Payments
Settle restaurant bills with cash, card, room charges, split checks, and tips
The end of a meal is the moment everything comes together financially. All the items ordered, modifiers selected, and taxes calculated converge into a single bill that needs to be settled before the table turns. Veridien supports multiple payment methods, flexible split options, and seamless room charge integration so that closing out a table is fast and accurate regardless of how the guests want to pay.
This guide covers the standard bill settlement flow, room charges for hotel guests, split check scenarios, and tip handling.
Standard bill settlement
The most common scenario: a single check for the table, paid in one transaction.
Open the table's order from the Floor Plan by tapping the occupied table.
Review the order summary. Verify that all items are accounted for, any voids are reflected, and the total looks correct. This is your last chance to catch errors before presenting the bill to the guest.
Tap Close Check (or Print Bill if the guest wants to review a printed copy first). The system calculates the subtotal, applies taxes, and displays the final amount due.
Select the Payment Method: Cash, Credit Card, or Room Charge. For cash, enter the amount tendered and the system calculates change. For credit card, process the payment through your integrated terminal. The system records the transaction once the terminal confirms approval.
The bill is settled. The table status on the floor plan changes to Needs Cleaning, signaling bussers and hosts that the table will be available shortly.
Room charges
One of the key advantages of an integrated PMS is the ability to charge restaurant meals directly to a guest's room folio. The guest does not need cash or a credit card —they simply confirm their room number, and the charge posts automatically.
When the guest requests to charge the meal to their room, tap Close Check and select Room Charge as the payment method.
Enter the Room Number. Veridien looks up the current occupant and displays their name and folio status. If the room is vacant, checked out, or has room charge restrictions, the system displays a warning and blocks the transaction.
Confirm the guest's identity. Ask the guest to verify their name. The system shows the registered guest name —confirm it matches. This step prevents unauthorized charges.
Tap Post to Folio. The restaurant charge appears on the guest's room folio as a line item with the outlet name, date, and total amount. The table is closed.
Itemized folio detail
When front desk staff view the folio, they can expand the restaurant charge to see the full itemized order. This helps during checkout if a guest questions a charge —the receptionist can show exactly what was ordered without calling the restaurant.
Room charges are especially common for breakfast (often included in the room rate or charged to an inclusive package) and room service orders. For room service, the charge posts automatically when the order is placed —there is no separate settlement step.
Split checks
Guests frequently want to split the bill. Veridien offers three split methods to handle the most common scenarios.
Split by item
Each guest pays for exactly what they ordered. This is the most precise method and works best when seat numbers were assigned during order entry.
The system displays all items grouped by seat number. Select the items (or seats) for the first payment. The system calculates the subtotal and tax for those items.
Process the first payment using the guest's chosen method (cash, card, or room charge).
The remaining items stay on the open check. Repeat the process for the next guest until all items are paid and the check is fully settled.
Split evenly
The total bill is divided equally among a specified number of guests. This is the fastest split method but only works when everyone agrees to pay the same amount.
Enter the Number of Splits (for example, 4 for a four-top splitting evenly).
The system divides the total (including tax) by the number of splits and displays each portion. Process each portion as a separate payment, using whatever method each guest prefers.
Split by custom amount
Sometimes the split is not by item and not even. One guest might offer to pay $100 and let the others cover the rest. Custom amount splitting handles these ad hoc scenarios.
Enter the amount for the first payment. The system processes that amount and shows the remaining balance.
Enter the next payment amount, or apply the remaining balance in full. Continue until the total is covered.
You can mix payment methods across splits. The first $100 might be a room charge, the next $75 a credit card, and the remaining $50 cash. Veridien tracks each payment against the order and marks the check as settled only when the full total is covered.
Handling tips
Tips (gratuities) are added after the subtotal and tax are calculated. How tips are handled depends on the payment method.
Tips on card payments
When processing a credit card payment, the terminal may prompt the guest to add a tip. If your terminal supports this, the tip amount is captured along with the payment and recorded in Veridien automatically. If the guest writes a tip on a printed receipt instead, the server enters the tip manually:
After the card payment is processed, tap Add Tip on the payment confirmation screen.
Enter the tip amount. The system adjusts the final transaction total to include the tip.
The tip is recorded separately from the meal charge in reporting, making it easy to calculate tip pools or individual server earnings.
Tips on cash payments
For cash payments, the tip is the difference between the amount tendered and the bill total, minus any change returned. If a guest pays $60 cash on a $52 bill and says "keep the change," the server records the $8 tip.
Tips on room charges
Tips on room-charged meals are added to the folio along with the meal charge. The server enters the tip amount when posting to the folio, and it appears as part of the restaurant charge on the guest's bill.
Closing out a table
Once all payments are processed and the total is covered, the table is automatically closed. The order moves from "active" to "completed" and is accessible through order history for reporting and audit purposes.
The table status on the floor plan changes to Needs Cleaning. Once the table is cleaned and reset, a staff member marks it as Available and it is ready for the next guests.
If a check is partially paid (one guest has paid but others have not), the table remains open with the outstanding balance displayed. The server continues processing payments until the balance reaches zero.
Scenario: table of four with two room charges, one card, and one cash
A party of four finishes dinner at table 12. The total bill is $240 including tax. Each guest wants to pay separately, and they are using different methods.
Identifying the split. The server opens the check and sees all items organized by seat number. Seat 1 and Seat 3 are hotel guests who want to charge to their rooms. Seat 2 wants to pay by credit card. Seat 4 wants to pay cash.
Split by item. The server selects Split by Item from the close check options.
Payment 1 —Seat 1 room charge. The server selects Seat 1's items ($65 subtotal plus tax = $72). Selects Room Charge, enters room number 412. The system confirms the guest name: "J. Hartman." The server verifies with the guest and taps Post to Folio. Seat 1's portion is settled. The guest adds a $12 tip, which posts to the folio alongside the meal charge.
Payment 2 —Seat 3 room charge. Same process. Seat 3's items total $58 plus tax = $64. Room 218, guest name "S. Patel." Confirmed and posted. A $10 tip is added to the folio.
Payment 3 —Seat 2 credit card. Seat 2's items total $52 plus tax = $57. The server processes the credit card through the terminal. The guest adds a $10 tip on the terminal. Transaction approved. Payment recorded.
Payment 4 —Seat 4 cash. The remaining items total $43 plus tax = $47. The guest hands over $60 in cash. The server enters $60 as the amount tendered. The system calculates $13 in change. The guest takes $5 back and leaves $8 as the tip. The server records the $8 tip.
Check closed. All four payments cover the $240 total. The table status flips to Needs Cleaning. The order history shows four separate payments with methods, amounts, and tips recorded individually.
The entire settlement took under three minutes. Each guest paid their way, tips were captured for reporting, and the two room charges will appear on the guests' folios when they check out —fully itemized and ready for review.