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Centsless processes tips with FLSA compliance built in — ceiling rounding always favors employees, so no tip amount is ever rounded down. Tip pools support equal, weighted, and hours-based distribution, and the wage theft detection endpoint surfaces patterns that may indicate unauthorized deductions or below-minimum-wage violations.

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Recording a cash tip

Use POST /tip/cash to record a cash tip against a completed transaction. Required fields: transaction_id, employee_id, employee_name, tip_amount (in dollars). 
curl -X POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/cash \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "transaction_id": "TXN-2026-04-14-A82C2EAA",
    "employee_id": "EMP-001",
    "employee_name": "Test Cashier",
    "tip_amount": 3.50
  }'
Cash tip rounding uses FLSA-compliant ceiling rounding — fractional cents always round up, never down, in favor of the employee.

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Recording a credit card tip

Use POST /tip/credit-card with the same fields as a cash tip. The endpoint creates an audit trail for the credit card tip. 
curl -X POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/credit-card \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "transaction_id": "TXN-2026-04-14-A82C2EAA",
    "employee_id": "EMP-001",
    "employee_name": "Test Cashier",
    "tip_amount": 3.50
  }'

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Creating and distributing a tip pool

Tip pools let you aggregate tips across multiple employees and distribute them using a defined method. The flow is two steps: create the pool, then distribute it. Step 1 — Create the pool with POST /tip/pool/create: Required fields: pool_name, tip_ids (array of tip IDs to include), distribution_method (equal, weighted, or hours_based), and participants (array of employee objects with employeeId and employeeName). 
curl -X POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/pool/create \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "pool_name": "Sunday Lunch Pool",
    "tip_ids": ["TIP-001", "TIP-002", "TIP-003"],
    "distribution_method": "equal",
    "participants": [
      { "employeeId": "EMP-001", "employeeName": "Test Cashier" },
      { "employeeId": "EMP-002", "employeeName": "Jane Server" }
    ]
  }'
Step 2 — Distribute the pool with POST /tip/pool/distribute. Pass the pool_id returned from the create step: 
curl -X POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/pool/distribute \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "pool_id": "POOL-001"
  }'

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Processing an employee payout

Use POST /tip/payout to process a tip payout to an employee. Required fields: employee_id, employee_name, payout_amount, payout_method (cash, check, or direct_deposit). 
curl -X POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/payout \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "employee_id": "EMP-001",
    "employee_name": "Test Cashier",
    "payout_amount": 47.50,
    "payout_method": "cash"
  }'

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Validating tip credit compliance

Use POST /tip/validate-compliance to check whether a merchant’s tipping practices comply with state-specific tip credit regulations and FLSA requirements. Required fields: state, hourly_wage (dollars), average_tips_per_hour (dollars). 
curl -X POST https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/tip/validate-compliance \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "state": "IN",
    "hourly_wage": 7.25,
    "average_tips_per_hour": 3.50
  }'
The response indicates whether the combination of hourly wage and tip income satisfies the applicable state and federal minimum wage requirements.

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Wage theft detection

Use GET /analytics/tip-wage-theft to analyze tip patterns across your merchants for potential wage theft indicators. The endpoint surfaces patterns including:
  • Tip skimming — tips recorded but not disbursed to employees
  • Unauthorized deductions — amounts withheld from tip totals without a valid reason
  • Below-minimum-wage violations — hourly compensation falling below state or federal minimums after accounting for tips
curl https://api.centsless.org/api/v1/analytics/tip-wage-theft \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"