| Benefit | How it works | Best for | What to track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subsidized on-site cafeteria | Company pays all or part of meals served on site | Plants, warehouses, hospitals, campuses | Meals per employee, by meal type and day |
| Meal vouchers | A voucher per eligible meal, handed to the kitchen | Sites with an outside caterer | Vouchers issued vs caterer invoice |
| Catered meals | Meals delivered for crews, night shifts or events | Construction sites, remote sites | Headcount per delivery |
| Shift meals | One meal per shift from the menu | Restaurants and hotels | Meals per shift, per employee |
| Meal allowance or food stipend | A fixed amount per day or month | Remote and field employees | Amount paid through payroll |
A meal allowance gives employees a set amount, for example per workday or per month, to spend on food. It is simple to run because there is no kitchen to manage, but it gives the company less control over how the money is used. For on-site teams, a cafeteria with meal vouchers usually gives more value per dollar because the company negotiates one price per meal with the caterer.
How employer-provided meals and meal allowances are taxed in the US depends on how and why they are provided. The IRS covers meal benefits in Publication 15-B, and allowances are generally handled through payroll. Confirm the treatment with your payroll provider or tax advisor. This is general information, not tax or legal advice.
EZTime runs the on-site part. The employee identifies at a cafeteria tablet by face, fingerprint, RFID badge or PIN, the system checks the meal rules, and a Bluetooth thermal printer prints a voucher in about a second. Every meal is recorded with the employee, time, station and meal type, and the meal count and value per employee can go to payroll. Read how to set up an employee meal program and use the employee meal policy template.
Each EZTime cafeteria station is a tablet and a small zero-ink thermal printer connected by Bluetooth. Because the printer pairs wirelessly with the tablet, there is no printer cable to run and no network cabling to plan for each printer, so you can set up a new station at another counter or entrance quickly. That is what makes the system practical for sites with thousands of employees:
Yes. There is no limit on the number of stations, each station prints a voucher in about a second, and the Bluetooth printer makes it quick to add a station wherever the line forms.
Meals or food money provided by the employer, such as a subsidized cafeteria, meal vouchers, catered meals, shift meals or a meal allowance.
A fixed amount the employer pays, per day or per month, for employees to spend on food. It is often called a food stipend.
For on-site teams, a subsidized cafeteria with meal vouchers usually gives more control and value. For remote and field teams, an allowance is simpler.
It depends on how and why they are provided. See IRS Publication 15-B and confirm with your payroll provider or tax advisor.
About 5 meters (16 feet) from the tablet.
Yes. Each station needs an internet connection so that meals, rules and reports sync to the cloud in real time.
Companies including Gilro and Imco use the EZTime cafeteria system.
Run your on-site meal benefit without paper tickets. Book a demo of the EZTime cafeteria station.
Updated November 2026. General information only; not legal or tax advice.