Edinburgh's August evenings run on show times. A table with tickets does not wait for a bill — they leave, and if the payment has not happened the table clears late and the queue outside moves on.
Pay at table removes that entirely. Guests settle when they are ready, at their own pace, without needing to catch anyone's attention.
Festival and tourist groups are frequently people who do not live together and did not arrive together, which means splitting is the norm rather than the exception — and splitting for eight at the table with one card machine is the slowest interaction of the service.
Guests split by item or evenly on their own phones, which removes the queue and the arithmetic at once.
A large share of Edinburgh's August covers are international visitors unfamiliar with UK service-charge conventions. Showing it clearly at payment prevents the confusion that otherwise lands on a server at the busiest moment of the night.
Move the sliders to your own numbers. The point is not our figures — it is how little the uplift has to be before the subscription pays for itself.
5% is the conservative default. WowMenu pilot restaurants have reported considerably more, but your own number is the one that matters.
An estimate based on the figures you entered, not a forecast or a guarantee. Actual results depend on your menu, your guests and how the platform is set up.
Yes, by item or evenly, from their own phones.
Yes, at the point of payment, and you control how it is applied.
Yes — pay at table is optional per service.