Grateful
Grateful provides cashless tipping and automated tronc management SaaS for UK hospitality operators, acting as an independent troncmaster to ensure Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 compliance. Its platform integrates with 25+ EPOS, payroll, and workforce systems to serve hotels, restaurants, and competitive socialising venues.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Grateful does
Grateful (legally Grtfl Ltd., registered in England, Registration No. 13870259) is a UK-based SaaS company founded in 2022 that provides cashless tipping and automated tronc management software to the hospitality industry. Its platform targets hotels, restaurants, pubs, nightclubs, cafes, competitive socialising venues, and salons, serving enterprise multi-site operators (Jumeirah, Hyatt, Radisson Hotel Group, Hand Picked Hotels, Cherry Equity Partners) as well as mid-market and SMB hospitality businesses. The company is built around compliance with the UK Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, acting as an independent troncmaster to protect the National Insurance exemption status of tip distributions and delivering reported employer NIC savings of 13.8%.
The core product suite comprises Tronc & Compliance (automated tip pooling with HMRC-ready reporting, independent troncmaster governance, payroll integrations, and multi-site management) and Direct Tipping (cashless QR-code-based tips with instant employee payouts). These are complemented by STASH, an embedded automated savings tool that splits tips between spending and FSCS-protected savings accounts held by Griffin Bank via the Sync platform; Insights, an analytics dashboard for tronc patterns and anomalies; and Smart Rewards, an upcoming AI-driven performance recognition module. The platform integrates with 25+ EPOS, payroll, workforce management, and property management systems including Fourth Hospitality, Epos Now, Deputy, Planday, Toast, Xero, Sage, Oracle Simphony, and Zonal. The technology is GDPR-compliant (ICO registration ZB678463) and uses Cloudflare, HubSpot, and Google Analytics infrastructure.
Grateful generates revenue through two primary streams: a flat monthly fee per location or per recipient for managed tronc services (no percentage of service charge, with 100% of tronc monies distributed to employees), and a small incremental per-transaction fee on Direct Tipping that is charged to the customer rather than the business. STASH is bundled at no additional cost, with revenue mechanics through the Sync/Griffin partnership not publicly disclosed. Distribution is primarily direct B2B enterprise sales with a consultative, demo-driven motion, supplemented by a self-serve PLG funnel for SMB Direct Tipping and channel referrals through integration partners. The company raised £1.5 million in seed funding from Calculus Capital in October 2025 and reports platform metrics of 67,000+ users, £120m+ tips processed annually, and 5.7m+ total transactions.
Grateful firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Grateful
- Legal name
- Grtfl Ltd.
- Website
- https://grateful.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Grateful provides cashless tipping and automated tronc management SaaS for UK hospitality operators, acting as an independent troncmaster to ensure Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 compliance. Its platform integrates with 25+ EPOS, payroll, and workforce systems to serve hotels, restaurants, and competitive socialising venues.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Grateful industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Hospitality Tipping & Tronc Management Software
- NAICS
- Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Monetization Tools (Subscriptions, Tips, Merch) (BPAMALAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments (MPACAFAB)
Keywords
Where Grateful is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Grateful business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Tronc Management (Per Location / Per Recipient): Flat fee per location or per recipient for fully managed tronc services including platform, compliance management, independent troncmaster oversight, employee app, and communications. No percentage of service charge taken. 100% of tronc monies are distributed to employees.
- Direct Tipping (Transaction Fee): Small incremental fee per transaction charged to the customer (not the business). No setup costs, no contracts. Processing cost is by default put onto the customer. No cost incurred by the hospitality business.
- STASH (Bundled Value-Add): Savings tool bundled into both Direct Tipping and Tronc at no extra cost to employers or employees. Revenue model for Grateful not disclosed; STASH is powered by Sync.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Direct Tipping - Transaction-based |
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Tronc - Flat Fee per Location or Per Recipient |
| Freemium | Monthly | STASH - Bundled with All Products |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Branding / White-label |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Grateful product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Grateful provides cloud-based cashless tipping and tronc management software to UK hospitality operators. Its platform automates the full tip lifecycle from collection (QR/NFC, EPOS) through compliant distribution (independent troncmaster governance under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023), payroll integration, employee app transparency, and bundled savings via STASH (FSCS-protected accounts with Griffin bank). Pricing is per-location/per-recipient subscriptions for tronc plus transaction fees on direct tipping.
Product overview
Grateful is a unified cashless tipping and tronc management platform for the hospitality industry, comprising a modular suite of products. The core offerings are Tronc & Compliance (automated tip pooling with HMRC compliance and NIC savings protection) and Direct Tipping (cashless digital tipping via QR codes). These core products are supplemented by add-on modules: STASH (automatic savings split from tips into FSCS-protected accounts), Insights (real-time analytics dashboard for tronc data), and the forthcoming Smart Rewards (automated performance recognition and incentives). The platform integrates with leading EPOS, workforce management, property management, and payroll systems to automate the full tip lifecycle from collection through distribution to payroll. The platform serves as an independent troncmaster, providing transparency to employees and compliance assurance to operators under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Tronc & Compliance: Automated tip pooling and tronc management platform with independent troncmaster oversight, HMRC audit-ready reporting, Tipping Act compliance, payroll integration, multi-site support, and NIC savings protection.
- Direct Tipping
- STASH
- Insights
- Smart Rewards
Products and services
- Tronc & Compliance Cloud-based tronc management platform for UK hospitality operators that automates tip distribution, applies configurable allocation rules across shifts and sites, provides independent troncmaster governance to preserve HMRC-compliant NIC exemption status, integrates with payroll and EPOS systems, and delivers audit-ready reporting under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023.
- Direct Tipping Cashless digital tipping module that lets customers tip individual staff members directly via QR or NFC codes, with instant payouts to employee accounts and a small transaction fee charged to the customer rather than the business. Designed for small hospitality operators and individual service providers including taxi drivers, yoga instructors, and salon staff; same-day self-serve onboarding available.
- STASH Embedded savings add-on that automatically splits each tip and tronc payment between spending and a high-interest, FSCS-protected savings account (up to £120,000 protection) held by Griffin bank via Sync. Employees set their preferred savings percentage once and the platform handles the rest, with no additional cost to employers or employees.
- Insights Analytics dashboard providing real-time visibility into tronc distributions, team earnings, and compliance data by site, team, and time period. Surfaces patterns, risks, and anomalies to help operators make data-driven decisions about tip allocation and multi-site operations.
Quantifiable outcome
- Employer NIC savings of 13.8% on distributed tips; employee NIC savings of 8% on tips received through tronc
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Grateful
Customer profileNamed customers26 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Grateful technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration29 records
Feature10 records
Grateful partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Fourth HospitalitycoreEnd-to-end workforce and inventory management platform built specifically for hospitality operators. Fourth integration allows tronc data to flow directly into Fourth's workforce management and payroll systems, enabling automated tronc calculations and seamless payroll processing.
- Epos NowcoreCloud-based EPOS system helping hospitality businesses manage sales, stock, and staff. Integration with Grateful allows tips to be split off at the point of sale or end of the night, with tip income flowing to the Grateful platform for distribution.
- DeputycoreWorkforce scheduling and time-tracking platform for hospitality teams. Integration provides shift and rota data to Grateful's tronc calculation engine, enabling accurate tip allocation based on hours worked.
- PlandaycoreEmployee scheduling platform that makes rota management smarter for shift-based hospitality teams. Provides workforce data to Grateful for tip allocation calculations.
- ToastcoreUS-born restaurant platform combining POS, payroll, and operations tools. Toast integration allows Grateful to pull sales and service data for accurate tip calculations.
- XerocoreAccounting software integration enables tronc data to flow directly into Xero payroll, streamlining financial reporting and reconciliation for hospitality operators.
- SagecoreSage payroll integration enables automated tronc distribution data to feed directly into Sage payroll systems, reducing manual data entry and errors.
- Oracle SimphonycoreEnterprise-grade EPOS solution for complex, high-volume restaurant and hospitality operations. Integration enables enterprise operators to split tips at the POS level and route to Grateful platform.
- Sync (STASH Savings Platform)coreSync powers the STASH automated savings feature. Employees open savings accounts through Grateful app; funds are held by Griffin (UK-authorised bank) and protected by FSCS up to £120,000. STASH splits tips between spending and savings automatically.
- Griffin BankcoreUK-authorised bank holding STASH savings funds. FSCS-protected up to £120,000 per person. Griffin partnership enables Grateful to offer the STASH high-interest savings product bundled into the tipping platform.
- Katie Linstead (Grateful Team Member as Client Partnership Extension)coreKatie Linstead, Head of Services and Compliance at Grateful, is described by Jumeirah HR Director as acting as 'an extension of their team.' She handles consultation, stakeholder communication, and ongoing tronc committee engagement directly, representing a high-touch partnership model at enterprise accounts.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights8 records
Grateful competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Toast: US-born restaurant POS and operations platform actively expanding into payroll and team management. Already a named Grateful integration partner; Toast's scale and US footprint position it to bundle tronc/tipping features into its platform, eroding Grateful's standalone value at multi-region operators like F1 Arcade.
- Deputy: Workforce scheduling and time-tracking platform widely used in UK hospitality. Provides shift/rota data to Grateful for tronc calculations but could absorb tipping distribution into its own scheduling workflow, particularly for mid-market operators.
- Fourth Hospitality: End-to-end workforce management, inventory, and payroll platform purpose-built for UK hospitality. Both a core integration partner and a strategic threat — Fourth could natively embed tronc and tipping distribution into its WFM stack, disintermediating Grateful at shared enterprise accounts.
- Zonal: UK end-to-end hospitality technology provider covering EPOS, reservations, loyalty, and management reporting. Existing Grateful integration partner whose EPOS feeds tip data; capable of bundling native tipping and tronc features for its UK hospitality customer base.
- Lightspeed Restaurant: Cloud POS and commerce platform serving restaurants and hospitality globally. Comparable in that it processes hospitality transactions and could extend into tipping distribution and payroll, threatening Grateful at multi-site restaurant group accounts.
- Planday: Employee scheduling and rota management platform owned by Xero with strong UK hospitality penetration. Integration partner of Grateful that supplies hours-worked data, but Xero's payroll reach could enable Planday to extend into compliant tronc distribution natively.
- Harri: Hospitality-first HR, hiring, scheduling, and workforce platform. Integration partner feeding HR data into Grateful's tip allocations; competitive risk if Harri extends into payroll and tipping distribution for its enterprise restaurant group base.
Emerging players
- 7shifts: Restaurant team management platform with scheduling, tip pooling, and payroll features primarily in North America. Comparable functionality to Grateful's Tronc module with partial overlap on tip distribution and restaurant operator base; useful international expansion benchmark.
- Wagestream: UK-based employee financial-wellness platform offering earned wage access, savings, and financial education to frontline workers. Adjacent competitor — overlaps with Grateful's STASH savings value proposition and targets the same frontline hospitality segment, but from a wage-access rather than tipping angle.
Direct peers
- TiPJAR: UK-based cashless tipping platform enabling customers to tip hospitality workers via QR codes with direct payouts. Most direct competitor to Grateful's Direct Tipping product, with overlapping target customer (UK hospitality operators) and similar transactional revenue model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Grateful social profiles
Digital presenceGrateful compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Grateful financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Grateful leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Grateful funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Grateful M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Grateful
What does Grateful do?
Grateful provides cloud-based cashless tipping and tronc management software to UK hospitality operators. Its platform automates the full tip lifecycle from collection (QR/NFC, EPOS) through compliant distribution (independent troncmaster governance under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023), payroll integration, employee app transparency, and bundled savings via STASH (FSCS-protected accounts with Griffin bank). Pricing is per-location/per-recipient subscriptions for tronc plus transaction fees on direct tipping.
Is Grateful a public or private company?
Grateful is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Grateful founded?
Grateful was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Grateful based?
Grateful is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Grateful make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Tronc Management (Per Location / Per Recipient) is the primary driver. The others are direct Tipping (Transaction Fee) and STASH (Bundled Value-Add).
Who are Grateful's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Toast, Deputy, Fourth Hospitality, Zonal, Lightspeed Restaurant, Planday and Harri. Emerging players are 7shifts and Wagestream. TiPJAR is listed as a direct peer.
Does Grateful have an API?
No public API is recorded for Grateful.
What industry is Grateful in?
Grateful's product category is Hospitality Tipping & Tronc Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMALAH, Creator Monetization Tools (Subscriptions, Tips, Merch), with a secondary code of MPACAFAB, Creator Tipping, Donations & Micro-Payments. Its NAICS code is 52232 and its SIC code is 7372.