"Split the Bill" UX: Dividing a 6-Person Tab in 4 Taps

Friday night in Mudanya, six friends finish dinner at a fish restaurant. The bill is 1,847₺. Ayşe skipped dessert, Mehmet ordered an extra raki. Instead of a three-minute calculator session, they tap "Split Bill" on the QR menu and resolve it in four taps.

Three Split Modes

thMenu's split-bill flow offers three modes: equal-split, per-item tagging, custom-amount. The default is equal-split — 1,847₺ / 6 = 307.83₺. One tap and done.

When edge cases appear, per-item tagging takes over. Each order line becomes a card with checkboxes for "who ate this." Ayşe is unchecked on dessert (90₺) → split across the other five. Mehmet alone on the extra raki (220₺) → charged solo.

Stripe Connect for Separate Charges

After the split, each person confirms payment on their own phone. Stripe Connect opens 6 separate payment_intents; the restaurant receives 6 transfers into a single account. Each diner gets an emailed receipt with only their line items.

Backend transactional integrity is essential: if 1 of 6 fails, the flow enters "hold" — the 5 successful charges stay authorized but uncaptured. If the failure isn't resolved in 60 seconds, the whole group rolls back.

The 4-Tap Flow

Fast path: Tap 1 "Split Bill" → Tap 2 "Per-item Tag" → Tap 3 "Dessert: 5 people, Raki: Mehmet" → Tap 4 "Confirm & Send." Everyone gets a push on their phone, Apple Pay/Google Pay closes it in seconds.

UX principle: hide the math. The backend splits 1,847₺ proportionally, including VAT and service charge. Rounding error must be zero — a 0.01₺ mismatch generates a complaint. We use banker's rounding (round-half-to-even).

FAQ

Can I do this without Stripe Connect? Yes, but you'll collect the total to one account and handle internal allocation yourself. Setting up Connect takes about an hour and makes refund/dispute handling 10x easier.

Can guests split before the server brings the check? Yes. The KDS order list shows on the diner side in real time; once meals finish, the "Bill" button activates.

How are tips split? Service charge (10%) is proportional automatically; additional tip is per-person via "Add Tip 5/10/15%" in each payment step.

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