Grateful

Grateful combines tronc administration, employee earnings visibility and customer-to-worker tipping for hospitality businesses. It is best suited to operators who need centrally managed allocation across shifts or venues, alongside direct tipping. Its strongest case is the connection between automated distribution, independent oversight and payroll integrations; businesses seeking a clear upfront compliance price may prefer to compare alternatives.

Overview

Grateful addresses two related needs: distributing pooled tips through tronc schemes and letting customers tip workers directly. Allocation rules can be set once and applied across shifts, team members and sites, while individual venues can retain different rules under central management. That combination is useful for hospitality groups with varied operating practices, though it also makes the service more specialised than a simple tip calculator.

Independent troncmaster oversight is intended to help schemes operate in line with HMRC requirements. Employees can see tronc earnings and how distributions were calculated in the app, adding useful transparency. One notable boundary is that team members cannot see Peer to Peer earnings on the platform.

Key features

Allocation, compliance and payroll

Shift-based allocation rules are automated once configured, reducing repeated manual distribution work. Multi-site operators can manage venues centrally without imposing one allocation rule on every location. Independent oversight and API connections to Xero, Sage and Fourth support the compliance and payroll side; the benefit is strongest for businesses whose processes already fit those systems and integrations.

Grateful also lists connections and partnerships with 3SPOS, Bizimply, Deputy, Epos Now, Fourth Hospitality, Harri, Kobas, Oracle Simphony, Toast and workforce.com. Its 11 POS integrations and payroll export support make it a plausible fit for established hospitality operations, but the specific integrations a business needs should guide its choice.

Employee and customer experience

The employee app shows tronc earnings with a breakdown of the calculation, which can make pooled distributions easier to understand. Customers can send tips directly to workers’ accounts in seconds, without cash or business administration. Direct tipping recipients receive 100% of their tip instantly, while the customer pays a small incremental transaction fee; that shifts the cost away from the business but adds a charge at the point of tipping.

STASH automatically divides tips or tronc payments between spending and an FSCS-protected savings account. It is included with every Grateful customer at no additional cost and needs neither a separate app nor manual transfers. Grateful says it uses technical and organisational security measures, staff data-protection training, and is registered with the UK ICO as Grtfl Limited. Support channels include Messenger, email and telephone.

Pricing

Grateful is a paid service, with a free plan also available. STASH costs nothing and is included as standard with every Grateful customer. It adds automatic savings from tips or tronc payments, but is not a standalone substitute for the compliance or tipping services.

Tronc & Compliance has custom pricing: the price depends on which part of Grateful a business uses and requires a quote. It includes multi-site management, independent troncmaster oversight and payroll integrations. This is the relevant option for operators prioritising managed tronc compliance, but there is no published figure to compare against a fixed monthly budget.

Direct Tipping has no setup costs or contracts and no cost for the business. A small incremental fee per transaction is charged to the customer, while recipients get 100% of their tip instantly. This structure suits businesses that want to offer cashless direct tips without taking on a business fee, but customers bear the transaction charge.

Platforms

Grateful is available on Android and the web. The employee app supports earnings visibility, while the web service supports administration; iOS is not among its listed platforms.

Who it's for

Grateful is a strong fit for hospitality businesses that need shift-level allocation, differing rules across venues, central oversight and a connection to payroll. It is also relevant to operators who want direct customer tipping without business setup costs and employees who value a breakdown of tronc distributions. A business focused on Peer to Peer earnings visibility should account for the fact that staff cannot see those earnings on the platform.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Allocation rules automate distribution across shifts and sites, cutting repetitive administration for multi-venue teams.
• Pros: Independent troncmaster oversight and payroll integrations support compliance workflows rather than leaving operators with allocation alone.
• Pros: Employees can inspect tronc calculations, and direct-tip recipients receive the full tip instantly.
• Pros: STASH is included at no extra cost and automates saving from tips or tronc payments.
• Cons: Tronc & Compliance requires a quote, making cost comparison and budgeting less direct.
• Cons: Direct tipping charges customers a transaction fee, which may affect their willingness to tip.
• Cons: Peer to Peer earnings are not visible to team members in the platform.

Alternatives

For a wider category comparison, browse the Restaurant Tip Management Software list.

• Divvy is worth considering for a fixed per-restaurant price: Core is $39 a month and Payouts is $69 a month, with unlimited staff and pay periods in Core.
• TabPref may suit small teams seeking scheduling, time clock, team chat and basic labor analytics on a free starter plan.
• GratShare offers per-location plans starting at $49 a month for You Drive, with a self-managed approach.
• eTip is an alternative with custom pricing for each property and unlimited team members, storage and team training.
• TipHaus is another paid option for hospitality tip management.
• Rocket Tronc is a freemium alternative with a free trial and active-employee-based pricing.
• Fourth Tip Management is another paid, web-based option.
• Kickfin is another paid, web-based option.

Verdict

Choose Grateful if your hospitality operation needs automated shift and site allocation, independent tronc oversight, employee calculation visibility and payroll connections in one service. Its direct tipping and included STASH savings add useful options beyond compliance. Look elsewhere if a published compliance price is essential, if customers should not pay a transaction fee to tip, or if employees need Peer to Peer earnings visibility.