Payments
How to Let Guests Split the Bill on Their Phones
To let guests split the bill on their phones, every phone at the table has to see the same bill. That means a QR code per table, so each scan lands on the right table; one shared table session, so orders from several phones add up to one bill; and a short list of split options guests understand at a glance. What happens next depends on the system: some only send the chosen split to staff, who collect it at the table; taking card payments online also needs a payment provider that works in your country. Explain it once at the table, and most groups settle without a calculator.
What has to be in place
- A code on every table, not one code for the whole room — the bill belongs to a table.
- A way for several phones to join the same table, so the bill is the table's, not one person's.
- Decide how guests pay: staff collect each share at the table, or guests pay for their orders by card on the phone, which needs a payment provider available where you trade, paying into your own account.
- A tip rule, and a check of where your system caps tips — on orders, on the bill or both — so you know where a mistyped amount is stopped.
- A way for staff to see which tables are fully paid and which still owe something.
Ordering from their own phones makes splitting easier
The fairest split is "everyone pays for what they ordered", and it is only easy when each guest ordered from their own phone. If one person orders for the whole table, the system sees one person's orders. Encourage groups that intend to pay separately to order separately; groups that share dishes are usually happier with equal shares.
Choose splits guests understand
| Split | Suggest it when |
|---|---|
| The whole bill | One person is paying for the table |
| What this phone ordered | Each guest ordered from their own phone |
| An equal share | The table shared starters and bottles |
| A part of the bill | Someone pays, for example, half |
| A set amount | Someone wants to put in a round figure |
Be honest about what the system cannot do. Picking individual dishes out of a shared order — "I had two of the five beers" — is a different feature, and most phone splitting today works by share, not by dish.
Two ways guests settle up
Choosing a share and paying it are separate steps, and systems differ in which of them happens on the phone. Be clear with your team about which one yours does, because guests will ask.
| Guest asks for their share | Guest pays for orders by card on the phone | |
|---|---|---|
| What the guest does | Picks a split and sends it to staff | Pays for each order on a card checkout page |
| Who takes the money | Staff, with a card machine or cash | The payment provider, into your account |
| What it needs | Table codes and a bill screen for staff | Online card payment available in your country |
| Works best for | Full meals, several rounds, groups that share | Paying for each order as it is placed |
Wallets such as Apple Pay usually appear on a provider's own checkout page, not as a separate setting in your menu. Stripe, for example, says that on its hosted Checkout page Apple Pay works with no additional configuration, and that it does not show Apple Pay when the guest's device or the integration does not meet its requirements. So a guest with an iPhone may see it, and a guest without a set-up wallet will not.
Tell guests it exists
- A line on the table card: scan to order, and ask for your share of the bill from your phone.
- Staff mention it when they bring the first drinks, not when the table asks for the bill.
- Keep the card machine and cash for guests who prefer them.
- When a guest has paid, staff should be able to see it without asking.
Splitting is only one part of pay-at-table.
For the staff side of a split, see how to reduce time spent splitting bills.
Splitting on the phone with Thmenu
With Thmenu each table gets its own QR code, and a second phone that scans the same table joins the same table session, so the bill is the table's. When bill requests are switched on in Settings, a guest opens the bill from the menu, sees what the table owes and chooses how to settle: the whole bill, only what their own phone ordered, an equal share, a percentage or a set amount, and can add a tip. The request goes to your staff with the amount worked out; they see it in the bill requests list, print and close it, and can collect a table in parts, by payment method, at the cashier screen. This request does not open a card payment on the guest's phone. Splitting is by share or by phone, not by picking individual dishes out of a shared order.
Card payment on the guest's phone happens when ordering. When in-app card payment is on, a guest can pay for their order by card as they place it (and must, if you take payment at ordering) on a checkout page hosted by Stripe, into your own connected Stripe account, so each order is paid by the person who placed it. That works only in a country where Thmenu restaurants can connect a Stripe account and once your account can take card payments. Where it cannot, including in Türkiye, Thmenu takes no online payment: guests still order and ask for the bill, and you collect payment the usual way. Apple Pay and other wallets appear on Stripe's checkout page when the wallet is enabled for your Stripe account and Stripe offers it for the guest's device.
Where online payment is available: Thmenu country coverage.
Sources
- Stripe Docs — Apple Pay (Web: Payment Links and hosted Checkout) (accessed 31 October 2026)