1. Equally
The default, and the right one most of the time. Total divided by the number of people, rounded so it adds up. Use it when everyone played the whole time and shared the food.
It's also the one people argue about least, because nobody has to remember who had what.
2. By exact amounts
One person says "I'll put $40 on my card" and the rest pay what's left. Use it when someone wants to pay a round number, or when a parent is paying for two kids and themselves.
3. By percentage
Handy for business groups and teams that split costs on a set ratio, like a club paying 50% of a training session and the players paying the rest between them.
5. Equal, with an adjustment
Everyone pays the same, except one person pays a bit more or less. Sam had the extra drinks, so Sam pays $6 more and the other three pay $2 less each. It's birthday maths too: the birthday person pays nothing extra, the others cover a set amount between them.
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Bill | $72.00 |
| Equal share (4 people) | $18.00 |
| Sam, +$6 | $24.00 |
| Ali, Jo and Omar, −$2 each | $16.00 each |
The player who leaves early
This is where most money is lost. Three hours into a session, one player has to go. If they just hand over a twenty, nobody knows whether that was fair, and at the end the last two players argue about what's left.
The better way is to give the leaving player their share when they leave: the time they played and the items they ordered. They pay that, and they go. The rest of the group carries on, and at the end you only split what's still unpaid.
If the last player leaves and something's still unpaid, write it off and record it as a write-off, not as a discount. You want to know how much walks out of the door, and that number is invisible if it's mixed in with your happy hour.
Make the split before the card machine comes out
Agree the split, create the shares, then take payment share by share. Each person can pay by a different method. If someone changes their mind before anyone has paid, undo the split and start again. Once money has been taken, adjust with a refund rather than rewriting history.
How playdesk handles splits
In playdesk, sessions and orders for a group go on one tab, even across several tables or PCs. Bills split equally, by exact amounts, by percentage, by shares or as an equal share with an adjustment, and each share becomes its own bill that can be paid by cash, card, wallet or credit. Time and items can be handed to each player, and a player can check out and pay while the session keeps running. Write-offs are reported separately from discounts. More on tabs and split bills.