Going Dutch Made Easy with Split

We have all experienced the tedious scenario: you’re out to eat with friends and you’re ready to check out. You need to find your server in a busy restaurant, and then you’re left trying to divvy up the tab. It is never the smoothest of operations; especially when the server informs you that they “cannot split the bill.”

This is the scenario that co-founders Matthew Suber and Daniel Dorfman found themselves in one night, and thought there must be a better way. They contacted friends Randy Etheridge and Jimmy Patel to build a mobile application with the goal of improving the dining experience for both diners and restaurants. And so Split was born.

What it is

Split is a mobile application for both iPhone and Android that integrates with existing restaurant POS systems to allow customers more control over their dining experience. In short, using the app diners can:

• Pre-order takeout and view restaurant menus in their area
• Pay the tab in full at the diner’s own convenience
• Tag friends so they can see the tab
• Split the check by person or item

There is no need to wait on a server to deliver the bill. Diners can decide when and how they want to pay, and it’s done all from their smart phone.

How it Works

After downloading the free app, users log in with Facebook to get started and create an account with Split. Split uses your contacts and location to personalize your settings so that you can view location lists of restaurants in your area, view their menus and place takeout orders. Split uses your contacts so that you can “tag” friends on a bill. When friends are tagged, they can view and pay their portion of the bill.

After clicking on “Pay your Portion of the Bill,” you’ll be prompted on how you would like to pay: split evenly, pay a specific dollar amount, or pay by item.

Then, all you do is pay and you’re done. A payment completion screen will appear to confirm payment has been accepted and you are ready to go.

So how does this business make money? Split charges a small monthly fee to restaurants and also takes additional transaction fees for mobile marketing and take out orders.

Who Benefits

Split’s co-founders are taking a community-based approach to what they are calling the “Fight the Waiting” movement by “enlisting the help of our community to end excessive waiting when dining out,” explains Suber.

But it’s not just diners who benefit from using Split. The app allows restaurants to turn tables faster, much faster; Split’s beta user data indicates up to 10 times the normal table turnover rate. Servers are also increasing profits with an average gratuity rate of 23 percent, well above the industry average.

How it’s Changing the Dining Experience

In addition to reducing wait times, Split personalizes the dining experience; making it more interactive and giving restaurants an opportunity to connect with diners in a new and innovative way. “The restaurant industry is going through a major transformation driven by tectonic shifts in mobile technology and Split is positioned well to capitalize on these shifts,” says Patel.

Split is currently located in Opportunity Hub and is The Ampersand’s Group first restaurant app. Launching June of 2015, Split hopes to change the entire dining experience for the better.

Image credit: Iwona Kellie from Flickr under CC 2.0