A restaurant receipt is the itemized record of a meal — the dishes and drinks you ordered, sales tax, the tip line, and the total, usually printed from the restaurant's POS system. Diners need it to verify a bill, claim a business meal, get reimbursed, or split expenses, and often need an itemized copy rather than just the credit-card slip. This guide explains every line on a restaurant receipt, how to get an itemized or duplicate copy, and how the tip and merchant/customer copies work.
Restaurant Receipt
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What's on a restaurant receipt
A sit-down restaurant receipt carries more detail than a quick counter receipt, because it tracks a table and a server:
Restaurant name, location & check number — the venue details and the unique guest-check or ticket number that identifies your table's order.
Server and table — the server's name and the table or seat number, printed by POS systems like Toast, Square, Clover, or Aloha.
Itemized food & drinks — each dish and beverage with its price, the heart of an itemized receipt.
Subtotal & sales tax — the food total before tax, then state and local sales tax.
Gratuity / tip line — a blank tip line on the customer copy, or an automatic gratuity (often 18–20%) already added for large parties.
Total & payment — the final amount and the card type with its last four digits.
Itemized receipt vs the credit-card slip
Sit-down restaurants usually hand you two pieces of paper: the itemized receipt (the guest check listing every dish) and the credit-card slip (a short charge summary with the tip and signature lines). For expenses and reimbursement, finance teams almost always need the itemized version — the card slip only shows a total, not what was ordered, and many employers reject it. When you pay, you typically get a merchant copy (you sign and leave it with the tip) and a customer copy (you keep). If you only kept the card slip, ask the server for the itemized guest check before you leave.
How to get an itemized or duplicate restaurant receipt
Lost the paper or only have the card slip? Call the restaurant with the date, approximate time, table or server, and the card's last four digits — most modern POS systems (Toast, Square, Clover) store every closed check and can reprint or email an itemized copy. If you paid through an app or the restaurant emailed a digital receipt, check your inbox. For a chain, the location that served you handles the reprint, not corporate. The sooner you ask the better, since some systems only keep detailed tickets for a limited window.
Signing the receipt and how the tip works
To sign a restaurant receipt, write the tip on the tip line, add it to the subtotal to get the total, then sign — always on the merchant copy you leave behind, keeping the customer copy for yourself. In the US, tips are customary, commonly 15–20% of the pre-tax subtotal. For large parties, many restaurants add an automatic gratuity (often 18–20%) that already appears on the check — check for it before adding a second tip. If the tip line is blank on both copies, no gratuity was included.
Related dining receipts: see also our Fast Food receipt guide and our Bar receipt guide.
Restaurant receipt templates and record-keeping
Whether you run a café that needs to hand customers a clean itemized bill or you're rebuilding an expense record after losing the original, our restaurant receipt template and generator lays out the guest check the right way — venue and check number, itemized food and drinks, subtotal, sales tax, gratuity, and total — in a printable format.
For legitimate business and record-keeping use only. Recreating a receipt for a meal you didn't buy, or inflating a bill for reimbursement, is fraud. Use this only to reproduce or organize your own genuine restaurant purchases.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about the product and billing.
How do I get an itemized receipt from a restaurant?
Call the location that served you with the date, approximate time, your table or server, and the last four digits of the card you used. POS systems like Toast, Square, and Clover store closed checks and can usually reprint or email an itemized copy. Ask soon, as some systems keep detailed tickets only for a limited time.
What's the difference between the itemized receipt and the credit-card slip?
The itemized receipt (guest check) lists every dish and drink; the credit-card slip is a short charge summary with just the total and the tip and signature lines. For expense reports you almost always need the itemized version, because the card slip doesn't show what was ordered.
Which copy of a restaurant receipt do I sign?
You sign the merchant copy and leave it with the restaurant after writing in your tip and total. The customer copy is the one you keep for your records.
What is automatic gratuity on a restaurant receipt?
It's a tip the restaurant adds automatically, often 18–20%, usually for large parties. If it's already on the check you don't need to add another tip — check the total before signing so you don't tip twice.
How do I fill out a restaurant receipt with a tip?
Write the tip amount on the tip line, add it to the pre-tax subtotal (or listed total) to get the new total, then sign. A common US tip is 15–20% of the subtotal before tax.
Can I get a receipt from a restaurant after I've left?
Yes. Contact the restaurant directly — most can look up a closed check in their POS by date, time, and card, and reprint or email an itemized receipt. For chains, ask the specific location that served you rather than corporate.