When you run a small business, tip jars help customers express their gratitude for a job well done. But, in today’s world of digital payments, physical tip jars can easily go unnoticed.
Use these 12 tip jar ideas to make your tip jar impossible to ignore—ensuring your team gets the recognition they deserve.
What is a tip jar and what businesses use it?
A physical tip jar is a container where customers can leave tips as a token of appreciation for good service. Think of it as a monetary thank-you note.
Tip jars are frequently employed in the service industry, especially in establishments where customers and employees interact directly. For example, retailers, restaurants and bars, beauty salons, or the hospitality industry.
What should a tip jar say?
Tip signs that work usually say more than “Tips please!” The best tip jar ideas will influence and inspire your customers to leave a cash tip while communicating this in a funny, engaging, or interesting way.
The style in which you communicate your wish for customers to leave tips will depend on your small business. For example, a pizza parlor can probably get away with funny puns and humor, but a veterinary practice or caregiving facility will need to take a more serious or somber approach because of the nature of their business.
How do you get the most tips in a tip jar?
A physical tip jar is a helpful prompt for customers to leave a tip. But not everyone carries quarters, dimes, and dollar bills to tip employees in a container. And with the rise of digital payments, it makes sense to integrate your tip jar into your point-of-sale (POS) system.
With Homebase, you can manage tips through your POS and automatically manage tip pooling, which is a tipping structure that promotes teamwork, trust, and collaboration between employees.
12 tip jar ideas to help collect more tips.
Looking at an empty tip jar can demoralize your hardworking team. So how do you inspire customers to compensate your team for their hard work?
With these tip jar ideas, your customer won’t be able to contain their smiles or appreciation.
1. Tip jar questions.
Use tip jar questions to settle light-hearted debates like:
- Who is the best singer: Taylor Swift or Beyonce?
- What is the best cinematic universe: Marvel or DC?
- What’s better: waffles or pancakes?
With two tip jars to vote in, your tip jar polls will help customers choose their favorite, resulting in an increase in tips.
2. Voting tip jar ideas.
Knowing what to write on a tip jar involves knowing your customers. If your location has multiple sports teams, fun tip jar voting ideas include asking your customers who they prefer, for example:
- Knicks or Nets?
- Rams or Raiders?
- Flyers or Penguins?
3. Competition tip jars.
Nothing gets customers reaching for their wallets quite like a real-life competition. For example, let your customers vote on what your next team-building event should be— laser tag or paintball?— or what the next team reward should be—pizza or sushi?
4. Funny tip jar ideas.
Brightening a mundane day can be as simple as an unexpected joke or pun. Make your tip jar too funny to ignore, and your customers will have no choice but to reward you. Here are a few funny things to put on tip jars:
- Change can be scary! Leave it with us.
- On a scale of $1-$10, how do you rate your looks?
- Feeling tipsy? Share with your bartender!
- Tip your hat to your barista.
Depending on your business, you could also lean into cute tip jar ideas with a touch of humor.
5. Tip jar quotes.
Include inspirational or motivational quotes to inspire people to leave a tip. Here are a few examples:
- “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop
- “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Gandhi
- “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Picasso
Quotes are also useful for seasonal themes, like halloween tip jar ideas or other holidays.
5. Barista tip jar ideas.
Food and beverage locations are a prime industry to introduce tip jars—especially in coffee shops. You can use “this” or “that” tip jar ideas too! Motivate your customers to share their change with these barista tip jar ideas:
- Tips help us stay grounded!
- What’s your favorite brewing method: French press or drip?
- Which seasonal drink reigns supreme: pumpkin spiced latte or iced coffee?
6. Tip jar contest.
If you really want to fill up that tip jar, offer your customers the chance to win a prize.
For every dollar placed in the tip jar, your customers can put their name on a card for a chance to win things like a coupon, gift card, or complimentary beverage.
Just remember that some jurisdictions might have rules about contests without terms and conditions! It’s not worth losing big bucks over a tip jar.
7. Celebrity face off.
Grab two tip jars, print off two headshots, and let your customers pick their favorite with voting tip jars! This works best when you pin two similar celebrities against each other, like:
- Jennifer Garner vs. Jennifer Lopez
- Vin Diesel vs. The Rock
- Naomi Campbell vs. Tyra Banks
- Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James
- Tarantino vs. Scorsese
8. Tip jars for a cause.
Some of the most effective tip jars tug on customer heartstrings. Replace your “tips” label with a heartwarming cause. But be warned: if customers think they’re tipping to save the whales or donate to charity, but you’re keeping tips for your team, this could get you into legal trouble.
Instead, keep things business or individual-specific. For example:
- Pay off our student loans!
- Emergency cappuccino fund
- Support your local worker, leave a tip
These could also be effective Christmas tip jar ideas, since customers may be feeling especially giving.
9. Tip jar ideas for restaurants.
Most restaurants will have tip jars linked to their POS. But if you’re kicking it old school with a physical tip jar, prompt customers to leave a tip with these tip jar poll ideas:
- Does pineapple belong on pizza? Yes or no.
- Who is the better chef: Guy Fieri or Gordon Ramsay?
- Rate the best condiment: ketchup or mayo?
10. Tip jar ideas for bars.
Tipping in bars has been the standard for decades, so you can get creative with tip jars for bars. And who doesn’t love feeling generous when they’ve had a drink or two? Inspire your customers with these specific tip jar ideas for bars:
- What’s the best margarita: Frozen or classic?
- Battle of the beers: Bud or Miller?
- Rate the greatest shot: Fireball or Jagermeister?
11. Tip jar ideas for pizza places.
Everyone grabs the occasional slice or whole pie, which makes pizza places an ideal location to introduce a tip jar. The best tip jars stay on theme for the business, so try these ideas in your pizza business to encourage tips:
- What’s your preference: extra anchovies or hold the anchovies?
- Who wins: New York or Chicago-style?
- We knead the dough
How to record and administer employee tips:
While your tip jars might be filled with cold hard cash, there are two ways to record and administer tips to employees:
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- Cash up and distribute tips from a jar. This system can be tiresome and time-consuming. There’s also more room for human error when calculating tips and ensuring that employees get their fair share.
- Use a payroll management system. The best way to manage employee tips is using a payroll system that incorporates tip pooling into your established process. This way, you know exactly how to distribute tips fairly among employees.
By choosing a payroll system, you automatically avoid confusion regarding how much money to pay out because tips and bonus pay are always clearly identified on payroll.
A platform like Homebase will also automatically withhold income tax for all supplemental pay, eliminating the need for additional calculations on your part.
Whether you prefer to run a separate payroll for tips or include them in your team’s regular payroll, Homebase makes it simple to record and administer bonuses for each team member.
Distribute pooled tips with ease. Try Homebase for free today.
Tip jar ideas FAQs
What is the purpose of a tip jar?
The purpose of a tip jar is to provide your customers with a voluntary way to express their appreciation. Whether your barista made a perfect cup of coffee or your nail technician threw in a complimentary design, tossing a couple of bucks in a tip jar tells them they’re doing a great job.
What businesses use tip jars?
While there are no specific restrictions on which businesses can utilize tip jars, they’re commonly found in establishments where customers directly interact with employees. This includes places like coffee shops, food trucks, nail salons, pet stores, and even escape rooms.
How do employees get their tips?
Employees usually get tips directly from customers or tip jars. But the way those tips are distributed depends on management. Sometimes, tips are pooled and shared among staff, but usually, employees keep most of the tips they get directly.
Remember: This is not legal advice. If you have questions about your particular situation, please consult a lawyer, CPA, or other appropriate professional advisor or agency.
