Catering & Event Hospitality Rostering

The kitchen on rhythm, the functions on demand

Rostering for Australian caterers — weekly production crews on templates, weddings and corporate functions staffed by bidding from your casual pool, and GPS clock-in that works at whatever venue the truck parks at.

30 Days
Free trial, no card required
2-in-1
Weekly rosters + events calendar
Bidding
Functions staffed by the pool
Any
Venue, geofenced clock-in
Catering rostering challenges we solve

Catering is two businesses in one — a steady kitchen and an unpredictable events diary. RosterMates runs both.

Two Businesses, One Team

The production kitchen needs a stable weekly rhythm; the functions diary swings from nothing to three events a weekend. Weekly rosters run one, the events calendar runs the other — same staff, same system.

Staffing the Saturday Wedding

Publish the function's positions for bidding and the casual pool applies from the app. You confirm the crew; extras queue on a waitlist as ready-made backups for the inevitable Friday text.

Hours at Someone Else's Venue

The function is at a winery an hour away. Set its location on the event and staff geofence-clock in when they arrive — off-site hours land as solidly as kitchen ones.

Certificates Across a Casual Pool

Food safety in the kitchen, RSAs on the function floor — recorded per person with expiries and reminders, and enforced by position approvals when the crew is being confirmed.

Functions That Run Long

The reception went two hours over. Clock-outs capture the real finish, timesheets show rostered versus actual, and the manager decides what's paid — with a note, not an argument.

Costing Each Event

Labour per function is visible once the hours are in — so quoting the next wedding starts from what the last three actually cost, not a hopeful guess.

Catering scheduling features

Purpose-built tools for caterers and event hospitality crews.

Kitchen Weekly Rosters

  • Production crew on reusable weekly templates
  • Prep, cook and pack areas with their own positions
  • The head chef rosters the kitchen via permissions
  • Wage estimates update as the week is built
  • Leave and availability flagged before publish

Functions on the Events Calendar

  • Weddings, corporate events and festivals as calendar events
  • Per-day areas: service, bar, kitchen, logistics
  • Positions with capacities and per-day times
  • Multi-day festivals configured day by day
  • Event managers staff their own functions

Bidding & Waitlists

  • Function positions published to the casual pool
  • Applications arrive from the app
  • Confirm your crew; extras queue as backups
  • Drop-outs replaced from the waitlist in a tap
  • Open offers for last-minute gaps

Anywhere Attendance

  • Geofenced GPS clock-in at any function venue
  • Kitchen kiosk with PIN or facial recognition
  • Late clock-in alerts before service starts
  • Real finish times captured on late pack-downs
  • Location stamps on every off-site punch

Certificates & Compliance

  • Food safety certificates tracked to expiry
  • RSAs across the function-service pool
  • Position approvals gate certified roles
  • Event briefing forms completed before the day
  • Incident reports filed from any venue

Event Costing & Payroll

  • Labour cost visible per function
  • Kitchen and event hours in one pay summary
  • Weekends and holidays identifiable in the export
  • Payroll-ready files for Xero, MYOB, KeyPay & Employment Hero
  • Custom CSV matched to your payroll's import
A week in the life: catering owner

How RosterMates helps Nadia run a catering company with a kitchen crew of 12 and a function pool of 45.

Monday — Kitchen Week Set

The standard kitchen template drops onto the week; the head chef swaps two prep shifts around a leave request the roster already flagged. Published by 9am.

Tuesday — Two Functions Published

Saturday's winery wedding and Sunday's corporate lunch go up for bidding: 22 positions between them. By Wednesday there are 31 applications; Nadia confirms crews and banks the extras on waitlists.

Thursday — RSA Check

One confirmed wedding server has an RSA expiring Friday — flagged automatically. She renews online that evening; the certificate date updates and the crew stands.

Saturday 7 AM — One Down

A server wakes up sick. Nadia confirms the top of the waitlist from her phone; his shift details, venue pin and briefing form arrive on his phone before his coffee.

Saturday 3 PM — On Site

Twelve staff geofence-clock in at the winery as they arrive. The reception runs 90 minutes over; clock-outs capture the real finish for every one of them.

Monday — Costed and Exported

The wedding's labour cost sits against the event — overrun included — sharpening the next quote. Kitchen and function hours export payroll-ready in one file.

Why caterers choose RosterMates

The kitchen stays steady, the functions staff themselves, and every hour lands on the record.

Weekly kitchen rosters and an events calendar in one system
Functions staffed by bidding from your own casual pool
Waitlists turn drop-outs into one-tap replacements
GPS clock-in works at any client venue
Food safety and RSAs current across the pool
Labour costed per function, exported payroll-ready
Catering rostering FAQs

Common questions from caterers and event hospitality operators.

Two rhythms, two tools, one system. The production kitchen runs on standard weekly rosters and templates; weddings, corporate functions and one-off events run on the events calendar with per-day areas and positions. Hours from both flow into the same timesheets and payroll export.
Largely, yes. Publish the function's positions for bidding and casuals apply from the app; you confirm the crew you want and extras queue on a waitlist. The Saturday wedding staffs itself from people who put their hands up.
Geofenced GPS clock-in works wherever the function is — set the venue's location on the event and staff clock in from their phones when they arrive on site. Every punch is time- and location-stamped, so off-site hours are as solid as kitchen hours.
Yes. Food safety certificates for kitchen staff and RSAs for function service are recorded with expiry dates and automatic reminders, and position approvals keep uncertified staff out of roles that require them.
The event's waitlist holds your backups — confirm the next person in a tap. No waitlist? Push the open slot to available, qualified casuals and the first to accept is on their way.
Staff clock out when the pack-down actually ends, and the timesheet shows rostered versus actual side by side. The manager decides what's paid, adds a note, and the extra hour is on the record instead of in dispute.
Kitchen weeks and function days roll into the same pay-period summary — weekends identifiable, public holidays split per your state calendar — and export payroll-ready for Xero, MYOB, KeyPay (Employment Hero Payroll), Employment Hero or a custom CSV. Your payroll applies your award or agreement's rates.
Yes. Role-based permissions let the head chef own the kitchen roster and each event manager staff their own functions, while the owner sees the whole operation.