--- title: "Enable and configure tips in the Helcim Point-of-Sale app" slug: "enable-configure-tips" description: "Learn how to easily turn on and customize tip options (recommended or custom amounts) in your Helcim POS app for seamless customer tipping." updated: 2026-06-30T22:28:12Z published: 2026-06-30T22:28:12Z canonical: "learn.helcim.com/enable-configure-tips" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://learn.helcim.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Enable tipping in the Helcim POS app Accepting tips is a common practice for many businesses, from cafes and restaurants to salons and service providers. The Helcim Point-of-Sale (POS) app makes it easy to offer your customers a smooth tipping experience during checkout. This guide will walk you through how to turn on tipping, choose how tips are suggested, and how the feature works when taking a payment. --- **In this article** - [Accessing tip settings](/v1/docs/enable-configure-tips#accessing-tip-settings) - [Choosing your tip mode](/v1/docs/enable-configure-tips#choosing-your-tip-mode) - [Setting a maximum tip limit](/v1/docs/enable-configure-tips#setting-a-maximum-tip-limit) - [How tips work during checkout](/v1/docs/enable-configure-tips#how-tips-work-during-checkout) - [Next steps](/v1/docs/enable-configure-tips#next-steps) - [FAQs](/v1/docs/enable-configure-tips#faqs) --- ## Accessing tip settings --- First things first, let's find where the tip settings live in the app. The steps are slightly different depending on whether you're using a mobile device or the desktop app. 1. Open the Helcim POS app and log in using your password or PIN. 2. Select **More** from the bottom menu. 3. Follow the steps for your device: - **Mobile app:** Select **Settings**, then **App device settings**, and finally **Tips**. - **Desktop app:** Select **Settings** from the side drawer that appears, and then select **Tips**. ![Screenflow: enabling tips in the Helcim POS app](https://cdn.document360.io/4e721329-1a9d-4ef0-8d2f-497e0c1f185a/Images/Documentation/Enable-tips.png) ## Choosing your tip mode --- Once you're in the **Tips** section, you'll see three options for handling tips. You can only have one active at a time: - **No tips:** Select this if you don't want to ask customers for tips. The tipping screen will be skipped entirely during checkout. - **Recommended amounts:** This is a popular choice! It lets you suggest three specific tip amounts to your customers. - By default, these are set to 15%, 18%, and 20%. - To change a suggested amount, just tap on the number and enter your preferred value. - You can choose whether the amounts are percentages (**%**) or flat dollar amounts (**$**). - Good to know: Even with recommended amounts, customers will always see a fourth option to enter a custom tip amount if they prefer. - **Custom amounts:** This mode keeps it simple by only giving customers the option to enter whatever tip amount they choose. No suggestions are displayed. ![Tip modes in the Helcim POS app settings](https://cdn.document360.io/4e721329-1a9d-4ef0-8d2f-497e0c1f185a/Images/Documentation/tip-modes.png) ## Setting a maximum tip limit --- If you have tips enabled (using either **Recommended amounts** or **Custom amounts**), you also have the option to set a ceiling on how much a customer can tip. This can help prevent accidental large tips. 1. Toggle the switch **ON** next to **Set maximum tip limit**. 2. Enter the maximum amount you want to allow. 3. Choose whether this limit is a percentage (**%**) of the bill or a specific dollar amount (**$**). ## How tips work during checkout --- Okay, you've got your settings configured! Now, when you process a payment using a physical card (**Helcim Card Reader**, **Helcim Smart Terminal**, or **Tap to Pay on iPhone**), the tipping screen will automatically appear for your customer. | ![](https://cdn.document360.io/4e721329-1a9d-4ef0-8d2f-497e0c1f185a/Images/Documentation/sparkle.png) | Heads up! The tip prompt only shows up for card-present payment methods like the ones listed above. It won't appear for keyed-in or online payments initiated through the POS app. | | --- | --- | Here’s the usual flow: 1. Add items to the cart from the **Items** view or enter a custom amount using the **Numpad**. 2. On a mobile device, tap **Review**. On the desktop app, the cart summary is already visible. 3. Below the **Subtotal**, you'll see a **Tip** toggle. If you've enabled tips in the settings, this toggle will be **ON** by default. - Need to skip tips for just one specific transaction? Simply switch this toggle **OFF** before hitting **Charge**. 4. Select **Charge**. 5. Pass the device (or the card reader/terminal) to your customer. They will see the tipping screen first (based on your chosen mode), make their selection, and then complete the payment. ![Add tip screen when taking payment with the Helcim POS app](https://cdn.document360.io/4e721329-1a9d-4ef0-8d2f-497e0c1f185a/Images/Documentation/POS-recommended-tips.png) ## Next steps --- **Track your tips:** While there isn't a separate tip report, you can see the tips collected for specific date ranges within your **Transaction Details Report**. Learn how to read that report here: [Transaction Details Report](/v1/docs/transaction-details-page-reporting#what-features-does-it-have1). **Ensure staff are trained:** Make sure your team is comfortable with how the tipping process works during checkout. **Explore other POS features:** Now that you've mastered tips, check out other ways to customize your checkout experience: - Learn how to apply discounts in the POS app: [Apply discounts in the Helcim POS](/v1/docs/apply-discounts-helcim-pos). - Customize how your receipts look: [Design your receipts](/v1/docs/receipt-theme-designer). ## --- ### FAQs **Why isn't the tip screen showing up for my customer?** Double-check that you have either **Recommended amounts** or **Custom amounts** selected in your **App device settings** > **Tips**. Also, remember that tips only appear automatically for payments made using a Helcim Card Reader, Helcim Smart Terminal, or Tap to Pay on iPhone. **Can I turn tips off for just one sale?** Yes! On the final checkout screen before you hit **Charge**, just switch the **Tip** toggle to **OFF** for that specific transaction. **Can I change my tip settings later?** Absolutely. You can go back into More > Settings > App device settings > Tips anytime to adjust your tip mode or recommended amounts. **Do tips work if I manually key in a credit card?** No, the automatic tipping prompt is designed for card-present transactions where the customer interacts with the device or terminal.