Term	Definition
Tab	This refers to the bill that is created when a customer first places their order. This term is commonly used in bars. Customers may order cocktails one at a time but pay their bill only once when they are ready to leave.
Table	A seating location for one or more guests in a restaurant dining together. Usually identified by table numbers.
Tall	This refers to an alcoholic drink served in a tall glass with more mixer than normal.
Tax	Service charge(s), required by state and federal agencies, which are added to a guest's check. This is paid to the requesting agency, not kept as profit by the establishment.
Tax Class	See - Classes.
TCP/IP	See - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
Team Service	This refers to a type of service when more than one server is assigned to a single guest check.
Tender	The action of finalizing the transaction by accepting payment of the balance due.
Terminal	A terminal is a computer that has software running on it.
Thermal Printer	A roll printer that uses a laser to print on heat sensitive paper.
Till	The till is where cash accepted from a customer is placed. In a restaurant using ‘server-banking’, the till could be the server’s apron pocket. In ‘cashiering’, it could be the insert the goes inside of the cash-drawer.
Time and Attendance	Tracks employee hours worked and wages earned, and controls the regular and overtime rates at which employees are paid.
Time Periods	Used to track sales activity for a revenue center or an entire system during specific time spans.
Timecard	A record of employee’s ‘Clock-In’ and ‘Clock-Out’ times. It can be an actual card that is inserted into a time-clock at the beginning and end of a shift to be stamped with the time, or it can be a part of a database in the computer that records all the ‘Clock-In’ and ‘Clock-Out’ times.
Tip / Gratuity	This is an additional amount, traditionally left by a customer, to reward good service.
Tip Declaration	By law, employees who receive tips are required to “declare” what they have earned for taxing purposes. Tip Declaration is a function of the POS System that prompts the user to input an amount earned when clocking-out.
Tip Out	This refers to a system of requiring each server to give a portion of their tips (usually equal to 3% of their total sales for a shift) to the house to be divided among other workers (such as bussers and hosts) who contributed to that server’s shift.
Tip Share	See - Tip Out.
Total Quality Management (TQM)	A structured system for satisfying internal and external customers and suppliers by integrating the business environment, continuous improvement, and breakthroughs with development, improvement, and maintenance cycles while changing organizational culture.
Touchscreen	A computer monitor equipped with a special screen that allows the user to select buttons and icons simply by pushing directly on the screen, as opposed to having to utilize a mouse.
TQM	See - Total Quality Management.
Tracking Group	A set of up to 64 tracking totals that are used to track specific items or groups of items of interest not included in the standard reports. Example: A restaurant has been running an ad on the radio for their sundaes. In order to determine how affective the ad has been, they would then want to track how many, out of all the desserts sold, are sundaes.
Trailer	A trailer is a message that will print at the bottom of every guest check. Example: At the bottom of every check being paid by credit card, you may want the trailer "Signature " to print.
Training Mode	Allows an employee to begin, modify, and tender checks without actually posting any sales to system totals, or ordering any menu items to be made. The system can be programmed to track training totals separately, in order to track employee practice sessions.
Transaction	A set of action performed as part of one sequence. In the instance of a guest check, each action performed to alter the check from the point at which the check is begun, to the point at which it is service totaled or tendered.
Transaction Log	The transaction log keeps a record of all transaction that occurred in the POS System for that business day.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCPIP)	Ethernet protocols encompassing both network layer and transport layer protocols. While TCP and IP specify two protocols at specific layers, TCP/IP is often used to refer to the entire protocol suite. Also See – Protocol.
Traveler’s Check	A piece of paper, equivalent to a particular amount of money, signed by the holder. Works just like cash but unlike cash, it is refundable, if lost or stolen, by the agency from which it was purchased.
Turn Over (Around) Time	The amount of time from when a guest is seated at a table until they have eaten and departed, and that table has been re-seated. A short turn around time means the restaurant is making more money.
Turning Tables	After the guests have departed a table, the process of clearing, cleaning, setting, and then re-seating the table with new guests.