Actual vs Ferry
Actual
onactual.comFerry
useferry.comSide by side
| Figure | Actual | Ferry |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 2 |
| Spec score · Restaurant Tip Management Software | 7.7 (#11) | 7.8 (#8) |
| Compliance | The Canadian tip product is designed to help restaurants, hotels, and coffee shops follow federal and provincial Direct Tips and Controlled Tips requirements. | Ferry says it tracks multi-state tip compliance and includes minimum distribution thresholds, tipped-credit rules, and guardrails. |
| Integrations | Listed technology integrations include 7shifts, OpenTable, Toast, ADP, Clover, Homebase, Lightspeed, QuickBooks, and Restaurant365. | Named integrations include Toast, Square, 7shifts, ADP, Gusto, Clover, Lightspeed, and Paychex; Ferry also says it can work with payroll data or a CSV export. |
| Intended users | Actual says it was built for hospitality operators and employees, and its tips page names restaurants, hotels, and coffee shops as intended users. | Ferry describes Tip Manager as built for full-service restaurants, fine dining, multi-brand groups, and hotels and hospitality. |
| Product | Actual is a hospitality software platform for managing tip distribution, payroll processing, employee scheduling, and operational workflows. | Ferry automates restaurant tip calculations by connecting to POS and workforce systems, applying pooling rules, and calculating each employee’s tips at shift end. |
| Support | Actual says its hospitality-industry team works customer hours so customers are not left waiting for regular business hours. | Ferry support is available Monday through Friday, 9am–6pm ET, and typically responds within a few hours. |
Plans
In their own words
Actual
Actual provides hospitality businesses with tools for tip distribution, payroll processing, employee scheduling, and operational workflows. Its tip tools automate calculations, division, and payments while giving employees detailed reports. Teams can define custom pool rules, allocate tips by shift, and keep records at both levels. The Canadian tips product is intended for restaurants, hotels, and coffee shops working with federal and provincial requirements for Direct Tips and Controlled Tips. Actual lists integrations with 7shifts, OpenTable, Toast, ADP, Clover, Homebase, Lightspeed, QuickBooks, and Payworks. In the United States, payout schedules can range from daily to bi-weekly; employees can receive tips on Branch debit cards or directly in bank accounts, with Branch card payments described as free for employers and employees. Pricing is on request, with a free one-to-one product demo. Actual is the business name of Atlas Restaurant Management Systems Inc., headquartered in Ontario. Primary infrastructure is hosted in Canada, with some processing in other jurisdictions.
Ferry
Ferry automates restaurant tip calculations by connecting point-of-sale and workforce systems, applying operator-set pooling rules, and calculating employee tips at shift end. Operators can configure pool percentages by role, job code, shift, time of day, or location. Ferry creates downloadable per-employee, per-shift reports with job codes and pool rates, described as audit-ready, and says it tracks multi-state tip compliance with minimum distribution thresholds, tipped-credit rules, and guardrails. Ferry Pay can distribute tips to a Ferry Pay Card, a nominated bank account, or through payroll; card funding is described as taking under 60 seconds. Workers can optionally access a portion of wages they have already earned before payday. The Ferry Pay Card lists a $0 activation fee and $0 monthly fees, while US out-of-network ATM withdrawals carry a $3 fee. Ferry names integrations including Toast, Square, Clover, Lightspeed, POSitouch, Aloha, ADP, Gusto, Paychex, and 7shifts. Its Tip Share App lets employees adjust POS tip allocations within operator-set guardrails and is listed for PosiTouch and CBS North Star. Pricing for Tip Manager and Ferry Pay is on request.