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Tip pools let you collect tips from multiple transactions and distribute them among a group of eligible employees at the end of a shift or period. Centsless supports three distribution methods: equal split, weighted by contribution, and proportional to hours worked. All pool operations are recorded in the audit trail.

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Authentication

All requests require an x-api-key header.

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POST /tip/pool/create — Create a tip pool

Create a new tip pool from a set of recorded tips and define how the total will be distributed among participants. 
POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/pool/create

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Request body

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pool_name
string
required
A name for this tip pool. Example: Sunday Lunch Pool
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tip_ids
array
required
An array of tip IDs to include in the pool.
["TIP-00123", "TIP-00124", "TIP-00125"]
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distribution_method
string
required
How the pooled total will be split among participants. One of: equal, weighted, hours_based
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participants
array
required
An array of employees eligible to receive a share. Each entry requires employeeId and employeeName.
[
  { "employeeId": "EMP-001", "employeeName": "Jordan Smith" },
  { "employeeId": "EMP-002", "employeeName": "Alex Rivera" }
]

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Code example

curl -X POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/pool/create \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "pool_name": "Sunday Lunch Pool",
    "tip_ids": ["TIP-00123", "TIP-00124", "TIP-00125"],
    "distribution_method": "equal",
    "participants": [
      { "employeeId": "EMP-001", "employeeName": "Jordan Smith" },
      { "employeeId": "EMP-002", "employeeName": "Alex Rivera" }
    ]
  }'

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POST /tip/pool/distribute — Distribute a tip pool

Trigger distribution of a previously created tip pool. The engine calculates each participant’s share using the distribution method defined at pool creation and records individual payouts in the audit trail. 
POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/pool/distribute

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Request body

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pool_id
string
required
The ID of the tip pool to distribute. Returned when the pool was created.

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Code example

curl -X POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/pool/distribute \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "pool_id": "POOL-00042"
  }'
The response includes each participant’s calculated share and the total distributed. Any fractional cents are rounded in the employees’ favor (FLSA ceiling rounding).