Rostering software for cafes, pubs and restaurants: the same Sunday shift, two awards, $47 apart

A Level 2 casual barista working seven hours on a Sunday costs $331.73 under the Hospitality Award and $284.34 under the Restaurant Award. Same coffee machine, same suburb, $47.39 apart, and the only thing that decides which number is right is what kind of business owns the cafe.

That is the problem most rostering software comparisons skip. They rank feature lists, when the real test for a cafe, pub or restaurant is whether the tool prices your shifts under your award. This post sorts the three venue types by award, shows the shifts where each one gets expensive, and gives you a five-shift test to run on any trial before you commit.

The short version. A standalone cafe or restaurant is usually on the Restaurant Industry Award (MA000119). A pub, tavern, hotel, or a restaurant or cafe run by one, is on the Hospitality Industry (General) Award (MA000009). The two pay casuals differently on Sundays, before 7am and between 7pm and 10pm. Pick software that carries both awards by code and shows the cost of each shift line by line. General information only, not legal advice: check your award with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Which award your venue is on decides what the software has to do

Clause 4.2 of the Restaurant Award defines the restaurant industry as "restaurants, reception centres, night clubs, cafés or roadhouses", but carves out any restaurant run in connection with premises of an employer covered by the Hospitality Award. The Hospitality Award's own clause 4.2 lists hotels, taverns and wine bars, and restaurants operating in connection with them. So the bistro in a pub is on MA000009, and the bistro two doors down is on MA000119.

If you are not sure, the Fair Work Ombudsman's award finder is the place to settle it, not a software vendor. Once you know the answer, it becomes the first question you ask every product: which awards do you carry, by code?

Cafes: the 6am open and the Sunday split

Under the Hospitality Award, every weekday hour between midnight and 7am carries an extra $4.42 an hour on top of the casual rate (Table 14, clause 29.2). Under the Restaurant Award the early window ends at 6am, so a 6am open pays nothing extra. Sundays differ more. Clause 24.2 of the Restaurant Award pays casuals at Introductory to Level 2 150% on a Sunday and Level 3 to 6 175%, where the Hospitality Award pays every casual 175%. We covered that split in detail in Restaurant Award penalty rates in 2026.

One barista's week, priced under both awards

A Level 2 casual barista, adult rates from 1 July 2026. The Level 2 minimum is $27.08 an hour in both awards, so the casual rate is $33.85. Paid hours only, before super.

That is $51.81 a week for one barista, about $2,700 over a year. Get the award wrong in one direction and you underpay; get it wrong in the other and you overpay every Sunday without knowing. A spreadsheet holds whichever rate you typed in. Rostering software for cafes should hold the award, the level and the casual loading, and price the shift from those.

Pubs and bars: the midnight split

Pubs live on the Hospitality Award's evening window. From 7pm to midnight Monday to Friday a casual gets an extra $2.95 an hour, and the hours after midnight belong to whatever day they fall on. Take a Level 2 casual bartender on Friday from 6pm to 1am, seven paid hours:

• 6pm to 7pm: 1 hour at $33.85
• 7pm to midnight: 5 hours at $36.80 ($33.85 plus $2.95), so $184.00
• Midnight to 1am: Saturday now, 1 hour at $40.62
• Shift total: $258.47

Ask any tool to show you exactly that shift. If it prices all seven hours at the Friday evening rate, it has not split at midnight, and every Friday close is wrong by a few dollars. Pubs also run more staff across more roles than a cafe, so a product that charges per user grows its bill with every casual you add for December.

Restaurants: split shifts and the 10pm line

A full-time or part-time waiter on the Restaurant Award who works 11am to 3pm and comes back for 5:30pm to 10pm has a broken working day. Clause 21.3 pays $5.60 for each separate work period of 2 hours or more, so that day carries $11.20 on top of wages. Casuals are not covered by that clause. The late-night amounts in the Restaurant Award start at 10pm, not 7pm, which is why a dinner service on MA000119 costs less per hour than the same service in a pub bistro.

The bistro in a pub and the bistro two doors down can run the same menu, the same hours and the same staff, and still pay different rates for the same Sunday.

The five-shift test to run on any trial

Feature tables all look alike. Prices don't. Set up one real employee on your actual award and level, roster these shifts, and compare each total with the Fair Work pay guide before you sign anything:

1. A weekday open at 6am. Under MA000009 the first hour should carry $4.42 extra; under MA000119 it should not.
2. A Friday close that runs past midnight. The hours after midnight should move to the Saturday rate.
3. A Sunday for a Level 2 casual and a Level 3 casual. On MA000119 one is 150% and the other 175%.
4. A split shift for a part-timer. Check how the product handles the allowance under your award, and whether you have to add it yourself.
5. A 90-minute casual shift. Both awards require casuals to be paid at least 2 consecutive hours (clause 11.3 in each). See whether the timesheet pays the minimum or only the time worked.

Then ask who updates the rates each 1 July, and whether staff get a free app on both stores. For the wider checklist (payroll path, permissions, multi-site), our buyer's guide to rostering software goes criterion by criterion. If you are still on a shared sheet, is a Google Sheets roster good enough is the honest answer to that question.

Watch out: no rostering product signs off your pay obligations. Software estimates what a shift costs; your business is responsible for verifying it against the award text and the pay guide.

The roster that fills itself

Every roster tool can tell you that Saturday is short. Shiftly is built to fill it. Rostering, timesheets, leave, availability and award interpretation are free at every headcount, with no per-employee fee. Seven awards are supported, including Hospitality (MA000009), Restaurant (MA000119) and Fast Food (MA000003). Rates are loaded from Fair Work Commission award data and updated when the award changes, so you set each person's award, level, employment type and date of birth, and each shift shows its cost line by line. It is a calculation tool that helps you check pay, not a payroll provider; approved timesheets post to Xero or export as a spreadsheet.

The part that fills the gap is Shiftly On-Demand: when a shift is still open, you offer it to casuals on the network from inside the same roster, paying the shift plus an 8% service fee instead of an agency markup. It is coming soon, starting in Sydney, and the waitlist is open. Get started with Shiftly.

Frequently asked questions

Is a cafe on the Hospitality Award or the Restaurant Award?

Usually the Restaurant Industry Award (MA000119), because its clause 4.2 names cafés. The exception is a cafe run in connection with a hotel, pub or other business covered by the Hospitality Award (MA000009), which follows that award instead, and a mainly takeaway counter may be on the Fast Food Award (MA000003). Confirm yours with the Fair Work Ombudsman before you set up pay.

What is the best rostering software for a small cafe in Australia?

The one that carries your award by code, prices a Sunday correctly for each casual level, gives staff a free app, and doesn't charge more each time you add a casual. Run the five-shift test above on two or three trials and compare the totals with the Fair Work pay guide; the product that matches with the least manual fixing is your answer.

Do pubs and restaurants need different rostering software?

Not different products, but the product has to handle both awards if you run both kinds of venue, or a pub with a bistro. A pub needs evening and midnight splits under MA000009; a standalone restaurant needs split shifts and the 10pm late-night line under MA000119.

Does rostering software check the casual two-hour minimum?

It varies by product, so test it with a short shift on trial. Both the Hospitality and Restaurant awards require a casual to be engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours each time they attend work (clause 11.3), and the timesheet should reflect that whatever the roster shows.