If you, like many people, cringe when it’s time to pay the check after dinner out with friends, there are solutions. It can get tedious and frustrating to try to figure out who had how many drinks, but dividing it evenly may not be fair to the person who just had an appetizer. Or you might find that there’s often one person (or more) who doesn’t have cash, making payment tricky.
To avoid ending a fun evening by doing a lot of math or risking hurt feelings, try these strategies. Splitting the check can be easily wrangled with just a little advance planning.
Key Points
• At a restaurant, requesting separate checks before ordering can simplify splitting the bill.
• Bill-splitting apps and certain payment apps can allow a group to divide the bill evenly or assign customized amounts.
• To avoid splitting a check altogether, choose a restaurant or food hall where each individual orders separately at a counter.
• When splitting a bill evenly, be mindful of how much you’re ordering compared to others.
• Consider having one person pay the bill and others reimburse them to streamline payment.
6 Tips for Splitting the Bill With Friends
These tactics can help you split the bill and keep everyone happy. The next time you go out to dinner as a group, try one.
1. Pick a Place Where You Order at a Counter
You could go to a fast-casual restaurant that allows you to order at the counter on separate tabs and then enjoy your meal together at the table. If you’re on a tight budget and are trying to save money or you’ve had difficulty splitting checks with friends in the past, this allows you to avoid a sticky situation. Or you might have a local food hall where each guest can grab their own meal from a multitude of stalls and then dine together.
As these styles of dining continue to grow in popularity, you and your friends can have your choice of cuisines — without blowing your budget or haggling over the bill.
2. Ask for Separate Checks — Before You Order
Having everyone in your party get their own separate check is another simple solution. The key is to ask your server for separate checks before you start ordering. That way, your server can track everyone’s order separately from the get-go. This can help you avoid the confusing chore of splitting the bill (“Who had the cappuccino?” etc.) after the meal has ended.
Still, be mindful of the extra work you’re asking your server to do. Some experts recommend limiting the number of separate checks you request to no more than four. Some restaurants may honor a request for more or less; you might ask and see.
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3. Have One Person Put the Bill on Credit
Another strategy for splitting the bill is to agree that one person will pay the bill with their credit card, and the rest of the group will reimburse them. This makes things easier for the server. Be sure to include the tax and tip in your calculations so that everyone pays their fair share.
Instead of cash, since most people don’t carry as much money around as they used to, you could use an app to transfer money from one friend to another. Or you can likely move funds from your checking account to the bill payer’s using tools your bank offers.
There can actually be perks to being the person who pays the bill. You might earn rewards when you charge the amount or you might qualify for other bonus offers.
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4. Use an App to Track Your Outings
There are a few apps, like Splitwise and Tab, that allow you to track and split purchases with friends. These bill-splitting apps divide the cost of the bill and assign each person what they owe.
A number of these apps connect to payment platforms so that everyone can pay their share or transfer money to others in the group. If not, you might then designate one person to pay the bill, as described above, and then others pay them back.
In addition, many payment apps, including PayPal and Venmo, have bill splitting features that can help a group split a bill evenly or with custom amounts. And some apps allow a group to split a bill and pay their share from their bank account.
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5. Use Different Credit Cards to Pay
If you forgot to request separate checks at the start of the meal, you still have options for dividing the check. Confirm that the restaurant will take the number of credit cards you wish to pay with, then have everyone go through and tally up what they ordered. Then ask for those amounts to be charged to the appropriate card card.
For instance, one person might say, “Can you please put $38 on this card?” and another would say, “Can you put the remaining $50 on mine?” Then you would each pay your bill, adding any tip you wish to leave.
Just be forewarned: Many restaurants will only want to split a bill two or three ways with this method. If there are eight of you out for the night, this is unlikely to be a good option.
6. Split the Bill Evenly
Say there are three of you dining out and the bill comes to $120. You might not get into the details of which person had the two pricey mocktails vs. the others each having a single glass of wine. If each person just puts in $40 (plus tip), you’ve split the bill evenly and politely.
This concept works especially well when you’re ordering small plates, which are designed to be shared. After all, when you’re sharing all the food, even bill-splitting makes sense.
If there are certain dishes you’re not going to eat, you might want to speak up at the beginning of the meal and ask if it’s possible for you to get a separate check.
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Splitting the Bill Etiquette
Here are a few tips to ensure that things stay polite when you split the bill.
Ask for a Separate Check ASAP
As noted above, if you’re watching your spending, mention upfront your interest in a separate check. You might tell your group that’s your plan or simply request a separate check from your server when they start taking the order. However you approach it, it can spare you bad feelings later or having your bank account take a major hit by getting stuck splitting a big bill evenly.
Don’t Splash Out if You’re Splitting the Bill Evenly
Be mindful of what you order if you are splitting the bill evenly. If everyone else is ordering $15 hamburgers and you order the $32 steak special, that’s not fair to others when the tab is divvied up. If you’ve got to have that steak, ask for separate checks, or else perhaps volunteer to pay the tip on the entire tab to compensate.
Share the Meal Appropriately
If you are splitting the bill evenly, keep an eye out to make sure everyone gets their share of the meal. For instance, just because the guacamole and chips were placed on the table next to one person, that doesn’t mean you can’t politely say, “Please pass that to our end of the table once you’ve had some.”
Try Not to Worry About Every Last Penny
Recognize that splitting bills can be less than precise. There’s a chance you may pay a couple of dollars more or less than the exact amount you owe. Sometimes, simplicity is the best path rather than getting into advanced math calculations which might yield a couple more dollars in your savings account but trigger bad feelings. It may be best not to contest amounts down to the last penny for the sake of preserving the good vibes.
The Takeaway
There are several ways to split a bill when dining out with friends. Some methods are to request separate checks, to eat at a restaurant where you order at a counter, or to have one person pay and then the others reimburse their share. These tactics can allow you to keep everything polite among your group while enjoying good food and good company.
Consider opening a bank account that makes it easy to send money and split a bill.
Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.
FAQ
How do you politely split a bill?
How to split a bill politely can be accomplished in a variety of ways. You might request separate checks if your group is on the small side, or you might divide the bill evenly. Another option is for one person to pay the bill, and others pay them back. Or you could dine at a restaurant where you order at a counter or at a food hall. In these settings, each person can pay their own way and then eat with their group.
Is there a polite way to ask to split a bill?
A polite way to split the bill is to bring it up before you and the other diners begin ordering. That can simplify matters. You might say something like, “Before we order, does anyone have any ideas for splitting the bill?” or “I am just going to have an appetizer tonight, so I will ask for a separate check.”
How do you divide a bill?
There are usually two methods for dividing a bill. You can divide the bill evenly among all guests, so that each person pays the same amount, regardless of what they ordered. Or you can divide the bill so that each person only pays for their share, whether they ordered three courses or just had dessert. The latter, as you might guess, involves more math. As you decide on a method of splitting the bill, don’t forget to account for tax and tip.
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