One example: restaurants, cafés and bars
Made for the way restaurants actually work
Twenty people, three roles each, shifts that start at 6 am and end after midnight, and a tip pool on top. Smart Punch was built around that week.
A real Friday
One server’s day, the way Smart Punch pays it
Emily works lunch on the floor, then dinner behind the bar. Here’s what Smart Punch does with that, without anyone working it out by hand.
- Lunch and dinner are one split shift, and it ends within 12 hours of starting, so no warning.
- Her bar hours use her bartender rate.
- Past 8 hours in the day, overtime is paid at 1.5× the rate of the work she was doing.
- Her share of the card tip pool is added to her stub, with CPP, EI and tax.
| In | Out | Role | Paid as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11:00 am | 2:30 pm | Server | 3.5 h at her server rate |
| 4:30 pm | 9:00 pm | Bartender | 4.5 h at her bartender rate |
| 9:00 pm | 10:30 pm | Bartender | 1.5 h at 1.5× the bartender rate |
| Tips | Card pool | Shared by hours worked |
The hard parts
What restaurant owners ask us about most
Tip pools
Enter the card tips for the period, pick which roles share them, and Smart Punch splits them by hours worked, to the cent. Or enter each person’s tips yourself. Tips run through payroll with CPP, EI and tax, appear on the stub and the T4, and don’t attract vacation pay.
People who work more than one role
Give anyone a different rate for another role. Staff choose the role when they clock in, and timesheets and pay stubs show the hours for each role separately.
Sent home on a slow night
BC requires at least 2 hours’ pay when someone reports for work, or 4 hours if they were scheduled for more than 8. Smart Punch tops it up for you. Tick “left early” when someone asked to go, and it doesn’t apply.
Stat holidays
Smart Punch knows BC’s statutory holidays, who qualifies, and how to work out average day’s pay. Payroll reminds you if a stat holiday hasn’t been paid to someone who qualifies.
Busy nights and no-shows
Post open shifts for a private party, and let Auto-assign fill them with someone available who won’t go into overtime. Publish, and everyone sees the update on their phone.
Staff turnover
When someone leaves, pick the reason and their last day. Hours and earnings for the Record of Employment come straight from payroll, ready for ROE Web.
Set up for restaurants from the start
Pick “Restaurant, café or bar” and you’re halfway there
Server, bartender, host, line cook, prep cook and dishwasher are ready when you sign up. Add your own roles, like barista or sommelier, any time.
- Managers can build the schedule and approve their team’s hours.
- Only the owner finalizes payroll and changes bank details.
- Managers can’t approve their own hours or pay themselves.
Bring your messiest week. We’ll run it in Smart Punch.
Book a demo and we’ll show you split shifts, tips and role rates with a team like yours.