The Restaurant & Tipped Workers Fix Kit
Built for restaurant and tipped workers (servers, bartenders, baristas).
Tipped workers search the tip credit and tip pool rules for a reason: that is where the money moves. It leaks through weeks where tips plus the cash wage came up short, a notice you were never given, a manager in the pool, card fees taken off tips at more than the real fee, side work done at the tipped rate, and a new tax deduction you can only claim if your tips are on paper. I wrote this kit so you can check each one against your own shifts and stubs.
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The 6 leaks it covers
5 the other side owes it · 1 a pro decides
- Weeks where cash wage plus tips came up short of minimum wageWhere to look first: Under federal law an employer taking a tip credit must pay at least $2.13 an hour in cash wages, and can count at most $5.12 an hour of tips toward the $7.25 minimum (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #15).Keep it from coming back: Total each week's wages and tips on the day the week closes.The other side owes it
- Tip credit taken without the notice the law requiresWhere to look first: Before taking a tip credit, the employer must tell you the cash wage, the tip credit amount, that the credit can't exceed tips received, that you keep your tips except for a valid pool, and that the credit only applies if you were told (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #15).Keep it from coming back: Keep a copy of every pay notice you sign.The other side owes it
- Managers or supervisors taking from the tip poolWhere to look first: Find out who shares in your tip pool and how the shares are figured.Keep it from coming back: Ask for the pool breakdown each pay period.The other side owes it
- Card processing fees taken off tips at more than the real feeWhere to look first: An employer may take the card company's percentage fee out of tips paid by card, but no more than that fee, and the full remaining tip is due by the regular payday (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #15).Keep it from coming back: Spot-check one shift's card tip deduction each month.The other side owes it
- Tips not on paper, so the new tips deduction can't be claimedWhere to look first: For tax years 2025 through 2028 there is a deduction for up to $25,000 a year of qualified tips, whether or not you itemize (VERIFIED: BDO summary of T.D. 10044).Keep it from coming back: Write down tips before you leave every shift, with auto-grats on a separate line.A pro decides
- Side work done at the tipped wageWhere to look first: For one week, write down how much of each shift you spend on side work that earns no tips: rolling silverware, deep cleaning, stocking, prep before the doors open.Keep it from coming back: Note side-work time on each shift in your tip log.The other side owes it
Free: one full leak from this kit
No sign-up, no email. Here is leak 1 of 6 exactly as it appears in the kit, so you can see what you get before you buy.
Weeks where cash wage plus tips came up short of minimum wage
The other side owes it- Under federal law an employer taking a tip credit must pay at least $2.13 an hour in cash wages, and can count at most $5.12 an hour of tips toward the $7.25 minimum (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #15).
- If cash wage plus tips do not reach at least $7.25 for every hour in a workweek, the employer must make up the difference by the regular payday (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #15).
- Many states set a higher cash wage or ban the tip credit. Check your state labor office and use the higher rule.
- For each week, add cash wages and tips, then divide by hours worked (CALCULATED: (wages + tips) / hours).
- Mark any week under the minimum. Send the question with your numbers.
Your part: Keep a weekly tally and send the question.
Email to the manager or payroll: Hi [NAME], For the week of [DATES], I worked [HOURS] hours, earned [CASH WAGES] in cash wages and reported [TIPS] in tips. That is [AMOUNT] per hour, below the minimum. Could you make up the difference or show me how that week was figured? Thank you, [YOUR NAME]
Total each week's wages and tips on the day the week closes.
What this kit can't decide for you: Your state may set higher rules. Whether money is owed is for payroll or your state or federal labor office.
That's 1 of 6. The other 5 come the same way in the kit: steps, words to send, a habit to keep each one closed.
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What people in this work look up
When restaurant and tipped workers (servers, bartenders, baristas) go looking for answers, they search things like “tip credit”, “server tip out”, “tipped minimum wage” and “tip pooling”. Those searches turn up forms, averages and other people's numbers. This kit starts from your own records instead: the 6 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
Weeks where cash wage plus tips came up short of minimum wage: where do I start?
Start here: Under federal law an employer taking a tip credit must pay at least $2.13 an hour in cash wages, and can count at most $5.12 an hour of tips toward the $7.25 minimum (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #15). To keep it from coming back: Total each week's wages and tips on the day the week closes.
Tip credit taken without the notice the law requires: where do I start?
Start here: Before taking a tip credit, the employer must tell you the cash wage, the tip credit amount, that the credit can't exceed tips received, that you keep your tips except for a valid pool, and that the credit only applies if you were told (VERIFIED: DOL Fact Sheet #15). To keep it from coming back: Keep a copy of every pay notice you sign.
Managers or supervisors taking from the tip pool: where do I start?
Start here: Find out who shares in your tip pool and how the shares are figured. To keep it from coming back: Ask for the pool breakdown each pay period.
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.
12-page PDF · instant download after payment · Code VYR-KIT-TIPPED-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.