Don’t wait for the check: TabbedOut raises $2.05M

Austin startup ATX Innovation has built a mobile application called TabbedOut to eliminate a big inconvenience in your life — or my life, anyway. It’s addressing those moments when you’ve finished a meal but have to wave your arm wildly for minutes before you finally get the check, then wave it again to actually pay. Or maybe those times when you’ve tried to close out your tab at a bar but found five people in line ahead of you.

ATX just raised $2.05 million in new funding to tackle that problem with its TabbedOut app.

After users download the app, they can choose their location from a list of supported restaurants and bars. Then they open a tab, which is assigned a special code that they share with their waiter or bartender. Items get added to the tab as they’re ordered. When you’re ready to go, you just use the app to pay by credit card. No more delays.

TabbedOut even includes a tip calculator and an option to call a cab.

There are plenty of companies tackling mobile payments from different angles. Perhaps the most prominent is Square, which allows business owners to read credit cards with their phones.

I like TabbedOut because it’s addressing a specific and familiar problem. The company also notes that it integrates with existing “point of sale” systems, which means that restaurants don’t have to buy new equipment to process the payments, and they get paid directly — they don’t have to wait for TabbedOut to send them a check.

It’s still early in TabbedOut’s growth. The company said it’s currently supported by more than 90 restaurants and bars in 28 cities, including Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, and Chicago. With the new funding, TabbedOut hopes to accelerate that growth, in part by striking deals with more partners and resellers.

The money comes from New Enterprise Associates. TabbedOut has now raised a total of $2.75 million.