How to Split Bills, Run Tabs & Transfer Tables on Your POS

Every Friday, it's the same story: a table of eight asks to split the bill seven ways. Three of them also want to add a round to a tab still open at the bar. Meanwhile, a couple needs to move from table 4 to table 9 because their friends just turned up. None of this is unusual, and in fact, it's just another ordinary night in most restaurants and bars, but it's exactly the kind of moment that shows you whether your POS is pulling its weight or not.

If the system can't handle all three smoothly, then you're liable to experience hold-ups, whether it's a queue at the till or an order re-typed. On their own, none of these is a big deal, but if you string a few together on a busy night, you'll feel it across the entire operation, and it'll leave you feeling run-down and your customers impatient at best.

Splitting the bill is a huge part of eating out in New Zealand too, and it's only getting more common as people keep a closer eye on what they're spending. Splitting the bill is likely one of the most common things you'll have to do, and most POS systems can technically do it. The real question is whether yours does it well: fast, accurate, and without creating extra admin for you to deal with.

The good news is that splitting bills, running tabs, and transferring tables are all standard features on a modern POS system like Epos Now, and once your team knows how to use them properly, they stop being a source of stress and start being one of the easiest ways to keep things moving.

Splitting bills without slowing down the table

Most systems offer a few different ways to split a bill, and knowing which one to reach for, rather than defaulting to the same method every time, makes the difference between a table that's paid up in seconds and one that's being fumbled over for ages. Here are a few ways you can go about it:

• Split evenly: This is quite clearly the classic "just divide it by however many of us there are" request. A good POS does this instantly, no manual maths at the till, and prints or displays each guest's share clearly, even if it's between an awkward number like seven.
• Split by item: This option is useful when one guest had the steak, and everyone else split a few starters. Staff can assign specific items to specific people rather than forcing an even split that doesn't match what was actually ordered. Getting it right can visibly take the tension out of a table: no awkward negotiating over who owes what, just a clean, accurate split handled at the till. And trust us, the entire table will be relieved.
• Split by custom amount: You'll need to be prepared for the group that wants to pay in an unusual way. For example, one customer might pay for the food, while someone else covers the drinks. You have to be prepared for all possible payment scenarios, and your POS has got to be fast and flexible to accommodate this.

Whatever method you go for, make sure your POS handles the split within the original order rather than voiding the items and ringing them up again as two or three separate sales. Do it the second way, and you'll end up with duplicate transactions in your reports and a total that doesn't match what was actually served. For you, this means extra work, late-night untangling, and one heck of a headache.

Let's talk running tabs

As you probably very well know, tabs are what make a bar go round. The trick is keeping tabs organised so nothing gets lost in a busy shift:

• Name tabs clearly, by table number, guest name, or a card left behind at the bar, so any member of staff can find the right one instantly instead of scrolling through a list of unnamed orders.
• Keep tabs visible on the till screen so bar staff can see at a glance what's open, rather than relying on memory during a rush. It sounds like a small thing until you're three deep into a Saturday night, trying to work out which of six identical-looking tabs belongs to which group.
• Close tabs properly at the end of the night. A tab left open and forgotten is money you've already earned but haven't collected, and it'll throw off your end-of-day reports too. So here's what you do: make checking for open tabs part of your cash-up routine, not an afterthought.

And here's the cool thing: tabs do more than just save time; they actually change how people spend! Once someone opens a tab, they tend to order more freely all night, since they don't need to stop and pay after every round (and glimpse at the damage), which is great news for you. Just make sure whatever's tracking it actually keeps up, and you're good to go. But if tab monitoring slips up, you're in trouble.

Table hopping made easy

Table hopping, while inconvenient for your staff, is something you just can't get away from, so the trick is in how you manage the inevitable. Whether it's a couple moving to a bigger table to join friends, or a booking that's been reseated, transferring an order between tables should be simple, and it should carry everything with it: items already ordered, any discounts applied, and the running total, without needing to be re-entered from scratch.

A good POS makes this a couple of taps rather than a manual re-order: select the table, choose "transfer," and pick the new table or merge it with an existing order. This can make all the difference, especially in fast-turnover venues, since re-keying an order from memory is often a recipe for inconsistency: an extra round of drinks forgotten, or a discount that doesn't carry over. A POS that does all this with a simple tap is exactly what you want helping you out during your busy shift.

Why this matters more than it might seem

These features add up to more than convenience; they help with faster table turnover, fewer mistakes at the till, and they get your guests paid up and out the door. If you're weighing up whether a POS overhaul is actually worth it, our piece on the benefits of choosing Epos Now for hospitality businesses covers customisable table plans, table turnover, and the wider case for switching. It matters for tipping too, since it's already a bit of an awkward interaction, and a clunky, slow process just doesn't help.

But it's not all just down to the POS; you're also going to have to pitch in, because a feature nobody can be bothered with under pressure just gets skipped in favour of manual workarounds. Make sure to offer your staff a few minutes of hands-on practice during onboarding; make sure they can split a bill, open a tab, and transfer a table to the point that it becomes second nature before their first busy shift.

Keep it simple, keep it smooth

At the end of the day, splitting bills, running tabs, and transferring tables aren't complicated tasks; they need a system built to handle them well. Choose a system that works well for you, train your team to use it confidently, and watch every payment interaction get a whole lot easier.

Epos Now is a solid option: splits stay inside the original order, tabs are easy to name and track on screen, and moving a table's order over takes a couple of taps, not a manual re-key. Whichever system you end up with, those are the features worth checking for.