Service & Cover Charge
Service & Cover Charge sets your default service charge percentage and an optional flat per-head cover charge, plus conditional override rules by minimum party size, day of week and time window — with a live bill preview so you can see exactly how a rule changes the final total before it goes live.
Overview
Two independent charges are configured here: Service Charge (a percentage added to the bill, on by default at a configurable %) and Cover Charge (a flat amount charged per head/guest, off by default).
Conditional Rules let you override the default service charge % or cover charge amount for specific situations — for example, a higher service charge for parties of 8 or more, or a cover charge only on Friday/Saturday evenings.
Each rule can combine a minimum party size, specific days of the week, and a time window (From/To) — a rule only applies when all of its configured conditions are met by the actual bill.
A live bill preview shows exactly how the current configuration (defaults plus any matching rule) would apply to a sample bill, so you can verify the math before saving.
Today's Service Charge/Cover Charge Log lists every bill from today with the charges actually applied, plus a running total — useful for a quick end-of-day sanity check against what you configured.
Before You Start
- You must have the Billing feature enabled on your plan.
- Check your local regulations and standard practice around service charges before enabling or raising the default percentage — this varies by market and is a business/legal decision, not something BazaarPOS advises on.
Step-by-Step Guide
1 Set the default service charge and cover charge
- Open Service & Cover Charge.
- Toggle Service Charge on and set the default percentage.
- Toggle Cover Charge on if you charge per head, and set the flat amount.
- Check the live bill preview to confirm the totals look right, then click Save.
2 Add a conditional rule for large parties
- Click "Add Rule".
- Set Minimum Party Size (e.g. 8) so the rule only applies to bigger groups.
- Set an Override % for service charge (or a cover charge override) specific to this rule.
- Leave Days/Time blank if it should apply any time, or set them to narrow further, then save.
3 Add a weekend-evening cover charge rule
- Click "Add Rule" and tick Friday and Saturday under Days.
- Set a Time From/To window (e.g. 19:00–23:00).
- Set a Cover Charge Override amount for this window, then save.
4 Reconcile today's charges
- Open Today's Log at the bottom of the page.
- Review the list of bills with service/cover charges applied and the running total.
- Cross-check against expectations, especially on days a conditional rule should have fired.
Every Field & Button, Explained
| Field / Button | What it does |
|---|---|
Service Charge (enabled + %) | Master toggle and default percentage added to bills as a service charge. |
Cover Charge (enabled + amount) | Master toggle and flat per-head amount charged per guest on the bill. |
Conditional Rules | Each rule can set a Minimum Party Size, specific Days of Week, a Time From/To window, and an override % or cover charge amount — a rule only applies when every condition it defines is met. |
Live bill preview | Shows a sample bill breakdown reflecting the current default settings and any matching rule, before you save. |
Today's SC/Cover Log | Every bill from today with the service/cover charge actually applied, plus a running total for the day. |
Tips & Best Practices
- Always check the live bill preview after adding or editing a rule — it's the fastest way to confirm a rule's conditions and override values combine the way you expect.
- Use Minimum Party Size rules for large-group service charge policies rather than trying to enforce this manually at billing.
- Review Today's Log at the end of a shift where a conditional rule should have applied, to confirm it actually fired on the bills you expected.