Start here
The free tool below runs entirely in this browser — no account, nothing stored or transmitted. Redact anything you would not want kept before you type it.
Open the companion tool →Why a service charge and a tip are not interchangeable labels
The U.S. Department of Labor distinguishes tips from compulsory service charges in its federal guidance. A point-of-sale label may not show how a charge was later entered or distributed through payroll.
Matching the shift record to the payroll period can surface a missing entry or an unexplained allocation. Federal, state, and local rules differ, so a record is a starting point—not a legal conclusion.
The protocol
- Save the schedule, hours worked, point-of-sale closeout or available tip record, and the pay statement for the same period.
- Separate voluntary tips from any compulsory service charge and note the exact labels used by the employer or system.
- Record the tip-pool method, roles included, share shown, and any deduction or adjustment separately from base wages.
- Ask payroll in writing how the amounts were categorized and distributed; keep the response and the next pay statement.
- If the explanation does not resolve the discrepancy, contact the Department of Labor or your state labor agency for a free route to ask about coverage.
What the tool does
Build a tip-pool and service-charge reconciliation record. It runs locally in this browser and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a record-keeping aid, not legal, wage, or tax advice. It cannot decide your employee status, determine whether a tip pool complied with law, or recover unpaid wages.
Open the companion tool →Cost and free path
Cost: Free: one complete local run in this browser, with no account or upload; the tool does not transmit what you enter. Optional $4 one-time convenience unlock for unlimited runs of this tool on this browser; never a subscription. The protective answer and every free-path step remain free.
Rule status (mixed route): Federal and state route, checked 2026-10-10: DOL Fact Sheet #15 distinguishes tips from compulsory service charges under federal guidance; state and local rules may add protections, so check the rule for your work location.
Automated decision this documents: automated point-of-sale or payroll rules that categorize charges and allocate pooled tips among workers
Free path, in order (no cost):
- A written allocation question to the employer's payroll contact
- The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division complaint route
- Your state labor department, union, or worker center for local guidance
What this cannot do: It cannot decide your employee status, determine whether a tip pool complied with law, or recover unpaid wages.
Sources checked 2026-10-10 · first-party source pages fetched and reviewed; no separate raw HTTP-status probe.
One human next step
Keep the dated records and ask the employer's payroll contact for the pool calculation in writing. The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division accepts wage complaints at no cost; state agencies may offer additional protections.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: not used for a legal, eligibility, authenticity, or payment verdict. This local builder organizes first-party records and routes the reader to a source they can inspect; no free model call would make its arithmetic or status claims more reliable. §6.9: no meaningful AI inference is needed. §6.11: the reader has a specific free action this week. §6.12: status route and date are in metadata. §6.13: the action does not require buying a service.
§0.5 protection result: category is work-and-pay; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.