splitting the bill

6 Painless Ways to Split the Check

Brittany Lyte — Tue, 16 Sep 2014 21:00:14 +0000

It's 2014, also known as the year we all ought to rid ourselves of the long, awkward shuffle of money and pencil-drawn arithmetic that happens each time the bill comes after a nice dinner out with friends. Why? Because there's an app for that — actually, there are six of 'em — and you've already proven you need it. Plus waitresses across the globe are tired of splitting the bill between three cards and a crumpled up fistfull of cash. (See also: Who Should Pay for the First Date?)

Read on for our roundup of the top six apps made to relieve the burden of shared expenses. (Note: If you're the type to try and dodge paying for the guacamole everyone tasted, there's not an app out there that'll help you with that.)

1. Splitwise

This free web and mobile app helps friend settle up everything from shared vacation expenses to the electric bill. It's an organizer that allows large groups of people to collectively break down all types of expenses and see what they owe. All data is stored in the cloud, so it can be accessed and shared from anywhere. The app also offers users mediation tools including a fairness calculator to help settle disputes.

2. Divvy

Divvy is a quick and easy three-step debt settler app for iPhone users. It works like this: Snap a photo of the bill with your phone, drag each item to the name of the person who ordered it, and see how much everyone owes. Bonus: You can check that you've been charged the correct amount for each item before itemizing the order. Divvy is 99 cents in the App Store.

3. Cover

Some of the top restaurants in New York and San Francisco are now allowing customers to pay with Cover, a free bill-paying app that allows groups of people large and small to split and pay the check without ever having to flag down the waiter. Never again will you be stuck waiting for the bill. Simply tell your waiter that you'll be paying with Cover when you sit down to dine at any of the 113 restaurants that support the app. Cover is free, available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and works best if everyone at the table is signed up.

4. Billr

Groups of up to 16 people can use this app to sort and split the bill, plus add gratuity. All you have to do plug in the price of each dish. You can then show each person their individualized bill on your phone screen or send out a text message that lists the breakdown of everybody's debts. Billr is $1.99 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

5. Advanced Bill Splitter

This Android-friendly app is free and performs much like its Apple supported counterpart Billr. Simply plug in everyone's order, including split items like that bottle of Malbec, and the app will spit out personalized meal totals for each diner. Much easier than breaking out the calculator.

6. Receipt Ninja

Perfect for road trips and weekend getaways with friends, Receipt Ninja lets you track and break down shared expenses on multiple receipts. It's a great way to divvy up gas, tolls, lunch, and hotel charges all in one fell swoop. You can also export the data in spreadsheet form straight to Excel. And it's supported by both Apple and Android mobile devices. There's a free version, but if you want to avoid those annoying ads you'll need to cough up $2.99 in the App Store.

How do you settle up at the end of the evening? Please share in comments!

This article is from Brittany Lyte of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Paying for a Piece of the Pizza: Techniques for Splitting the Bill

Meg Favreau — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 11:24:10 +0000

Eating out with friends is one of my favorite indulgences. Few things are better than good company combined with delicious food and drink. But these fun evenings often chug to a near standstill when it comes time to pay the bill. Suddenly everyone is reduced to muttering and throwing piles of bills on the table, hoping that someone else will figure out how much we actually need to pay.

Yes, realistically, splitting a bill among several friends is not that hard. There are many more difficult things in life, like the LSATs, or training a cat to use the toilet. But that doesn't mean that divvying up the check can't get annoying or cause hurt feelings when one person doesn't pay his fair share.

Thus, I present several ways to split the bill among friends. Most of these are pretty straightforward, although there might be a couple of surprises. (See also: How to Save Money at Restaurants)

Separate Checks

If the restaurant you're at is willing to provide separate checks, seize the opportunity before you order. Then you don't have to bother with doing the math, being lazy and making that one friend who is good at math do it, or silently seethe about how some jerk in the group only put in for what he ordered and no tip, so you had to cover it because you are a good and righteous person.

Go Halvsies (or Thirdsies, or...)

It's certainly one of the easiest ways to split one check — everyone pays the same amount. Of course, this gets annoying when one person orders much more than everyone else. One solution to that? Head to fixed-price meals.

Cash and Card

One or more people pay cash, and then the rest gets put on someone's card. The cash can either go directly to the bill, or the person paying with a card can take the cash. It's like a fee-free friend ATM!

Get Change

If there's an excess of cash, ask your waiter or waitress if you can get change for a big bill, and divvy out what people are owed accordingly.

Get Paid Back Later

Sites like BillMonk allow you to keep track of what friends and family owe you. If you pay for everything, keep the itemized receipt from the meal, and simply go into BillMonk to enter what people owe you. This is a good technique if you're trying to take advantage of credit card rewards.

Take Turns Paying

If you go out with the same people often, you can all take turns paying. A variation of this is to always pay for the meal when you're the one who invites people out (just make sure your friends toss out an invite every now and then as well).

Play Credit Card Roulette

Daniel Packer wrote about credit card roulette back in February. Basically, everyone at the meal provides his or her credit card to the waitress. The waitress then picks one card at random, and that person pays for the entire meal. If you like taking your chances, this could be the technique for you. Sure, you might be stuck with the full bill, but you might also get your entire meal for free.

How do you split the bill?

This article is from Meg Favreau of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Tips for Playing Credit Card Roulette

Daniel Packer — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:36:09 +0000

Have any of you ever played credit card roulette? It’s the ultimate all-or-nothing-type game that involves a roller coaster of emotions, but for the bold out there who are willing to give it a try, it’s quite a rush.

The rules vary, but here's the variation I've heard most often:

After a meal out, when the bill comes, everyone who wants to play hands a credit card to the waiter, who picks one card randomly. That person is responsible for the entire bill, and the rest of the table eats for free.

Gambling is addictive, there's no doubt about it. The possibility of winning and losing are so far on the opposite ends of the spectrum that it builds a ridiculous amount of excitement. As they say, "Go hard or go home," and gambling, while heart-wrenching, gives us — just for a moment — the hope that something great will happen, and we'll be able to walk away a winner.

I played credit card roulette for the first time recently, and boy was it intense.

There were only three of us, and the total bill was just $45 plus tax. Still, it was a very nerve-wracking experience. I hate losing, especially when I'm usually the voice of reason and good financial decisions, and thought I could get away with a free meal!

Here's how it went down: We gave our credit cards to the waitress. She mixed them up behind her back, then, without looking, took the middle card out. And guess whose card she chose? Bingo. Mine. Awful feeling, of course, but I'll bounce back.

Like any gambling situation, there are a few things you should keep in mind if you ever decide to give this game a shot. They'll help you make a smart decision so you know exactly what you're getting yourself into.

Offer to play this game at the end of the meal. If everyone else orders a $20 meal and you order $30 worth of food, the meal will cost each of you an average of $22, while you consumed $30 worth. Being the only one who knows, while sneaky, gives you an advantage.
Don't take on more risk than you're willing to lose. Even if 50 people were playing (reducing my odds of losing down to 2%), I wouldn't have included myself because I'm not willing to risk losing over $750 no matter what.
Be prepared for disappointment. I figured I was in good shape by handing in my very plain grey Bank of America card, but even the blandest of card choices can be beat by blindly picking.

Would you ever play? What's the most you would risk losing?

Guest Post Blurb:

Daniel Packer is a personal finance blogger at Sweating The Big Stuff, where he writes about spending money wisely while maintaining a high quality of life. Read more from Daniel:

This article is from Daniel Packer of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: