Service charge: a percentage for service

A service charge is an addition to the order price for service. In cenaly.ge, you can set a percentage or a fixed amount: the charge is added automatically using the location or selected table rule.

Guests choose tips voluntarily. The venue sets the service charge; it appears separately from tips and increases the bill total.

What you need to get started#

• A location with its currency selected and access to its settings.
• For a table-specific rule, a QR code linked to that location and table.
• An order with items to check the charge at the POS; a manager PIN to waive it.
• A configured printer or fiscal device for printing; a connected location payment provider for online payments.

Set the location charge#

1. Open Locations (/en/locations) and select the location.
2. On the General tab, find Service Charge.
3. Enable the charge and choose Percentage or Fixed Amount.
4. Enter a value above zero. The field shows % for a percentage or the location currency for a fixed amount.
5. Leave the field after entering the value so the change is saved. Create a new order and check the service charge line and total.

For example, to charge 10% for service, select Percentage and enter 10. Use a fixed amount for the same addition to each non-empty bill.

The switch and fields save automatically. This rule does not currently have a weekday selector or a weekends-only mode.

Set a charge for an individual table#

If some tables have a different service charge, set the rule in their QR code card (/en/client-codes):

1. Edit the code for the table and check its location assignment.
2. Enable its service fee, select a percentage or fixed amount, and enter the value.
3. Save the card. Create an order for that table and check the total.

An enabled table rule with a positive value replaces the regular location charge. It is not added as a second charge. The selected table also determines the service rule when creating an order through the new-order window.

How the amount is calculated#

The percentage applies to active items after discounts, coupons and redeemed loyalty points. Tips and delivery do not increase this base.

The amount is rounded to the currency's smallest unit. For small amounts, the result may therefore differ from an unrounded calculator result.

Charge for large parties#

Currently beta: the web POS can apply a separate percentage when a dine-in ticket has at least the specified number of guests.

1. In location settings, next to the regular charge, enable Service charge for large parties.
2. Set From guests to at least two and Charge to a percentage above zero.
3. In the POS dine-in ticket, enter the guest count using the 👥 chip.
4. Check the charge line: when the threshold is reached, it shows party of N+.

For example, the regular charge is 10%, and parties of six or more pay 15%. With eight guests, 15% applies; changing the guest count to three returns the POS to the regular table or location rule.

The large-party charge replaces, rather than supplements, the regular charge. This rule supports a percentage only and is off by default.

The storefront, kiosk and QR menu do not ask for the guest count when creating an order, so the large-party charge does not apply to those orders. The POS apps for Android, Windows and Ubuntu apply the large-party charge the same way as the web POS, as long as the bill has a guest count.

Charge only at set hours#

The location charge can apply only inside its window: for example, 10% after 22:00 or only at weekends.

1. Open Locations, the location and the service charge section; make sure the location charge itself is on.
2. In the ⏰ Discounts and service charge by schedule block, choose Set up.
3. Turn on Charge the service fee only on these days and hours and mark the days and hours. A window across midnight (22:00–06:00) is one row: the next morning is part of the window too.
4. Click Save and check on a new bill: inside the window the charge line is there, outside it is not.

The time the bill was opened counts, in the location time zone: a bill opened at 21:50 does not get the charge "after 22:00" even if it is paid at 22:10. The web POS, the POS apps for Android, Windows and Ubuntu, the QR menu, the kiosk and online payment count it the same way. If the location has no time zone, the zone of its country is used (without a country — of the brand's country), not the clock of the guest's phone or the POS.

The window applies only to the location charge. A table (QR code) with its own charge and the large-party charge work regardless of the window.

Packaging fee for delivery and takeaway#

The fee for containers and bags is a separate charge, unrelated to the service charge percentage. It applies only to delivery and takeaway orders; dine-in orders have no such line.

1. Open Locations, the location and the service charge section.
2. Turn on 📦 Packaging fee and enter the Amount, for example 20.
3. In Charge, choose Per item (amount × number of items in the order) or Per order (once).
4. In Order types, keep Delivery, Takeaway / pickup or both. Optionally set a Line name — "Packaging" by default.
5. Check on a new order: delivery with two items shows a Packaging 2 × 20 line and a total 40 higher; the same order dine-in has no line.

An item with quantity 3 counts as three packages; a weighed item counts as one package per line. Check discounts, coupons and points do not reduce the packaging fee, and the service charge is not taken from it.

The POS, the storefront cart, online payment and the order server calculate the same amount: a guest cannot remove the fee from their order. On the fiscal receipt packaging is a separate "Packaging N × price" line at the location's VAT rate; finance reports keep it as a separate figure, apart from dish revenue.

Items without packaging or with their own price#

Not every item needs packaging: a canned drink or a bundled sauce does not, while a large pizza needs a box that costs more than the usual one.

1. In the same 📦 Packaging fee block, find Item exceptions and choose + Add items.
2. Tick the catalog items and confirm.
3. For each item choose No packaging or Own price and enter the price per item.
4. Check on a takeaway order: a pizza with its own price of 50, two rolls and two cans of cola show one Packaging 90 line — 50 for the pizza and 2 × 20 for the rolls; the cola has no packaging.

When the items in an order have different packaging prices, the bill and receipt show one line for the whole amount. In Per order mode own item prices do not apply, and an order made only of exception items is not charged.

Packaging when the bill is split#

When a bill is split by items or equally, each part gets its own receipt with its own Packaging line. A part's share is the packaging already included in its amount. The last part takes the remainder, so packaging across all receipts adds up to the order's packaging. The balance receipt after parts and the extra-payment receipt for a reopened order also carry only the unpaid remainder of packaging.

Packaging in the POS apps and on the kiosk#

The Android, Windows and Ubuntu POS apps and the waiter apps take payment for online delivery and takeaway orders together with packaging. The bill and pre-check show a Packaging 2 × 20 line, the amount due includes it, and the fiscal receipt carries it as a separate line. If the cashier adds items to such an order, the server recalculates packaging from the location setting.

The self-service kiosk charges for packaging when the guest chooses Take away. A Packaging line appears in the totals before payment, the terminal charges the amount including it, and the kiosk receipt shows packaging as a separate line. If the guest eats in, there is no packaging fee.

Delivery on the receipt in the POS apps#

When the Android, Windows or Ubuntu POS app or Cenaly Team takes payment for an online delivery order, the delivery charge is part of the amount due and of the fiscal receipt. The receipt shows it as a separate Delivery line after the dishes, service charge and packaging, so the receipt total matches the payment without the tip. Check discounts and coupons don't reduce delivery. If the fiscal register supports the item type attribute, the line is marked as a service. The VAT rate is the same as for the location's other items without their own tax profile. The web POS rings up delivery the same way.

When such an order is fully refunded in the Android, Windows or Ubuntu POS app, the refund receipt mirrors the sale receipt: the delivery charge is a separate Delivery line, while the service charge and tip go on the service charge line. The refund receipt total equals the money returned. A partial refund returns only the selected items, without delivery. If the POS app can't read the order — for example, with no connection — delivery goes on the service charge line; the total stays the same.

Deposit and per-item fees#

A bottle deposit, a rental deposit or any other fee that comes with an item is added to the bill automatically. When a guest takes 2 × Bottled lemonade, a separate line appears: Bottle deposit 2 × 30.

Setup takes two steps:

1. In Menu, create an item of the Deposit type with the receipt name and amount. This item does not appear in the menu, on the storefront or on the POS grid.
2. Open the product and pick it in Deposit or fee with this item. One deposit can be linked to any number of products.

How it works:

• The line follows the product in the same quantity. A product sold by weight gets one fee per line.
• Change the quantity or remove the product, and the deposit line follows. It cannot be edited or removed on its own.
• The kitchen does not see this line: it is not on the kitchen screen, the ticket or the recall list, and it does not hold up the order or the table on the pass.
• On the storefront, the QR menu and the kiosk the deposit line has no −, + or remove buttons. When the order is placed, the server checks the deposit against the product card: it adds a missing line and restores the quantity and amount from the card. The deposit cannot be bypassed from the browser.
• A per-item packaging fee does not count the deposit line: a bottle and its deposit take one package.
• Split bill: the deposit cannot be picked on its own, it goes into the same part as the product, in the same share. By guest, it goes to the guest the product belongs to.
• Moving items to another bill or table: the deposit cannot be picked on its own, it moves together with the product. Move the whole product and the whole deposit moves; move part of it and the same share of the deposit goes along: 1 of 2 lemonades takes 1 of 2 deposits. The web POS and the POS apps work the same way.
• One guest's bill and pre-check («Pay for guest»): the deposit counts for the guest the product belongs to, even if the deposit line was added from the storefront or another POS. A bill discount goes on the guest's products, and the deposit amount on their receipt does not change.
• In reports, deposits and fees are already inside revenue and are not added on top. You see the amount separately on the Including deposits and item fees card in Finance → Overview, as a line in the day summary and in the shift X and Z reports. In Item statistics the line stays an item of its own.
• A check discount goes to the products, and the deposit amount on the receipt stays the same. Discount and service charge percentages are calculated from the bill total including the deposit.
• The POS apps for Android, Windows and Ubuntu handle the line the same way as the web POS. The line appears under its product with a «↳» arrow and has no «−», «+» or delete buttons. It follows the product to the guest's bill and into items added to an open bill, and «Repeat round» does not copy it: the new product gets its own line. On the fiscal receipt the deposit line is a regular item, and a check discount does not reduce it.
• The link applies to new lines. Saved orders do not change retroactively.

Returning the container. Find the receipt in Receipts, start a refund and select the deposit line in the quantity returned. The money and the fiscal refund go through as usual, and the line does not add anything to stock.

Receipts in Russia. The line is an ordinary sale: goods, full payment, with the VAT rate from the item card. Returning the container is a sale refund. This records the bottle as sold and bought back on return, so the 30 counts as revenue. The register does not set the "Deposit" sign or "no VAT" on its own: they depend on your contract.

If you treat container money as a refundable security deposit rather than a sale, this mode does not fit. The Finance Ministry's position is that a security payment does not require a cash register, but the POS does not yet track such money separately. Choose the setup with your accountant.

Other countries. Tax comes from the item's own settings: in Germany, for example, the deposit is taxed at the product's rate.

Waive the charge on one bill#

To remove the service charge from an individual order:

1. In an open POS bill, select Waive next to the charge.
2. In Waive the service charge, choose a Reason and add an optional Comment.
3. Select Waive with PIN and confirm with a manager PIN.
4. Check Service charge waived and the total, then save the ticket using the usual POS action.

The reason, staff member and waiver time are saved to the order. Later order updates do not automatically restore the charge.

To undo the waiver, use Restore beside the waived-charge line. This applies to the current bill and does not change location settings.

Check the bill and receipt#

The bill and pre-bill show service as a separate line. For a large party, the guest-count condition appears alongside it.

When a fiscal receipt is prepared, a non-zero service charge is passed as a separate item. The total should match the items after discounts, the charge and any other applicable additions.

A pre-bill lets the guest check the bill before paying. Printing it does not replace fiscalization. Check the device connection and fiscal result in receipts; for a location in Russia, also see café and restaurant scenarios.

Tax settings and the connected device's capabilities need separate checks: enabling a service charge does not configure them.

Limitations#

• A window is set only for the location charge: tables and the large-party charge have no schedule of their own; there is no account-wide rule.
• Own prices and exceptions apply to the item as a whole, with no separate rules per variant. The Android, Windows and Ubuntu POS apps create orders only as dine-in, so a takeaway order with packaging cannot be started there: the fee applies only to online delivery and takeaway orders.
• Disabling a table rule does not exempt the table from the location charge.
• Large-party charges currently require a percentage and the web POS with a guest count entered.
• Do not assume settings changes rewrite closed receipts. Check a new rule on a new order.
• A service charge does not become a waiter's personal tip; they are separate accounting entries.

Troubleshooting#

Frequently asked questions#

Can a bill include both a service charge and a tip?#

Yes. The venue rule determines the charge; tips are selected separately. Check both lines before payment.

Can the charge apply only on Saturday and Sunday?#

Yes: in the ⏰ Discounts and service charge by schedule block, turn on the charge window and mark only Saturday and Sunday.

How do I set different percentages at two locations?#

Open each location in Locations and set its own rule. Changing one location does not set a rule for the entire chain.

Do I need a catalog item called Service?#

Not for this automatic charge: the POS calculates it from the setting and adds the line itself.

Related articles#

• Tips — voluntary gratuities and distribution to staff.
• Payments — POS and online payment methods.
• POS — working with bills.
• Receipts — checking payment results.
• Multiple locations — separate address settings.
• Floor orders — guests on the bill, splitting and merging bills.
• POS discounts, promo codes and points — what reduces the charge base.
• Shift manager tasks — PIN approvals at the POS.
• How report metrics are calculated — service charge and tips in figures.