A Useful "bill splitter" for meals. Please!

[jsh1120]

I've searched, complained, and searched again. And frankly I'm mystified as to why I can't find a truly useful version of this kind of app. Here's the situation.

I frequently travel with several co-workers. We all have a set per diem for our meals. Therefore, we need to split a restaurant bill accurately among, say, five or six people. Restaurants frequently resist when asked to do so.

What I need is an app that allows me to enter each line of a restaurant bill and assign it to one or more diners. (Steak goes to diner #1; Fish to diner #2; Appetizers to all diners; etc.)

Once I've entered all the items, the app would total each diner's bill and calculate the tip and tax proportionately among the entire group.

I can't believe I'm the only person who needs this functionality, especially since there are at least a half dozen iPhone apps that appear to do it. But what I see in the Android market is a mountain of tip calculators (I can do that in my head or by using Google, thank you); apps that require me to do the sub-totaling (which is what the app is supposed to do); and a couple of apps that are so hellishly difficult to use that I might as well carry my laptop with Excel.

Please! Please! Somebody develop this fairly simple application. Or if I've missed it, somebody point me in the right direction.

[640k]

don't take this the wrong way, but i've worked in the food service industry enough to know that if a server doesn't do this for you, they're being lazy. most of the newer POS systems today allow servers to assign meals to seats, making it a quick fix to split the bill. if you tel lthem up front, they can do this easily. if they refuse, have a manager fix it.

with that said, is it too hard to use a calculator? if you're going to be spending time itemizing the bill anyway, a calculator can accomplish this just as quickly.

also, check out some of the tip calculators that are available. maybe one of those can help.

[hookbill]

Heck, show off your droid. Hit search/microphone and say "what's 75.50 divided by 4." Droid will give you the answer, and you get a chance to show off your Droid.

[640k]

Heck, show off your droid. Hit search/microphone and say "what's 75.50 divided by 4." Droid will give you the answer, and you get a chance to show off your Droid.

ok holy crap. i knew google could do this but never tried a voice search.

i just said, "convert 32 liters to gallons" and it came up with an answer. FTW!

[jsh1120]

OK, folks. Let me say a couple of things...

() Suggestion: Use a calculator. Think about it. What I need is separate subtotaling for, say, six people with some items being split among all six or a subset of the six. Sure, I can do the subtotal for each person separately and calculate their proportion of a shared item, but come on. What's needed here is a fairly simple spreadsheet-based app that doesn't require a separate setup each time it's used.

The steps are:

• Enter the number of diners.
• Number or name each one.
• Enter each item on the bill and associate with one or more diners.
• Enter tip percentage and tax.
• App calculates subtotals and divides tip and tax proportionately according to diners' subtotals.
• I say, "Mary you owe $15.50. John, you owe $21...etc."

() Suggestion: Use google voice search to calculate a tip. Yup. Works like a charm. Doesn't divide the tip proportionately. And frankly I can calculate a tip in my head. If all I ever needed to do was calculate a tip and divide evenly by the number of diners, I wouldn't be facing the issue in the first place.

() Suggestion: Complain to the management if the server doesn't want to split the bill. Believe me, that's SOP. And in my younger days I also worked in restaurants. Forgive me if I'd rather avoid having a server spit in my soup. (And while most restaurants will "split a bill," they don't split shared items among a subset of all diners at a table. And frankly, I don't blame them.)

Just as an aside, I'll note again that there are multiple apps for the iPhone that do this. Likewise for Windows Mobile devices. I haven't looked, but I'm guessing BlackBerries probably have the capability via third party apps, as well. It's a pretty standard business need. And where the Droid doesn't yet come close to competing with any of these other platforms is in terms of supporting business users.

Believe me, I love my Droid. And I'm delighted that there are several hundred apps that calculate a tip and support "twittering." But until the Android platform provides the sort of business support that other platforms routinely provide, it won't be able to compete for corporate accounts.

[640k]

i wouldn't consider bill splitting a business necessity. make your point to have the bill split up front and it shouldn't be an issue. the Android platform has nothing to do with the phone lacking in this department either. splitting bills is not a default application on any device and you'd be subject to finding one that works for you anyway.

developers are creating new apps all of the time. other manufacturers have had more time in the market than google has.

[jsh1120]

i wouldn't consider bill splitting a business necessity. make your point to have the bill split up front and it shouldn't be an issue. the Android platform has nothing to do with the phone lacking in this department either. splitting bills is not a default application on any device and you'd be subject to finding one that works for you anyway.

developers are creating new apps all of the time. other manufacturers have had more time in the market than google has.

Of course other platforms have had longer in the market than Android. And I didn't suggest the "phone (was) lacking in this department" (it's not a "phone" issue) or that other devices have this sort of app as a "default."

What I did suggest is that business users have all sorts of specialized requirements that make the choice of a Windows Mobile or RIM-based device a no brainer for business people. And the iPhone, though hardly a "business" device has made huge strides in becoming accepted by corporations.

Meanwhile, one of my colleagues recently returned his Droid and opted for a BlackBerry simply because support for Exchange server is problematic (a common problem with less than stellar IT departments) and the options for business apps is so limited.

[640k]

i wouldn't consider bill splitting a business necessity. make your point to have the bill split up front and it shouldn't be an issue. the Android platform has nothing to do with the phone lacking in this department either. splitting bills is not a default application on any device and you'd be subject to finding one that works for you anyway.

developers are creating new apps all of the time. other manufacturers have had more time in the market than google has.

Of course other platforms have had longer in the market than Android. And I didn't suggest the "phone (was) lacking in this department" (it's not a "phone" issue) or that other devices have this sort of app as a "default."

What I did suggest is that business users have all sorts of specialized requirements that make the choice of a Windows Mobile or RIM-based device a no brainer for business people. And the iPhone, though hardly a "business" device has made huge strides in becoming accepted by corporations.

Meanwhile, one of my colleagues recently returned his Droid and opted for a BlackBerry simply because support for Exchange server is problematic (a common problem with less than stellar IT departments) and the options for business apps is so limited.

check out touchdown for exchange integration. it's $20 but might keep you from getting a BB.

[rjax]

Search for "Dinner Itemizer" in the Market -- it will show up as "Bill Split" on your phone once it's installed.

Dinner Itemizer v1.0.6 Application for Android | Finance

[jnd121]

Tip Calc in the Market would work also. If you don't want to tip, just set it to 0%. It will split the bill as many times as you want!