The Chefs & Cooks Fix Kit
Built for chefs and cooks.
Kitchens run on long, uneven hours and pooled tips, so most of the money cooks and chefs lose is time and tip-pool rules: a chef title paid as exempt when the rules say otherwise, prep and close done off the clock, overtime that skipped a bonus, and tip pools that do not follow federal rules. Each leak below starts from your own stubs and a time log. This kit finds where the money leaks in your own work and gives you the steps and the words to close each one.
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
The 7 leaks it covers
2 you can close it · 4 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Paid as an exempt chef when the rules say cooks are notWhere to look first: If you are paid a salary with no overtime, ask which exemption applies.Keep it from coming back: Keep your own weekly hours log.The other side owes it
- Tip pool that breaks the federal rules for cooks and managersWhere to look first: Ask how the tip pool works: who is in it, how shares are set, and whether servers are paid a tipped cash wage (tip credit).Keep it from coming back: Keep a record of your tip-pool share each pay period.The other side owes it
- Overtime paid on base rate instead of the regular rateWhere to look first: Pull your stubs for any week you worked over 40 hours (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #56A) AND got a shift premium or a bonus.Keep it from coming back: Every overtime week with extra pay on the stub, check the overtime rate the day you get paid.The other side owes it
- Work done off the clock before or after the shiftWhere to look first: For two weeks, write down the clock-in and clock-out times on your stub next to the times you actually started and stopped working: prep before clock-in, deep cleaning after close, receiving deliveries, eating on the line.Keep it from coming back: Clock in before the first task and clock out after the last one. Log any break that gets interrupted, the same day.The other side owes it
- The tips and overtime tax deductions never raised with a preparerWhere to look first: Add up any tips reported on your stubs and any overtime premium.Keep it from coming back: Save every stub showing tips or overtime.A pro decides
- Pay never compared across kitchen typesWhere to look first: Write down your full package from a recent stub: hourly or salary, overtime, tip-pool share, shift meals and schedule.Keep it from coming back: Re-check your rate against postings once a year and before you accept any job.You can close it
- Knives, uniforms and shoes paid from your own pocket with no recordWhere to look first: List what you bought for work this year: knives, uniforms, shoes, thermometers.Keep it from coming back: Ask about uniforms and tools before you accept any kitchen job.You can close it
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 7 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Paid as an exempt chef when the rules say cooks are not
The other side owes it- If you are paid a salary with no overtime, ask which exemption applies.
- The federal rule says executive chefs and sous chefs with a four-year specialized culinary arts degree generally meet the learned-professional duties test, and cooks who mostly do routine work do not (VERIFIED: 29 CFR 541.301(e)(6)).
- Any white-collar exemption also needs a salary of at least $684 a week (VERIFIED: Polsinelli on the 2026 DOL rescission).
- Log your weekly hours for a month.
- Bring the log and the answer to the Wage and Hour Division if they do not fit.
Your part: Ask in writing and decide whether to file.
Email to the owner or general manager: Subject: Overtime classification question Hi [NAME], I am paid a salary of [AMOUNT] as [TITLE] with no overtime. Most of my week is [DUTIES]. Can you tell me in writing which overtime exemption applies to my job? I have averaged [HOURS] hours a week over the last month. Thank you, [YOUR NAME]
Keep your own weekly hours log.
What this kit can't decide for you: Whether you meet an exemption is decided by the Wage and Hour Division or a court. State rules may differ; not covered.
That's 1 of 7. The other 6 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
What people in this work look up
When chefs and cooks go looking for answers, they search things like “chef salary”, “line cook pay”, “cook overtime” and “chef pay”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 7 places money leaks in this work, where to look first and the words to send to close each one.
What you get for each leak
- Numbered steps to close each leak
- Your part, spelled out
- Words you can use: letters and scripts, ready to send (fill in the brackets)
- A habit that keeps each leak from coming back
- An honest line on what the kit can't decide for you
A page from the kit
Questions people ask
Paid as an exempt chef when the rules say cooks are not: where do I start?
Start here: If you are paid a salary with no overtime, ask which exemption applies. To keep it from coming back: Keep your own weekly hours log.
Tip pool that breaks the federal rules for cooks and managers: where do I start?
Start here: Ask how the tip pool works: who is in it, how shares are set, and whether servers are paid a tipped cash wage (tip credit). To keep it from coming back: Keep a record of your tip-pool share each pay period.
Overtime paid on base rate instead of the regular rate: where do I start?
Start here: Pull your stubs for any week you worked over 40 hours (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #56A) AND got a shift premium or a bonus. To keep it from coming back: Every overtime week with extra pay on the stub, check the overtime rate the day you get paid.
What it can't decide for you
This kit works from your own records. It doesn't give legal, tax, licensing or financial advice, and it never tells you what to charge. Where a CPA, attorney, insurer or state board makes the call, the kit says so and gets your records ready for them.
13-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-CHEFS-01
Opens secure checkout. Instant download after payment. 30 days to ask for a refund — refund policy · terms
Next step
- Run your free LeakReceipts check — it reads your own receipts and records and shows where money is leaking out, line by line.
- TrueNET — the whole-picture money truth: what you actually keep after every cost, across everything you earn and spend.
Use Jobber or Housecall Pro? Run the free leak check — it reads your job export in your browser and shows the money leaks the software doesn't flag. Nothing is uploaded.