The 2AM Parking Lot Problem
You know the moment. It's 2am, you're exhausted after a double, sitting in your car counting out cash under the dome light. You're trying to remember if that table tipped on the $200 bill or stiffed you. You're doing math on a napkin, trying to figure out if tonight was actually good or if it just felt good.
I've been there thousands of times. Started as a busboy in 2010, worked my way up to server, bartender, and eventually floor manager. Worked at diners, fine dining, sports bars, and everything in between. And in all those years, every tip tracking app I tried felt like it was built by someone who had never actually worked a dinner rush.
They wanted me to enter my base wage, tip percentage, credit card tips, cash tips, tipout percentages, and seventeen other fields when all I wanted to do was type a number and go home.
"I just wanted to type my tips and go to sleep. Why was that so hard?"
The 3-Second Rule
When I started building ShiftEarn, I had one rule: if it takes more than 3 seconds to log a shift, it's too slow. Because at 2am, every extra tap feels like running another table.
Open the app. Hit the plus button. Type your amount. Done.
That's it. That's what I needed. And once I had that working, I started adding the features I actually wanted - not what some product manager thought servers wanted.
Features I Actually Needed
Shift Grades
Was that shift actually good, or did it just feel that way? Now I know instantly. "B+ for a Tuesday" tells me everything.
Real Hourly Rate
$100 in tips sounds great until you realize you were there for 10 hours. ShiftEarn shows your real hourly - tips plus base wage, divided by actual hours. The truth hurts sometimes, but it helps you make better choices.
Privacy First
I know servers who got audited because their bank deposits didn't match their reported income. That's why ShiftEarn stores everything on YOUR phone. We don't have access to your data. We don't report to anyone. Ever.
Multiple Jobs
Working three gigs to make rent? Same. Track each job separately, but see your total earnings across everything. Finally understand the full picture.
Why Privacy Matters
Let me be real with you: the restaurant industry runs on cash. Everyone knows it. I'm not here to judge how you report your income - that's between you and your accountant.
What I am here to do is give you a tool that respects your privacy. ShiftEarn stores your data on your device by default. If you want cloud backup (so you don't lose everything if your phone dies), that's optional - and it's encrypted so even we can't read it. You can turn it off anytime and go back to local-only storage.
We don't sell your data. We don't share it with employers. We don't report to anyone. Your earnings are your business.
The Mission
Every server, bartender, valet, bellhop, and gig worker deserves to know what they're really earning. Not what they think they're earning. Not what their boss says they're earning. What they're actually earning.
Because when you know your worth, you make better decisions. You know which shifts to fight for. You know when it's time to find a new gig. You know if that "great opportunity" is actually paying you less than your current spot.
ShiftEarn is the tool I wish I had 25 years ago. And now it's yours.
See you in the weeds,
The ShiftEarn Team
15+ Years in the Industry & Still Going