Split payments are one of those situations that seem rare until you start recording them. Client asked to leave tip separately in cash. Client said they had little cash and asked to split. Client paid part with vouchers and rest by card. In a normal week, any small business has 5-10 of these situations - and how you record them directly affects till close, visible margin, and accounting sanity.
Most platforms force you to pick a single method, leaving you to resolve exceptions outside the system (paper, separate app note, manual sum at end of day). BookHero was designed to handle this natively - two methods in the same checkout, clear receipt, clean accounting.
When split payments happen
- Client asks to leave tip in cash but pays service by card.
- Client has little cash and asks to split between cash and instant transfer.
- Client wants to use gift voucher for part + card for the rest.
- Client pays for one person's service and product for another (family splitting).
- Company that pays via transfer but employee leaves tip in cash.
How it works in BookHero checkout
Practical example: €30 service split into €15 + €15
Client finishes service, goes to counter
Total bill: €30 (haircut). Client says: I have 15 in cash, can I pay the rest by card?
You open checkout in BookHero
In Calendar, click the completed booking and checkout opens. Total already filled: €30.
Enable Split payment
Toggle on the checkout screen. Cash and card fields appear.
Divide the values
Cash: €15. Card: €15. Auto-sum confirms: €30.
Confirm and receipt generates
PDF generated shows: Subtotal €30, paid in Cash €15 + Card €15. Client receives by email if email is registered.
How the receipt presents the split
On the final PDF, instead of a single payment line, you see two clear lines:
For accounting, it's clear what came in cash and what came via terminal/POS. At end of day, when closing the till, you just sum all Cash lines from all receipts to know what should be physically there. No parallel calculations, no holes.
Split payment vs tip (the critical distinction)
There's a common confusion: payment split and separate tip are DIFFERENT things in BookHero, and treating them the same distorts reports.
| Scenario | Correct treatment |
|---|---|
| €30 service, client pays €30 in two forms | Split payment (€15 cash + €15 card) |
| €30 service + €5 tip, all on card | Card: €30 + Card tip: €5 (own field) |
| €30 service card + €5 cash tip | Card: €30 + Cash tip: €5 (own field) |
| €30 service card + €5 tip + client asked to split service | Split payment (€15 cash + €15 card) + Cash tip: €5 |
Supported payment methods
- Cash (physical till).
- Debit/credit card (via physical card terminal/POS - recorded, not processed by BookHero).
- Instant transfer (recorded, not processed by BookHero).
- Bank transfer (recorded).
- Voucher/coupon (recorded, if previously sold).
- Other/custom (free text field for special cases).
Important: BookHero records the payment entry, doesn't process the payment itself. If you charge by card, you use your physical card terminal and then mark as Card on checkout. For online payment at booking time (client pays when reserving), there's separate Stripe integration.
Reports: filter by method
In Reports > Revenue, you can filter by payment method. Useful for several scenarios:
- Daily till close: sum all Cash of the day to check against physical till.
- Bank statement reconciliation: sum Card to check against terminal deposits.
- Payment behavior analysis: % client pays cash vs card (seasonality?).
- Fiscal report: separation by method if your accounting requires.
Sectors where split is more frequent
| Sector | Frequency | Typical scenario |
|---|---|---|
| Barbershop | High | Tip in cash + service card |
| Hairdresser | High | Client wants to split color/cut |
| Esthetics | Medium | Gift voucher + extra card |
| Manicure | Medium | Available cash + card |
| Tattoo | Low | Single payment typically |
| Personal trainer | Low | Pre-paid pack typically |
| Pet grooming | Medium | Client convenience |
| Physio/clinic | Low | Reimbursement + co-payment typical, not split |
Typical mistakes to avoid
- Putting tip in the split field instead of in the proper field: distorts revenue.
- Forgetting to close the sum: Cash + Card field must match total. System validates.
- Changing split after generating receipt: receipts are frozen in BookHero (snapshot). To correct, void and re-generate.
- Not filtering reports by method on till close: generates discrepancies between physical till and digital.
- Using Other as method when you should use Card (and similar): loses the useful filter on reports.
Special cases: vouchers and credits
If you sell gift vouchers or pre-paid credits, split works the same way:
Voucher covers entire service
Single method: Voucher. Not a split.
Voucher covers part, client pays rest
Split payment: Voucher €X + Cash/Card €Y. Total matches.
Voucher exceeds the value
Apply voucher for the service value. Voucher remainder stays for next visit (manual management for now).
Frequently asked questions
Can I split into more than 2 methods?
For now, split supports 2 methods in the same checkout. For rare cases of 3+ methods (client pays part voucher, part cash, part card), record the third as note and adjust totals or process in two bookings. Support for 3+ methods is on the roadmap.
Does split appear in the commission report?
Commission is calculated on the total service value, regardless of how it was paid. If client pays €30 split into €15 cash + €15 card, commission is on €30. Staff isn't penalized by payment method.
What if I make a mistake in the split (€16 cash instead of €15)?
Before confirming checkout: adjust on the screen. After confirming: receipt is frozen. If real error, void that receipt (in Billing > Documents) and re-generate with correct values. We recommend verifying before confirming.
Does BookHero process the card directly?
No. You use your physical card terminal/POS to process. In BookHero, you mark as Card. For online payment at booking time (client pays when reserving), there's Stripe integration (separate article).
Can I have different receipts (one for service, another for tip)?
No - service + tip go on a single receipt (tip separated from total). For cases where client wants formal invoice only of the service (without tip) and cash separately, you can process separately by issuing only the service invoice and handling tip outside the system.