you.
How to Keep a Daily Tip Log: Records, Examples & Form 4070A
Build a daily tip record you can reconcile. What to record, how to avoid counting pooled tips twice, and why IRS Form 4070A is now historical. Free template.
Do I Have to Report Cash Tips? The $20 Rule & Daily Records
Cash tip reporting explained: the monthly employer-reporting threshold, tax return reporting, tip-outs, allocated tips, and how the tip deduction fits in.
Tip Out Rules Explained: How Much Servers Really Pay (and Who Can't Touch Your Tips)
The four tip out structures restaurants use, why sales-based tip outs hurt on slow nights, FLSA rules on managers in tip pools, and how to track it all.
No Tax on Tips in 2026: Deduction, Income Limits & Records
The federal tip deduction explained: taxable income versus AGI, the $25,000 cap, filing and self-employment limits, 2026 W-2 fields, and worked examples.
How to Read Your Server Checkout Slip (Toast, Aloha, Micros)
Line-by-line guide to your end-of-shift checkout slip: credit tips, cash owed, tip outs, and what each POS calls them. Know what you actually earned.