BananaTabSplit the restaurant bill by text.
To split a restaurant bill by text, pay the check with one card and text BananaTab a photo of the receipt or who had what. It puts the items on the right people, spreads tax and tip in proportion to what each person ordered, and sends everyone an itemised receipt and a Venmo request once you say yes.
Watch it happen
Odd cents land on you, never on your friends.
Three steps
Pay the check
One card, so the table can leave.
Text the receipt
A photo, or one sentence of who had what.
Say yes
Receipts and requests go out, never before.
That dinner, worked out
Each share is its pre-tax total × 1.29: Ana $37.41, Ben $86.43, Cam $45.15, Dee $29.67. They add back to $198.66. An even split would have charged Dee $49.67.
Related: how splitting works · vs Venmo requests · Splitwise alternatives
Questions people ask
How does BananaTab split tax and tip on a restaurant bill?
In proportion to what each person ordered. If your food is 15% of the pre-tax bill, you pay 15% of the tax and 15% of the tip. The person who had a salad doesn't subsidise the person who had two cocktails. An added gratuity or a service fee is spread the same way.
Do I need a photo of the receipt?
No. A photo is the fastest way to get every line, but describing the meal works too: the total, who was there, and anything that wasn't even. If you only have a total, it splits evenly.
How are shared plates handled?
They're divided among the people who actually shared them. The calamari for the table splits four ways; the bottle two of you drank splits two ways. Say who was in on what and the rest follows.
What about the person who left early?
They had the pasta and a beer and got in a car. Tell BananaTab that, and they receive a receipt for the pasta and a beer, with their share of tax and tip on it. Nobody has to chase them at the table.
Do my friends need an app to pay their share?
No. Each person gets a text with a receipt link and a Venmo request for their amount. They need Venmo to pay, and nothing else — no download and no account.
What if someone disputes their share?
Their receipt lists the items they're paying for, so the conversation is about a line, not a number. Tell BananaTab what to change and it recalculates and re-sends.
What happens to the odd cent?
It lands on you, the person who paid. Friends never get rounded up, and nobody is asked for a cent more than their share. Every split is also checked twice by two separate systems before a request is sent, and anything over $500 gets an "is that right?" first.
Does everyone see what everyone else ordered?
No. Each person sees their own amount and their own receipt. There is no group message showing the table's whole order, which matters when one person had the tasting menu and one had a salad.
Why is this better than a receipt splitting app?
Receipt splitters ask you to install something, photograph the check, tap items onto people in a grid, and then go somewhere else to actually ask for the money. Splitting by text removes both ends: nothing to install, and the requests are part of the same conversation. The tapping step turns into a sentence you'd have said out loud anyway.
Does it work for a work lunch or a long bar tab?
Yes. A work lunch where everyone owes you the same $18.40 is one text and four requests. A bar tab is harder to reconstruct, so split it evenly, or say who was there for which round and split it that way. For a whole weekend of costs, keep one tab open for the trip instead.
Who still owes me, and will it chase them?
Ask "who still owes me?" and you get the list. Reminders go out only when you approve them, one at a time, and they stop after three per person.
What does it cost to split a restaurant bill?
Splitting is free. Standard message and data rates from your carrier may apply. Reply STOP at any time to stop receiving texts.
More answers in the FAQ.
Next dinner, just text it.
Pay the check. Send the receipt. Say yes.