Collecting Tips With Shopify POS

Shopify POS has built-in tipping and no extra apps are needed. When you enable tips on Shopify POS and a customer pays by credit card, a tip screen appears automatically before payment completes. You configure up to three preset percentages (such as 15%, 18%, 20%), allow custom tip amounts, and set minimum thresholds for low-value transactions. This guide covers every Shopify POS tip setting, from initial setup to refunds and reporting.

Whether you run a restaurant, salon, coffee shop, or retail store, collecting tips through Shopify POS keeps the process fast at checkout and tracks every dollar automatically.

How Do I Enable Tips on Shopify POS?

Tipping is enabled per device within the Shopify POS app settings. Once active, a tip dialog appears automatically whenever a customer pays by credit card. You can configure up to three preset percentages and optionally allow customers to enter their own amount.

To enable Shopify POS tipping, follow these steps:

1. From Shopify POS, tap ≡ > Settings.
2. Under the Checkout section, tap Tips.
3. In the TIP OPTIONS area, enter percentage values in the Option fields. You can specify up to three different percentages.
4. Optional: If you don't want customers to be able to enter a custom tip amount, turn off the Custom tips option.
5. Optional: Enable the Minimum tip amounts setting.

If you're unsure what percentage Shopify POS takes on each transaction, check your Shopify Payments rate. Tips are processed at the same card rate as the sale itself.

Shopify POS Tips Setup: What Each Setting Does

Before you go live with tipping, it's worth understanding what each option controls. Here is a plain-language breakdown:

• Tip Options (preset percentages): The three buttons a customer taps to select their tip. Set to common values for your industry: 15/18/20 for restaurants, 18/20/25 for salons. These are the options customers see most prominently.
• Custom tips toggle: When on, customers can type in any amount beyond your presets. When off, they must choose one of your three options or tap "No tip." Most businesses leave this on.
• Minimum tip amounts: Replaces percentage buttons with fixed dollar amounts for transactions below a threshold you define. Useful for low-value sales where "15% of $3" is not a meaningful option.
• No tip option: Always present. Customers can always opt out of tipping. This is not configurable; Shopify does not allow merchants to remove the "No tip" option.

How Do I Set Up Custom Tip Amounts on Shopify POS?

Custom tip setup lets customers enter any dollar or percentage amount beyond your preset options. This is on by default when you enable tipping. To disable custom tips, toggle off the Custom tips option in the Tips settings screen. Most businesses leave this enabled. It increases average tip amounts and gives customers who want to tip more than 20% a way to do so.

What Are Minimum Tip Amounts on Shopify POS?

Minimum tip amounts replace percentage-based presets with fixed dollar values for transactions under a set threshold. This prevents awkward tip prompts on $2 purchases where a 15% tip would be $0.30.

For example: set a transaction limit of $10. For any sale under $10, the three tip presets display as $1, $2, $3 instead of 15%, 18%, 20%.

Steps to set up:

1. Open Shopify POS and tap ≡ > Settings.
2. Under Checkout, tap Tips.
3. Select Minimum tip amounts.
4. Enter the minimum tip amount in the Transaction limit field.
5. Enter a dollar value for each of the three preset tip amounts.

Shopify POS Tipping by Business Type

The right tip preset configuration depends on your industry. Here's what works by business type, based on what customers expect and what actually increases average tip amounts:

• Restaurants and cafes: 15%, 18%, 20% is the standard. For higher-end dining, start at 18%, 20%, 22%. Customers at sit-down restaurants rarely choose the lowest option. Enable minimum tip amounts for counter service on orders under $10.
• Salons and personal services: 18%, 20%, 25% works well. Personal service clients tend to tip generously when given a clear high option. Leave custom tips enabled. Clients who want to tip 30% for exceptional work should be able to.
• Coffee shops and quick service: Use minimum tip amounts instead of percentages for transactions under $15. Showing "$1, $2, $3" on a $5 coffee sale converts better than "15%, 18%, 20%." Keep custom tips on for regulars who want to tip more.
• Retail stores: 10%, 15%, 20% is appropriate if you collect tips at all. Many retail merchants set the lowest preset at 10% to lower the bar for customers who wouldn't otherwise tip. Some retail businesses skip tipping entirely. Shopify POS does not require it.
• Spas and wellness: 18%, 20%, 25%. Position the highest option prominently since spa clients typically have higher disposable income and are accustomed to 20%+ gratuities for personal services.

Shopify POS Tip Limits and Maximums

Shopify enforces maximum tip limits to protect against accidental or fraudulent entries. Here's how tip caps work:

• USD and CAD stores: For checkout totals up to $500, the maximum tip a customer can add is $1,000. For totals above $500, the maximum tip is twice the checkout amount.
• Split payments: When a customer splits a payment across multiple cards, the maximum tip is always twice the total checkout amount, regardless of currency.
• Other currencies: Tip limits follow the same 2x multiplier logic for totals above the currency-equivalent threshold.

These limits are set by Shopify and cannot be changed. In practice, they rarely affect normal transactions. They exist to prevent a $500 tip being accidentally added to a $5 coffee order.

Which Card Readers Support Tipping on Shopify POS?

Shopify POS tips only work with credit card payments processed through a supported Shopify POS card reader. You must have Shopify Payments activated on your store. Third-party payment gateways do not support the POS tip prompt.

Supported card readers for tipping:

• Shopify Tap & Chip Reader -- available in the United States, connects via Bluetooth or USB-C
• WisePad 3 -- used in international markets (Canada, UK, Australia, and others), connects via Bluetooth or USB-C
• Shopify POS Terminal -- countertop device with a built-in screen, supports tap, chip, and swipe

If you're wondering whether you can accept payments without a physical reader, see our guide on using Shopify POS without a card reader. Note that Tap to Pay on iPhone also supports the tip prompt in the US.

How Do Customers Leave a Tip on Shopify POS?

When tips are enabled, a tip dialog appears automatically during checkout when the customer selects credit card payment. The process takes under 10 seconds. Customers tap a preset percentage, enter a custom amount, or tap "No tip" and proceed.

Steps to follow:

1. From the Shopify POS cart view, choose Checkout.
2. In the select payment dialog, tap Credit.
3. Allow the customer to choose their tip amount and complete the payment.

Note: The tip prompt only appears for credit card payments. Cash transactions do not trigger the tip dialog. If you process a mix of cash and card sales, you'll need a separate system (like a tip jar or manual tracking) for cash tips.

Do Shopify POS Tips Affect Taxes?

Tips collected through Shopify POS are not subject to sales tax. Shopify treats tips as gratuities separate from the product or service price, so tax is calculated only on the sale amount before the tip is added. However, tips are still considered income for your business and for the employees who receive them, so you'll want to account for them during payroll and tax filing.

The Shopify POS Finances report and per-staff Tips report both separate tip revenue from sales revenue, which makes it straightforward to pull accurate numbers at tax time.

How Do I Refund a Tip on Shopify POS?

Tips can be refunded independently. You do not need to refund the full order. This is useful when a tip was added by mistake or in error during a high-volume shift.

Steps to follow:

1. From Shopify POS, choose Orders.
2. Select the order with the tip you want to refund.
3. Tap Refund.
4. In the refund view, tap + next to Tip to set the refund quantity to 1.
5. Tap Next.
6. Verify that the refund details are correct.
7. Optional: Add a reason for the refund.
8. Tap Refund.

You can optionally email or text a refund receipt to the customer after completing the process.

Where Do I See Tip Reports on Shopify POS?

Shopify provides two tip reporting views: per-staff tip totals in the Tips report, and aggregate tip revenue in the Finances report. Both are accessible from the Shopify admin, not the POS app itself.

Steps to view total tips collected in your Finances report:

1. In your Shopify admin, go to Analytics > Reports.
2. From the category dropdown, select Finances.
3. Click on Tips.

The per-staff Tips report breaks down tips by employee, which is especially useful for salons, restaurants, or service counters with multiple staff on shift. If your business distributes tips by hours worked or by individual transaction, export this report regularly to calculate payouts accurately.

Tips for Increasing Tip Amounts on Shopify POS

Enabling the tip prompt is the first step, but how you configure it directly affects how much staff earn in gratuities. Here are practical strategies that work for Shopify POS merchants across different industries:

• Set your middle option as the "anchor." If your presets are 15%, 20%, 25%, most customers will pick 20% because it feels like the "normal" choice. The middle option gets selected most often.
• Start presets higher for service businesses. Salons and restaurants can start at 18% instead of 15%. Customers rarely complain about preset options. They choose what they're comfortable with or tap "No tip."
• Keep custom tips enabled. A small but consistent percentage of customers will tip above your highest preset. Removing the custom option caps their generosity.
• Use minimum tip amounts for low-value sales. Showing "$1, $2, $3" on a $5 coffee sale looks more reasonable than "15%, 18%, 20%." Customers are more likely to pick a fixed amount.
• Turn the screen toward the customer. Position your iPad or POS terminal so customers can tap their selection privately. Tip amounts go up when there's no perceived pressure from staff watching the screen.
• Add signage near the register. A small sign like "Tips are appreciated and go directly to our staff" increases tipping rates by making the purpose clear.

Collecting Tips With Shopify POS: Summary

Shopify POS makes tip collection straightforward for any service business. Enable it in under 2 minutes through Settings, then Checkout, then Tips. Configure preset percentages that match your industry and set minimum thresholds for small transactions. Every tip is tracked automatically in the Finances and per-staff Tips reports in your Shopify admin. If a tip is added in error, it refunds independently without touching the rest of the order. For businesses relying on gratuities as part of staff compensation, this built-in feature keeps checkout fast and records accurate. No third-party apps or extra Shopify POS apps needed.

For store owners who also want to manage gift cards at the register, see how Shopify gift card balance checking works for both customers and staff.