When an even split is actually unfair
If everyone had a main and shared the wine, even and itemised differ by a pound or two - split evenly and move on. The gap that matters almost always comes from drink: on a £263 dinner for six, an even split moves about £15 from the person on tap water to the people on the wine. That is most of a main course, and it is the number worth checking before anyone reaches for a card.
A practical middle ground: itemise only the lines someone would notice - the wine, the tasting menu, the round of cocktails - and put the rest through as one line split between everyone. If the per-head figures still land within a couple of pounds of each other, collapse it back to an even split.
Service quietly punishes small orders
If you itemise the bill but then divide the 12.5% service equally, the person with the smallest order pays the highest effective service rate - the exact unfairness the itemising just fixed. Enter service as a percentage here and it scales each share in proportion instead.
Two things worth knowing before you pay it: a discretionary service charge can be removed if you ask, and since October 2024 employers in England, Scotland and Wales have had to pass tips to staff in full - so leaving it on no longer subsidises the owner.
Why the debt list is shorter than the bill
The summary nets debts before it shows them. If Ben owes you £40 for dinner and you owe Ben £15 for the taxi, it shows one £25 transfer, not two - and with six people that netting routinely turns a dozen expenses into three or four repayments. Transfers are rounded to the penny and anything under a penny is dropped.
The catch with settling by name on a web page: the moment someone pays later, you are the only person who knows. On a Status Social event the same tracker is shared with the guest list - one summary everyone sees, and “mark as paid” updates for the whole group instead of living in your head.