Optional tipping lets clients add a gratuity when paying an invoice — and HoneyBook makes it easy to follow up if a tip isn't left during checkout. In this article, learn how to set a default tipping preference for all new invoices, enable tips on individual invoices, control when tip options appear, track gratuity payments, and set up automatic tip reminder emails. All reminders are sent by HoneyBook, so you can encourage gratuity without awkward follow-ups.
Turn on tipping for an invoice
When creating or editing an invoice, select either the invoice or payment page
Select Tip settings:
Desktop: Use the right-hand sidebar
Mobile app: Use the bottom pop-up
Turn on Add option to tip. Once enabled, clients will see a tip option when they submit a payment on this invoice.
📣 Note
Gratuity isn’t available on recurring invoices. To accept tips, send a separate one-time invoice.
Choose when the tip option appears
The gratuity option appears only when a client is submitting a payment, not when they first view the file. In Tip settings, choose when the option displays:
On each payment (desktop) / On every payment (mobile app): Clients can tip every time they submit a payment
On final payment: The tip option appears only on the last scheduled payment
On desktop, you can also choose how tip suggestions are calculated:
Entire invoice, or
Current payment
Preset percentages (for example, 18%, 20%, 25%) are suggestions only—clients may select one or select Custom amount.
Example: How tip suggestions are calculated
Invoice total: $1,500 split into three $500 payments
Tip settings | When tip appears | Suggested tip |
On each payment + Current payment | Every payment | $90 each time |
On final payment + Entire invoice | Final payment only | $270 |
View and track tips you’ve received
You can see tip payments in multiple places:
Project workspace: Tips appear in recent activity. Select View payment details for more information.
“Payments” page: From the navigation menu, select Finance > Payments to see tips listed alongside other payments
This makes it easy to track gratuity across projects and reconcile your income.
Set up an automatic tip reminder email
If your client has already completed all payments and didn’t leave a tip during checkout, HoneyBook can help you follow up automatically. You can set up automatic tip reminder emails in invoice settings, or rely on HoneyBook’s default prompts after a project is complete. Reminder emails are sent by HoneyBook—not by you—so you can follow up without the awkward nudge.
📣 Note
Tip reminder emails are available only for projects with one client and one invoice.
When creating or editing a smart file, select either the invoice or payment page
Select Tip settings, then turn on Send email reminder if tip isn’t received
If no tip was received, choose when the reminder email should be triggered:
Project date
Invoice fully paid date
Project date and invoice fully paid
Choose how long after the selected trigger the email should send
This can send the same day, or up to 2 weeks later
Preview the reminder email
The email can be previewed through the banner in the project workspace
The email content can be edited via the Edit & send tip reminder button
Once enabled, HoneyBook will automatically send the reminder email if no tip is received.
Turn off tip reminder notifications
If you prefer not to send tip reminders to clients or receive notifications about them, you can disable this in your company settings. From the web:
From your navigation menu, select your company logo > Company settings
Select Preferences
Under “Tip reminder notification,” turn off Get a notification to send a tip reminder once invoices are fully paid and no tip was received.
📣 Note
Tip reminder notifications can’t be disabled in the mobile app at this time.
Set a default tipping preference for all invoices
You can set a company-level default that controls whether post-project tipping is turned on or off for all newly created invoices — so you don't have to configure it manually every time.
📣 Note
The default is set to on for all accounts.
From the navigation menu, select your company logo > Company settings
Select Preferences
Under “Tip reminder notification,” turn on or off New smart files will have the tip reminder turned on by default.
Every new invoice — whether created from scratch, from a recently sent file, from a template, by duplication, or any other entry point — automatically inherits this setting at the time of creation. You can still override the tipping setting on any individual invoice at any time.
📚 Tip
In the template builder, Add option to tip during payment is visible but grayed out. Hover over it to see the tooltip: "Once you create a file from this template, you'll be able to configure the tipping setting." Configure tipping at the individual invoice level once you've created a file from the template.
Client experience
When your client receives a tip reminder email:
Selecting Tip [your name] opens a secure payment screen
After submitting a tip, they’ll receive a confirmation email
What happens if you don’t set up an automatic reminder email
Even if you don’t set up an automated reminder email ahead of time, HoneyBook still helps you follow up. If no tip is received, all payments are completed, and the project date has passed, HoneyBook will:
Show a banner in the project workspace
Send a push notification on desktop and in the mobile app 3 days later
From the banner or notification, you can choose to manually send a tip reminder email
Tip reminder settings for smart files and templates
HoneyBook also uses smart files and template settings to control tip reminders.
The Send email reminder if tip isn’t received setting may be:
Auto-enabled on new blank invoices
Auto-enabled on templates in the template gallery with tipping
You can choose:
Whether the reminder is based on the project date or invoice fully paid date
When it sends. This can send the same day, or up to 2 weeks later.
If this setting is on:
Default banners and push notifications are skipped
The reminder email sends automatically at your chosen time
If this setting is off:
Default banner and push notification behavior applies
Cancel a scheduled tip reminder email
You can cancel a scheduled reminder if a client tips early—or if you change your mind.
You’ll receive a notification 24 hours before the reminder sends
You can cancel the reminder:
From the alert email, or
From the notification under
Notifications (bell icon) in the top-right corner of your account
Once canceled, HoneyBook won’t send the reminder—whether it was scheduled automatically or manually.
Still have questions? Feel free to send us a message by clicking the Question Mark icon on any HoneyBook page. Our team is always happy to help!