Employee FAQ
Have questions? We have answers!
General Information
Q: Who is TipBrightly?
We are a minority female-founded company based in Mountain View, California. We are a financial services company with a social impact mission. Incorporated as TipGenie, we rebranded as TipBrightly in 2020. TipBrightly was inspired by our founder’s mother, who was a hotel housekeeper, whose earnings were spent on groceries, clothing, furnishings. Growing up, a $5.00 tip meant a trip to McDonald’s and three Happy Meals, one for each of her children.
Q: What is our mission?
Our mission is to help those who rely on cash-based income to recover the lost opportunity for tips in an increasingly cashless society and contactless world. We believe that technology has the power to make life easier and better for everyone and can be used to fix broken systems -- like tipping. By optimizing existing mobile payments technology we can transform tipping, making the experience more than a one-way payment transaction. By creating a payments ecosystem powered by appreciation — we generate value -- for employees, work, and service — creating a win-win-win for everyone. Phew.
Q: How does TipBrightly “recover the lost opportunity” for tips?
We make tipping fast and easy. With TipBrightly, anyone with a mobile phone can send a tip by scanning a QR code. No mobile app is required. The tips received through TipBrightly are most likely tips that would otherwise not have been received. TipBrightly “recovers the lost opportunity” by giving the tipper a way to tip when they don’t have cash.
Q: What makes TipBrightly different?
TipBrightly is not another payment app like Venmo or CashApp. It is a versatile solution for collecting, tracking, managing, and paying out tips in a way that can be customized. TipBrightly is a B2B solution with a patent-pending platform that has been purpose-built for the service industry. Unlike a payment app, our goal is to generate value beyond the tip by providing multiple benefits.
Q: How does a customer tip an employee with TipBrightly?
Anyone can simply point their mobile phone camera at the QR code to send a tip in three steps. 1) Scan and tap the prompt that appears on the screen; 2) confirm recipient and enter tip; 3) leave a service rating and feedback. That’s it!
Q. How is my QR code displayed at work?
TipBrightly will work with your employer to determine the best method and location to display your QR code. There are multiple options to consider and can be customized to fit the company’s plan.
Q: Does the customer need to download an app?
No mobile app is required. Tips are anonymous and can be sent from anywhere at any time. Each QR code also has a unique URL that can direct the user to the tipping page.
Q: Does the employee need a phone or an app to receive tips?
No. The employee receiving a tip does not need an app or a mobile device, just a Stripe account to be paid their tips. The business implementing the cashless tipping program needs a way of making the QR codes visible and visual. TipBrightly’s system is flexible. QR codes can be displayed that match the service provider’s branding.
Q: Where can TipBrightly be used to send a tip?
A business will need to implement the system to create QR codes that customers can scan. If you’d like to see TipBrightly used in a business, please direct your manager to our website: tipbrightly.io
Account Set-up
Q: What do I get with a TipBrightly account?
TipBrightly account holders can track tips, receive real-time notification via text, feedback via email, and view activity on a dashboard.
Q: How do I set up an account?
You will receive a link from your administrator/employer to activate your account. You can also find instructions at tipbrightly.io/activate
Q: How do I activate my account?
Before you can collect tips, you must “link to Stripe” and provide your payout information to Stripe which instructs Stripe where to deposit tips (see the section below).
Q: How do I link to Stripe?
Linking to Stripe means providing Stripe with your bank account details so that you can be paid. Once you link to Stripe, your QR code will be activated. Anyone who scans your QR code can leave a tip.
Please follow these steps to start collecting tips:
1. If you are linking for the first time, you need to reset your password.
2. With your newly password, log into your account using your email address.
3. Click "Link an account”
4. Click "Connect to Stripe"
5. Choose “Individual / Sole Proprietor”
6. Enter your bank details (routing number and account number) to Stripe. You may also use a debit card.
Q: How do I change my login email?
You can change your login email by following these steps:
Log into your account
Click “Settings”
Click “edit” in Administrator details
Change your email
Click “Save Changes”
Payouts
Q. When will my tips get paid out?
Stripe pays out in 1-2 business days. If you receive multiple tips in one day, Stripe may bundle your tips into a single payment.
Q: How do I change my bank information for my TipBrightly account?
If anyone attempts to edit the bank account information, an alert and verification code will be sent to the administrator of the linked Stripe account.
Q. Where will I find the information to claim my tips when filing taxes at the end of the year?
You can download your tip transactions through your dashboard. Under Canada and US law, you are obligated to report tips. TipBrightly does not enforce whether tips are filed. \
Dashboard
Q: How do I view my transactions, edit my profile, check my payouts, view feedback?
You can do all of this through your dashboard. Go here! tipbrightly.io/dashboard-faq
Notifications & Transaction Fees
Q: How do I know when I’ve been tipped?
When a tip is sent, you’ll also receive a notification via text or email. The information used for alerts is inputted during account set-up. Tips will also show up in your dashboard.
Q. How do I know when I’ve received guest feedback?
When a guest leaves feedback, you’ll receive a notification via text or email. The information used for alerts is inputted during account set-up. This will also show in your dashboard.
Depending on your employer’s agreement with employees, feedback may or may not be shared with management.
Q: Why are customers charged a “convenience” fee?
There are costs associated with converting cash to digital form and transferring those funds to your bank account. At TipBrightly, we are committed to transparency. We ask guests to accept ALL fees and display that as part of the tipping process. The guest has the option to accept or deduct fees from the tip. Here’s the breakdown of our fees:
Stripe charges 2.9% + $.30. This is a fixed cost for every tip.
TipBrightly currently charges between 3%.
Q: How are tips processed?
When we accept payments, we do so in a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliant manner. The simplest way to be PCI compliant is to never see (or have access to) credit card numbers at all. The information entered by the user is encrypted and not seen or stored by TipBrightly. Stripe uses encryption and handles, on TipBrightly’s behalf, all issues dealing with compliance, disputed and fraudulent charges.
Security & Privacy
Security is one of the biggest considerations in payments and we take your privacy and data security very seriously. We provide below detailed technical information to ensure that guest payment information and tip payments are secure & protected.
Q: What is Stripe?
Stripe is a US company that enables businesses around the world to accept payments over the Internet and transfer funds to customers. They operate in 25 countries and service 100,000+ businesses. TipBrightly has selected Stripe for its high level of security. Stripe is certified as PCI Service Provider Level 1, which is the most stringent level of certification in the payments industry. Learn more about Stripe’s security and privacy policy, and their verification process.
Q: How does Stripe maintain compliance?
Stripe has been audited by a PCI-certified auditor and is certified to PCI Service Provider Level 1. Stripe uses HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) to ensure browsers interact with Stripe only over HTTPS. Stripe also provides a single interface for Apple Pay, Google Pay, and the Payment Request API.
Q: How is information stored and encrypted?
With Stripe, all credit card numbers are encrypted and decryption keys are stored on separate machines. None of Stripe’s internal servers and daemons can obtain plaintext card numbers; instead, they can just request that cards be sent to a service provider on a static whitelist.
Stripe’s infrastructure for storing, decrypting, and transmitting card numbers runs in a separate hosting infrastructure and doesn’t share any credentials with Stripe’s primary services (API, website, etc.). Stripe has two PGP keys to encrypt TipBrightly communications with Stripe or verify signed messages TipBrightly receives from Stripe.
Q: What companies use Stripe?
Companies like Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, and Shopify use Stripe to process payments. Go to Stripe.com to learn more.
QR Codes
Q: What is a QR Code?
A QR code, which stands for “quick response” consists of black squares arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device such as a mobile phone camera or scanner. The information embedded in the QR code cannot be easily read with the naked eye. QR codes are nearly impossible to manipulate once published or generated!
Q: Why use a QR Code?
A QR Code provides a fast and easy way to view and send information. With TipBrightly, QR codes make tipping fast, easy, and secure. TipBrightly has built into our platform the ability to generate QR codes, which are assigned to an individual person, employee, team, group, department or location. Think of each QR code as a virtual tip jar.
With COVID-19, QR codes have become an increasingly common way to get information or initiate a transaction.
Q: How does TipBrightly use QR codes?
A TipBrightly QR code is a unique digital image with a URL. Anyone who scans this code can send you a payment.]
● Share QR code and URL via text or email
● Send as an attachment in a guest survey request email
● Post on a website and social media channels
● Print QR code on business cards, flyers, posters
● Embed URL as a link on printed materials
● Display on monitor, live stream, YouTube
Q: What happens when a guest scans the QR code?
The QR code simply directs the user to a portal through which payment can be made. Once scanned, the user is taken to a screen that allows them to enter a tip. Scanning a TipBrightly-generated QR code automatically sends the user to the employee’s unique account. No typing or trying to write down a URL address, name, phone, or email. TipBrightly’s payments platform directs, manages, and protects all that information, by using Stripe.
Where do I go if I have more questions about TipBrightly?
Ask your employer or contact us at info@tipbrightly.io