FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions.
Through the platform team members can see and track their own earnings throughout a pay period, and they can also access a written and approved Tronc policy. Along with the overall tips, gratuities and service charge is collected within the place of business they are working. It is important to note that team members cannot see Peer 2 Peer earning. The platform is designed to give individuals the transparency that they need over their own earnings, and the confidence in the Tronc operation.
Pricing depends on which part of Grateful you’re using. We keep it transparent and predictable across all our products. Direct tipping runs on a small incremental fee per transaction charged to the customer – so no cost for you. There are no setup costs and no contracts. We’ll design and print bespoke cards and stickers with your logo, or configure your POS to print our QR codes. Either way allows the individual or team to receive 100% of their tip, instantly. If you want custom branding, white-label materials, or other add-ons, those can be layered in at agreed rates. Tronc is priced on either a per location or per recipient basis, whichever fits your operating structure best. No percentage of your service charge, and nothing that scales unpredictably as your tips grow. Pricing is fixed and easy to forecast, so finance teams know exactly what to budget, and includes our tronc platform with compliance management all in one fee. Every Grateful customer gets STASH as standard, our value-add layer that gives your team more from every tip they earn. It’s built in to both Direct Tipping and Tronc at no extra cost. Get a quote Every operator runs tips differently, so the best way to get accurate pricing is a quick conversation. Get in touch and we’ll put together a proposal based on your sites, your team size, and how you want tips to flow.
Grtfl is a cashless tipping and TRONC platform that works with businesses in the hospitality industry to boost staff earning potential in today’s cashless society and alleviate costs and ‘tip admin’ from the operator. We automatically collect and distribute all your tips and service charges fairly and transparently, with key benefits such as more tips for the team, reduced admin for the operator, full transparency on tip data for the team and business, and faster access to their fair share of tips. We integrate with your EPOS to split off tips at the point of sale or end of the night, where additional service charge and tip income would go off to the Grtfl platform, and F&B revenue would go directly to each venue. This would allow team members to either get 100% of the tip owed to them, and it would be up to them to declare their tips, or we can operate a fully managed and automated TRONC solution. Tips can be split in several ways based on your choosing. Tips would go into the Grtfl platform and be apportioned out how you wish at the end of the shift, or tips would be split at the end of the week. This means that tips coming from the Grtfl platform would not be going through the business, alleviating you from admin and tax contributions. It would give staff access to their tips quicker, weekly or daily, rather than at the end of the month with payroll. This also ensures that all parties have a fair and transparent method of collecting and distributing tips, which helps with staff retention and much more.
Tronc is a common arrangement hospitality businesses use to distribute tips and service charges to staff. With Grateful, you can easily manage Tronc using our powerful tronc management tool, which makes tip distributions straightforward, saves you time, is free to use, and offers full transparency for teams. Moreover, we ensure that you are fully compliant with HMRC regulations.
Grateful is a cashless tipping and TRONC platform designed for anyone who receives tips, whether you’re an individual or a business. We are powering companies in the service industry, such as hospitality, hair and beauty, as well as individuals who busk, taxi, teach yoga, and more. If your company collects tips, Grateful can help your team earn more and save you time on administration, as well as money on NIC.
If you are still receiving cash tips, you can continue to do so. However, Grateful provides a cashless option that ensures you receive 100% of the tip and instant access to your funds without waiting until payday.
How tax works depends on whether your employer is paying you through Grateful’s tronc product or our direct tipping product. We always recommend speaking to one of our team, or a tax advisor about your specific circumstances. If you’re paid through tronc When your employer uses Grateful for tronc, income tax is already deducted at source through PAYE by the troncmaster, so the amount that reaches your bank account is the net figure. You don’t need to declare these tips on a self-assessment return. Tronc tips are also exempt from National Insurance contributions, which means more of the tip stays with you than if it had been paid as standard wages. If you’re paid through direct tipping Tips received through Grateful’s direct tipping product should be treated the same way as cash tips. They’re exempt from National Insurance contributions, but you’ll need to declare them as income with HMRC, usually through a self-assessment tax return. You can find guidance on completing your self-assessment on our website.
As your account is under your employer’s business, what is visible is up to you and the company. Customers cannot see your bank, private, or personal information or how much you have earned through Grateful. Personal features like your profile picture can be added to your account.
HMRC can audit your tipping arrangements at any time, with particular focus on whether your tronc has been operated correctly. They’ll want to see evidence that the troncmaster is genuinely independent of the employer, a clear written allocation policy, full records of every distribution, payslip and PAYE evidence, and documentation of any changes to the scheme. If an investigation/audit is opened, we coordinate the response, liaise with HMRC alongside you and your advisors, and provide everything needed from the platform and about the scheme: the full audit trail, allocation policy, evidence of independence, and a record keeping.
It depends on which product you’re rolling out. Direct tipping Same day. Once you’ve signed up, we can have your QR codes live and ready to take tips right away. Tronc A standard tronc implementation runs 45 to 60 days from kickoff. We manage the whole project end to end, from the initial kickoff call through to handover to the Tronc Managers who’ll look after you day to day. If you’re already with another tronc provider, we typically run our implementation in parallel with your existing notice period. That gives us up to three months to set up, parallel-run, and test the new scheme before switchover, so there’s no gap in service.
Through the platform team members can see and track their own earnings throughout a pay period, and they can also access a written and approved Tronc policy. Along with the overall tips, gratuities and service charge is collected within the place of business they are working. It is important to note that team members cannot see Peer 2 Peer earning. The platform is designed to give individuals the transparency that they need over their own earnings, and the confidence in the Tronc operation.
Grateful automates Tronc by integrating the software into existing systems for hospitality and service businesses. The most common way that this happens is by integrating into an existing Epos, rota and scheduling, HR, PMS and payroll platform. This allows the business to have a hands-off approach, and reduce the risk of human error.
Yes, people can opt-out from being paid Tronc. As long as everyone has the opportunity to be a part of the Tronc, in line with what is ‘fair’ – that’s the important part.
No, Grateful ensures that 100% of Tronc monies collected are allocated to the team. Grateful makes money by charging a flat fee to the business for the services. This covers the cost of the app, comms to the team, and more.
No, this is illegal.
Yes, please get in touch and one of the team will be able to share how we operate, and how we can help you, and your business.
Tip pooling is the simple act of splitting tips between people at a place of business, with no formal arrangement, or agreement whereas a Tronc is a special pay arrangement used to distribute tips, gratuities and service charges. Tips, gratuities, and service charges paid or allocated via a Tronc may mean that they are exempt from National Insurance contributions (NICs). Legislation states that any amount paid to an employee which is “the payment of a gratuity” or “in respect of a gratuity” is exempt from NIC’s if:
- It is not paid directly or indirectly to the employee by the employer and does not comprise or represent monies previously paid to an employer;
- It is not allocated directly or indirectly to the employee by the employer.
Yes, a Tronc is a special pay arrangement used to distribute tips, gratuities and service charges. Whether a business has an optional service charge, or a tip on the card machine, a Tronc can be operated. One thing to note is that when operating a service charge model, it MUST be optional and clearly stated as being optional to the guests, giving them the option to take it off the bill should they want to.
Absolutely, Tronc can be operated by any business that is taking tips, and pooling them between the team. Tronc is most popular with hospitality businesses because of the frequency of tips, and the number of people that are contributing to the overall experience for the customer. Whereas in a hair salon, (usually) you have 1, maybe 2 people that are contributing to your treatment so tip pooling is less common. However, the recent changes in legislation, specifically the part stating that employees working within the same place of business now have the right to receive their share of tips, might mean that it’s difficult to distribute tips to people without some automation.
Generally speaking, if you are a business that takes tips on a regular basis, Tronc is definitely a viable option worth looking into. If nothing else, the national insurance savings could mean that even with the cost of the Grtfl software, and Tronc services, the business could be in a positive ROI due to savings on NI, and labour costs for calculating earnings. Furthermore, it’s an opportunity to give your employees transparency on their earnings that they wouldn’t have had before. If you want to check out how much National Insurance your business could save, check out our Tronc calculator on our Tronc page, and one of the Grtfl team will give you a call back if required.
This is the question we get asked more than any other. The honest answer: both models work, and either route delivers the same baseline benefits. A compliant tronc, regardless of who runs it, helps you meet the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, share tips and service charges fairly, and retain the National Insurance exemption on tip distributions. In-house tronc, where a senior team member or your accountant acts as troncmaster, can still work for smaller, single-site operations with a stable team and a manager who understands the rules. It is not broken. It is just narrow. For most operators today, outsourcing is the stronger choice for three reasons: Transparency. Grateful gives every team member 100% visibility on what they earn, on what shifts, and how it was calculated, refreshed daily or weekly. The Act now expects you to be able to produce that breakdown on demand, and teams that trust the system stay longer. Automation. By integrating with your EPOS, PMS, rota, HR, and payroll systems, Grateful pulls real shift, role, and sales data and calculates allocations automatically. No spreadsheets, no manual reconciliation, and no human error, which is the single biggest source of compliance failure in tronc schemes. Impartiality. Grateful sits outside your business as an independent troncmaster. That structural independence protects the scheme’s tax status, removes any perception of owner influence, and gives staff a clean external route for any challenge rather than a colleague trying to run service. For any operator running multiple sites, scaling fast, or carrying meaningful tribunal risk under the new rules, outsourced tronc is now the more straightforward, defensible, and scalable option.
As a result of operating a Tronc scheme, all tips collected and allocated/distributed via a Tronc are exempt from NI. This means that when Tronc is operated correctly, and the National Insurance exemptions are met, in line with HMRC’s guidance, the business can save 13.8% on employers’ national insurance, and the team members can save 8% of employees NI, this is subject to change in coming months but there is still a considerable saving to be had for both employees and employers when Tronc is done correctly. This is without even considering the saving on labour costs for Grateful automating Tronc processes.
No, when Grateful operates as Tronc master, 100% of the monies are distributed to the employees. Grateful makes money by charging a flat fee to the business based on a per site, or per-user model. That cost covers the software, employee app, comms and more. It is important to know the difference between our Tronc, and cashless Tipping platform. In the separate part of the FAQs, you can see how our cashless Tipping platform works and what the differences are to Tronc, mainly around the responsibility for declaring earnings to HMRC.
A Tronc is a special pay arrangement used to distribute tips, gratuities and service charges. A Tronc system is set up to ensure all staff members, including those who may not typically receive tips (such as back-of-house, and non-customer-facing members), get their fair share. Tronc systems are common in a wide range of hospitality businesses such as restaurants, bars, hotels, cafés and more. The agreement also introduces advantageous benefits such as National Insurance exemptions for the business, and the team.
This is very much a subjective question and can only be answered by the people who know the business best. If a business is unsure on how to allocate tips, gratuities and service charges, it is a great idea to put this to a vote and allow the team to have their say in how things are allocated. This not only ensures that you are working towards something that the majority of people think is right/fair, it also gives the team a voice to have their say. Involving the team in initiatives like this can help people feel valued and encourage them to stay within a business. We appreciate that this can be a daunting task for businesses that have multiple locations so get in touch to find out how Grtfl can help streamline that process as well.
The new Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act will make it unlawful for employers to withhold tips and service charges from staff. Amongst other rules, it will ensure that all businesses that take tips have a fair and transparent method of distributing said funds to employees no later than the end of the month after they have been received. The legislation is due to come into effect on the 1st of July 2024. More information can be found here.
We love making new friends and are open to integrating with anyone. Our platform can integrate seamlessly with almost all POS systems. If you have any questions about your existing system and how ours can work with it, please contact us.
Whether you’re preparing for the Tipping Act, protecting NIC savings, or reducing admin, these answers will help you understand how Grateful makes TRONC simple and compliant.
HMRC can audit your tipping arrangements at any time, with particular focus on whether your tronc has been operated correctly. They’ll want to see evidence that the troncmaster is genuinely independent of the employer, a clear written allocation policy, full records of every distribution, payslip and PAYE evidence, and documentation of any changes to the scheme. If an investigation/audit is opened, we coordinate the response, liaise with HMRC alongside you and your advisors, and provide everything needed from the platform and about the scheme: the full audit trail, allocation policy, evidence of independence, and a record keeping.
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