Tipping
Add a gratuity or service fee to a payment
Tipping lets you add a gratuity or service fee to a payment without creating a separate charge. Which method you use depends on where the payment is in its lifecycle when the tip is known.
Common use cases
- Restaurants and bars adding a tip after the check is presented
- Salons, spas, and personal services adding gratuity at checkout
- Delivery and rideshare adding a tip after the service is complete
Choose a method
| When the tip is known | Payment stage | Use this |
|---|---|---|
| After a one-step sale, before the batch closes | Sale completed | Sale Adjustment — raise the sale total to include the tip |
| After authorization, before capture | Authorized, not captured | Authorization Adjustment — raise the authorized amount, then capture |
| At capture time | Authorized, capturing now | Include the tip in the capture (below) |
Add a tip at capture
When you capture an authorization, include the gratuity in the tip field and add it to the amount. This clears the base charge and the tip in a single capture.
POST /checkout/v3/payment
{
"merchantId": 1000157980,
"amount": 34.99,
"tip": "5.00",
"tenderType": "Card",
"paymentType": "SaleCompletion",
"paymentToken": "PFBeGZaziZXBgCufaqPuVRLY6FlyJhGL",
"source": "API"
}Here amount is the full total the customer is charged (base plus tip), and tip records the gratuity portion. If the tip pushes the total above the original authorization, this is an overcapture and is subject to card network limits. See Authorization and Capture.
Adjusting or capturing to add a tip must happen before the batch closes. Once the payment settles, use a Refund and a new charge instead.
Used in these scenarios
See tipping applied across the payment lifecycle:
- Restaurant, open a tab and capture with tip: add the tip at capture.
- Restaurant tip added to a closed-out check: add a tip after a completed sale.
- In-Person Payments: tip on the terminal (QSR and full-service restaurant).
See also
- Sale Adjustment: add a tip to a completed sale
- Authorization Adjustment: add a tip before capture
- Authorization and Capture: include a tip at capture
- Payment Lifecycle: statuses and settlement
Updated about 11 hours ago