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Guides for owners who do their own numbers

Researched, plain-English guides for Australian hospitality and retail: opening, costing, tax, leases, licences and kit. New ones added regularly.

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MarginsBuying a venueOpeningEquipmentFit-outsLicencesProblem solvingTaxPremises

Chef carefully cutting vegetables on a board in a restaurant kitchen

Margins

Supplier Price Increase at Your Café: What to Do

Supplier price increase hitting your café or restaurant margin? How to recost fast, reprice the right dishes, renegotiate terms and fund the gap in cash.

15 November 2026

Espresso machine and grinder on a café counter, the equipment to check before buying an existing café

Buying a venue

Buying a Café in Australia: What to Check Before You Sign

Buying a café in Australia? What to check on the takings, lease, espresso machine and roaster contract first, plus the seasonal trap in the sales figures.

12 November 2026

Two cooks prepping behind the pass in a restaurant open kitchen under the extraction hood

Margins

Wage Cost Percentage for a Restaurant or Café

Wage cost percentage for a restaurant: the Australian formula with super and on-costs, how it sits with food cost as prime cost, and rostering moves that work.

8 November 2026

Café owner in an apron serving a slice of cake from the dessert cabinet at the counter

Margins

Cakeage Fee: What to Charge and How to Show It

Setting a cakeage fee for your café or restaurant? Work it out from real costs, add corkage the right way, and disclose it at booking so no guest is ambushed.

5 November 2026

Chefs working at the pass of a busy commercial kitchen with extraction hood overhead

Opening

How to Start a Catering Business in Australia

How to start a catering business in Australia: home vs hired vs your own kitchen, state registration, food safety rules, costs and the deposit cash cycle.

1 November 2026

Equipment

Commercial Coffee Machine Cost: What a Café Should Budget

Commercial coffee machine cost in Australia: 1, 2 and 3 group price bands, grinders, water, servicing, and the real price of a roaster's 'free' machine.

29 October 2026

Waitress in a dark apron taking a customer's order at a café table, the moment a public holiday surcharge needs to be clear

Margins

Public Holiday Surcharge for Cafés: Rules and the Maths

Can your café add a public holiday surcharge? The ACCC menu wording, what changed on 1 October 2026, and the sum that shows if 15% really pays for the day.

25 October 2026

Cooks working under a stainless steel exhaust canopy in an open restaurant kitchen, seen across the pass

Opening

How to Open a Restaurant in Australia: Steps and Costs

How to open a restaurant in Australia in the order it really happens: planning, extraction, liquor lead times and the costs that land before service.

22 October 2026

Stainless steel commercial kitchen with wash-up sinks in the foreground, hanging pans and an exhaust canopy over the cooking line

Fit-outs

Grease Traps for Cafés: Trade Waste Rules and Costs

Does your café or restaurant need a grease trap? How trade waste approval works in each state, what drives the install cost, and the check buyers skip.

18 October 2026

Waterfront café kiosk in Sydney with outdoor tables under white umbrellas, palm trees and the Harbour Bridge behind

Licences

Outdoor Dining Permit for a Café: Costs and Setup

How to get an outdoor dining permit for your café or restaurant: council approval, fees per square metre, insurance, liquor boundaries and the kit to budget.

11 October 2026

Restaurant kitchen range with stainless and copper pans in front of a combi oven and tiled walls

Problem solving

Food Safety Improvement Notice: What Cafés Do Next

A food safety improvement notice on your café or restaurant? How to read it, triage the fixes, get re-inspected and fund repairs, plus the step owners forget.

4 October 2026

Chalkboard sign outside a newly opened cafe in Perth

Opening

How to Open a Café in Australia: Costs, Permits, Timeline

Thinking of opening a café? A step-by-step Australian guide to the lease, fit-out, registrations, food safety, staff, GST and the money you need by day one.

1 October 2026

Deli display cabinet stocked with sandwiches and fresh food

Tax

GST on Food: A Guide for Cafés, Delis and Bakeries

Is there GST on a croissant, a loaf or a salad? A plain-English guide to GST on food for Australian cafés, delis and bakeries, and why POS coding matters.

1 October 2026

Chef working the pass in a Melbourne restaurant kitchen

Margins

Menu Costing: How to Price Dishes and Protect Margin

How to cost a menu in a café or restaurant: recipe cards, yield, food cost percentage, GST and wages, plus how to find the dishes quietly losing you money.

1 October 2026

Candlelit table in a wine bar with glasses and a bottle

Licences

Liquor Licence for a Café or Small Bar: How It Works

Planning to serve wine with lunch or open a small bar? How liquor licensing works across Australian states, who regulates it, and budgeting for the wait.

1 October 2026

Sydney street shopfronts with the Harbour Bridge in view

Premises

Retail Lease Checklist for Shops, Cafés and Restaurants

Signing a retail lease? A practical checklist for Australian shops, cafés and restaurants: options, rent reviews, outgoings, bonds, fit-out and make-good.

1 October 2026

Equipment

Buying Used Commercial Kitchen Equipment: A Checklist

Buying a second-hand combi oven, range or cool room? A checklist for cafés and restaurants: condition, service history, compliance, PPSR searches and funding.

1 October 2026

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