How do I track tips as a server on iPhone?
Log every shift the same night: date, hours, cash tips, card tips and tip-out. Net tips plus base pay divided by hours gives your real hourly wage, and a record sorted by tax year makes filing easier. You can use a notebook or spreadsheet, or TipLog, which is free to use and $4.99 once for tax-year export.
A simple per-shift checklist
- Date and hours: note the shift date and hours worked.
- Cash tips and card tips: record them separately so they match your cash-out sheet and your pay stub later.
- Tip-out: record what you shared with bussers, bartenders or hosts, as an amount or as a percent of sales.
- Net tips: cash tips plus card tips minus tip-out.
- Effective hourly wage: (net tips + base pay) divided by hours worked. Compare shifts and periods with this number, not with raw tips.
- Keep each tax year together: store or export the full year, so you can hand it to an accountant or use it when you file. This is record-keeping, not tax advice.
How TipLog compares
| TipLog | ServerLife | TipTracker | Just The Tips | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, $4.99 one-time | Free, IAPs $0.99–$19.99 | Free, IAPs $2.99–$10.99 | Free, IAPs $1.99–$19.99 |
| Subscription | No, ever | Not verified this pass | No — one-time IAPs | Not verified — two "Premium" tiers ($1.99, $19.99) |
| Account required | No, never | Has accounts; a 2023 review reports losing a year of history on logout | Optional — sold as a $10.99 IAP | Not verified this pass |
| Ratings | New | 9,753 (avg 4.82) | 9,408 (avg 4.77) | 3,042 (avg 4.54) |
Where TipLog fits
TipLog is an iPhone tip tracker built around that checklist. Logging a shift takes about fifteen seconds; it shows net tips, base pay, total earnings and effective hourly wage per shift and per period, with week, month and year totals. Every shift you have logged stays reachable, sorted by tax year, free. There is no account, no ads and no subscription.
Price: free to download and use for logging, totals and full history. One optional purchase, Full Export ($4.99, once), adds CSV and PDF export for any past tax year, a Home Screen widget and iCloud sync.
Coming soon to the App Store
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best way to track tips as a server?
- Log each shift the same night with hours, cash tips, card tips and tip-out, then work out your effective hourly wage. Any tool works if you do it every shift and keep each tax year together.
- How do I calculate my effective hourly wage?
- Add net tips (cash plus card minus tip-out) to your base pay and divide by the hours you worked. TipLog does this per shift and per period.
- Can I still reach last year's tips at tax time?
- In TipLog, yes. Every shift stays on your device, sorted by tax year, free. The $4.99 Full Export adds CSV and PDF export of any past tax year.
- Does TipLog need an account or a subscription?
- No. There is no login, no ads and no subscription. Full Export is a single $4.99 purchase.
- Is this tax advice?
- No. TipLog is a logbook. Ask an accountant or your tax authority how to report tip income.