Frequently asked questions
Quick answers about how Tab Tender works.
- What is Tab Tender?
- Tab Tender is a mobile-first web app that splits bar and restaurant tabs fairly. Snap a photo of the receipt or add items by hand, mark who had what, and we handle tax and tip math, pre-payments, and pay links for you.
- Do I need an account?
- No — anyone can start a guest tab and share the link. A free account lets you save tabs, scan receipt photos, import Toast receipts, claim your spot on a shared tab, add friends and saved groups, and store your payment handles so people can pay you back faster.
- Can I just take a photo of the receipt?
- Yes — signed-in users can upload a photo (or PDF) of an itemized receipt and we read the items, tax, and tip automatically so you can start assigning right away. The photo stays attached to the tab as proof for everyone on it. Always give the parsed items a quick once-over before sharing.
- How does importing from Toast work?
- Open your receipt link from a Toast restaurant (toasttab.com/receipts/...), paste it into the import box when starting a tab, and we pull every line item, tax, tip, and surcharge automatically. The original Toast link is kept as proof.
- Can I split items unevenly?
- Yes. Switch any line item to an uneven split and choose between units (e.g. 6 of 10 beers to Alice) or percent (75/25). You can save partial allocations and the total still adds up.
- What about tax, tip, and service?
- Tax, tip, and service are distributed proportionally based on each person's share of the subtotal — so people who ate more pay more tax and tip, automatically.
- How do people pay me back?
- Add your Venmo, Cash App, and/or Zelle handle in your profile and pick one per tab. Each person on the share page gets a tap-to-pay link (or tap-to-copy for Zelle) for exactly what they owe, and you can send a friendly reminder to anyone who's claimed their spot.
- Can I add friends and save my regular crew?
- Yes. Add friends by username or verified phone number, then add them to a tab in a tap — they're auto-claimed and notified. Save a group (a 'party') to load the whole roster at once, including when scanning or importing a receipt.
- Can I split in another currency?
- Yes. New tabs use your default currency (from your country, or an explicit choice in your profile), and you can change the currency on any individual tab — handy when you're travelling.
- What are pre-payments?
- If someone paid you in advance, mark their pre-payment with one of three modes: request the remainder only, leave their share intact and note that the group owes them back, or hide them from the split entirely.
- How do shared tabs work?
- Every tab has a share link. For the first 7 days anyone can open it to see who owes what and tap to pay; after that only the owner and signed-in people who claimed a spot can view it. Signed-in viewers can claim themselves and (if the owner enabled it) suggest who had unassigned items.
- How do you handle phone numbers?
- Adding a phone number is optional and is only saved after you confirm a one-time code we text you, so people can find you reliably and numbers can't be claimed by someone else.
- Is my data private?
- Share pages aren't indexed by search engines and go private after 7 days. Uploaded receipt photos are deleted after 30 days. We don't sell your data and don't store credit card numbers — Toast import only captures the card brand (e.g. Visa). See the Privacy page for more.
- Is Tab Tender free?
- Yes, fully free for personal use today. We may add lightweight ads or optional premium features down the road.