Electronic tipping, also called digital tipping, means leaving a tip from a phone or card instead of with cash. With EZTipr, the guest scans a worker's QR code or opens a link, picks Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or Apple Pay, and the electronic tip goes directly into the worker's own account. Guests do not download an app or make an account, and EZTipr never touches the money or takes a cut.
Electronic Tipping: What It Is and How Digital Tipping Works
Electronic tips and digital tips are the same thing: a tip that moves as a payment instead of as paper money. This guide covers how digital tipping works, the main ways businesses and workers accept electronic tips, and what to check before you pick one.
How it works
- 1
The worker sets up a tip page
Sign up, pick a username and connect your own Cash App, Venmo, Zelle, PayPal or Apple Pay. A tip page and QR code are built for you.
- 2
The guest scans or taps
The guest scans the QR code or opens the link. The page opens in their browser, with no app to download.
- 3
The tip goes straight to the worker
The guest picks an app and sends the tip. 100 percent lands in the worker's own account.
What to look for when choosing one
Honest criteria, including the ones where another tool may suit you better.
Where the electronic tip goes
Some tools hold tips and pay out later. With a QR link page like EZTipr, the tip goes directly to the worker and nothing is held.
Steps for the guest
Every extra step, like an app download or account, loses tips. Look for scan and pay.
Cut taken from tips
Check for a per-tip percentage. EZTipr takes 0 percent.
Pooling and payroll
If you need tips split across a team or run through payroll, POS or payroll tools are built for that. EZTipr sends each tip to one person and does not pool.
Works without a sale
Housekeepers, valets, drivers and performers often have no bill to tip on. A QR code works anywhere.
Comparing tipping approaches
There are four common ways to accept electronic tips. Each has real strengths.
| QR link pages | POS-integrated tipping | Payroll tip distribution | Cash | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How the guest tips | Scans a QR code or opens a link, pays in an app they already have | Adds a tip on the card terminal or check | Tips on the card at checkout, paid out later | Hands over bills |
| Who holds the money | Nobody in between. It goes straight to the worker's own account | The business, until it is paid out | The business or payout provider, until payday or payout | The worker, instantly |
| Works without a card sale | Yes | No, it needs a transaction on the terminal | No, it rides on card sales | Yes |
| Tip pooling and payroll reporting | Not built in. Tips go to one person's account | Usually strong, tied to your POS data | Strongest. Built for pooling, splits and tax reporting | Manual |
| Setup | Minutes per worker, no hardware required | Needs the POS and its hardware | Needs payroll or payout onboarding | None |
| Guest needs | A phone with Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or Apple Pay | A card | A card | Cash on hand |
EZTipr is a QR link page. See how it compares with specific tools:
Who it is for
Service workers
Bartenders, servers, baristas, stylists, drivers and valets who lose tips when guests carry no cash.
Performers and solo workers
Musicians, buskers and street performers who want a digital tip jar.
Businesses
Restaurants, hotels and salons rolling out electronic tipping to a whole staff. See EZTipr for Teams.
Guides by role
Running a team? See EZTipr for Teams for branded pages, admin analytics and bulk QR hardware.
Pricing
- Free: $0. One payment method, tip page and QR code, EZTipr branding on the page.
- Pro: $0.99 per month or $9.99 per year. Unlimited payment methods, no EZTipr branding.
- Every new signup gets a 7 day Pro trial. No credit card required.
- EZTipr takes 0 percent of tips on every plan.
How EZTipr approaches it
EZTipr handles electronic tipping by staying out of the way of the money. The guest's own payment app sends the tip to the worker's own account.
That is why EZTipr takes no cut and never holds a balance.
The honest trade-off: EZTipr does not pool tips or feed payroll. If you need that, POS or payroll tools fit better.
Frequently asked questions
Start taking digital tips today.
Free plan available. Every new signup gets a 7 day Pro trial, no credit card required.