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Weekend and public holiday surcharges that switch on by themselves on the Servatto Register

12 November 2026

Plenty of cafés charge extra on Sundays and public holidays, or add a service charge for big tables. The part that goes wrong isn't the charge. It's remembering to add it: a new person on the till forgets, or the holiday sneaks up on you and the bill goes out without it.

On the Servatto Register you set the surcharge once in the Back Office. After that the till adds it on the right days.

Setting one up

In the Back Office, go to Settings → Surcharges & fees → Add surcharge, then fill in:

• Name (printed on the receipt). For example "Public holiday surcharge". It's what your customer sees on the bill.
• Percentage or dollar amount, and the amount.
• When it applies. The choices are:
  • Every order
  • Saturdays
  • Sundays
  • Weekends (Saturday and Sunday)
  • Public holidays
  • Dine-in orders
  • Table service
  • Large groups (you set the number of people)
  • When staff add it
• Includes GST. Leave it ticked unless the charge is GST-free.
• Locations. All of your shops, or only some.

You can switch a surcharge off with its On tick without deleting it.

How "public holidays" works

Public holiday surcharges use the holiday list under Settings → Team & pay → Pay & holidays, the same list timecards use for public-holiday hours. You choose your state or territory there, and the Register uses that state's holidays. Servatto loads them for every Australian state and territory.

Only full-day public holidays count. A part-day one, like Christmas Eve from 7 pm, doesn't switch your surcharge on for the whole day.

Local days aren't always on the list, such as a local show day. Add those by hand with a date and a name. If a day on the list isn't observed where you are, press Don't observe on it.

Large groups and table service

Dine-in orders adds the charge to any eat-in order. Table service adds it to orders on the table-service type only. Large groups adds it to dine-in and table orders with at least the number of people you choose, from 2 to 100. Staff don't need to remember it.

What staff and customers see

The Register adds the charge to the bill and prints it on the receipt under the name you gave it. On a public holiday the Back Office also gives the till a notice for customers, along the lines of "Public holiday surcharge 10% applies today". If a bill is split, the surcharges carry across.

If a one-off service charge is needed, staff can add one with Service charge on the bill. Or pick When staff add it for a charge that only goes on when someone chooses it.

What it doesn't do

• There is no card surcharge. The Back Office won't save one. Servatto's help notes that surcharging eftpos, Mastercard and Visa is banned in Australia from 1 October 2026.
• It doesn't write your menu wording. The Back Office reminds you to tell customers about weekend, public holiday and service charges before they order, on the menu and the receipt. The ACCC sets out what has to be shown. See its pages on card surcharges and price displays, and check your own situation with an adviser. We're a software company, not a lawyer.
• It's set up for the Register. Surcharges you add in the Back Office are charged at the counter on the Register.

A quick check before a long weekend

1. Open Surcharges & fees and check each surcharge is On and has the right locations.
2. Check your state under Pay & holidays, and add any local day.
3. Ring up a test sale on the Register and look at the receipt.
4. Check your menu and signs say what the till will charge.

The Register and Back Office have no monthly fee.

Surcharges are set in the Back Office at app.servatto.com. Questions: [email protected].

Servatto publishes this post and sells the software described in it.