Buy Deputy if…
9.2/10Australian venues that need MA000009 penalty rates costed on the roster and exported to Xero as award pay items.
From A$6.75/user/mo
Check Deputy pricingChoose 7shifts if…
7.4/10Large single-site teams that value sales-based labour forecasting and will handle award costing in payroll.
From US$39.99/location/mo
Check 7shifts pricingInteractive calculator
MA000009 roster cost & payroll-error exposure (AU, from 1 July 2026)
Weekly award wage floor
A$14,277
396 rostered hours
Of which penalties & loadings
A$1,677
above weekday ordinary rates
Monthly wage floor
A$61,866
Monthly error exposure
A$928
at 1.5% mis-pay
Manual admin hours / week
1.8h
Deputy Lite / month
A$121.50
less than your error exposure
Formula & assumptions
Base hourly rates: FWO MA000009 pay guide (published 24 June 2026), first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. Casual rate = base × 1.25.
Multipliers of base rate: permanent weekday 100%, Saturday 125%, Sunday 150%; casual weekday 125%, Saturday 150%, Sunday 175%. Evening loading A$2.95/hr applies Mon–Fri 7pm–midnight only and is not stacked on weekend hours.
Not modelled: public holidays (225%/250%), overtime, split-shift and laundry allowances, junior rates, superannuation (12%), payroll tax. Treat output as a minimum-wage floor, not a payroll run.
Assumptions you control: “manual error rate” and “admin minutes per staff” are your own estimates, not measured industry figures. Deputy cost uses the published AU Lite price A$6.75/user/mo (annual, ex GST) with the A$30 monthly minimum.
Spec comparison
| Feature | Deputy | 7shifts | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian award interpretation | Included from Lite plan (Pay Rate Library) | Not advertised; wage rules target North America | 95% |
| Pricing model | A$6.75 / A$8.75 / A$13 per user (ex GST, annual) | US$39.99 / 79.99 / 134.99 per location (annual) | 85% |
| Minimum spend | A$30/month per invoice | Free Comp plan: 1 location, 15 staff | 60% |
| Xero export | Timesheets mapped to award pay items | Xero listed as integration | 80% |
| Staff caps | None (per-user billing) | Essentials: 30 per location | 50% |
If you run an Australian cafe, pub or restaurant on the Hospitality Industry (General) Award, buy Deputy: its award interpretation is included from the cheapest plan and it exports award pay items to Xero. Pick 7shifts only if you are a big single-site team that wants sales-based labour forecasting and you are happy to let your payroll software do the MA000009 maths.
How we compared them
This comparison is built from primary sources checked on 4 November 2026: Deputy’s and 7shifts’ public pricing pages, Deputy’s help centre, and the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) pay guide for MA000009. We have not run either product on a live paid roster for this article, so we do not claim speed or uptime results. Where a point comes from vendor documentation, we say so. A hands-on update with timed roster builds is planned and will be dated when it lands.
The 1 July 2026 numbers both tools have to get right
The FWO pay guide (published 24 June 2026) applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026. For the classifications most kitchens roster:
| Casual classification | Mon–Fri | Saturday | Sunday | Mon–Fri 7pm–midnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 (kitchen attendant gr.1) | A$33.05 | A$39.66 | A$46.27 | +A$2.95/h |
| Level 2 (cook gr.1) | A$33.85 | A$40.62 | A$47.39 | +A$2.95/h |
| Level 3 (cook gr.2) | A$34.96 | A$41.96 | A$48.95 | +A$2.95/h |
Casual rates already include the 25% casual loading (clause 11.1). As multiples of the base rate, permanent staff get 125% on Saturday and 150% on Sunday; casuals get 150% and 175%. Weekend overtime is 200% from the first hour (Table 13 of the award).
A Sunday close, priced out
One casual Level 2 cook works 8 hours. On a Tuesday that costs 8 × A$33.85 = A$270.80. On a Sunday it costs 8 × A$47.39 = A$379.12. The difference is A$108.32 for one shift. Four cooks on a Sunday close and the gap is A$433.28 a week. If a spreadsheet roster carries the weekday rate into Sunday, that is the size of the underpayment, before super.
A Tuesday dinner shift from 5pm to 11pm adds the evening loading for the 4 hours after 7pm: 4 × A$2.95 = A$11.80. The FWO guide states this loading is Monday to Friday only, so a Saturday night shift is paid at the Saturday rate without it.
Deputy: award costing sits in the roster
Deputy’s Australian pricing page lists Award Interpretation in the Lite plan (A$6.75 per user per month, ex GST, billed annually or in instalments) and Advanced Award Interpretation in Core (A$8.75). Pro is A$13. There is an A$30 monthly minimum per invoice, and every non-archived user in the account counts toward the bill, including staff who have not accepted their invite.
What that means in a kitchen:
- You assign each staff member an award and classification from Deputy’s Pay Rate Library, and the roster cost reflects weekend and evening rates while you build it, not after payroll runs.
- Deputy’s help centre documents exporting those award-interpreted timesheets to Xero. Deputy creates or matches the earnings rates, but the Xero pay run dates have to match the export period exactly, and employee names and leave types must line up. Budget an afternoon for that mapping the first time.
- Payroll (around A$5 per user) and HR (around A$3.50 per user) are paid add-ons, per independent Australian reviews of the current plans. Lite alone is not an HR system.
For an 18-person cafe: 18 × A$6.75 = A$121.50/month on Lite, or A$157.50 on Core, ex GST.
7shifts: strong forecasting, North American wage rules
7shifts prices per location, not per user. Its public plan page (USD) lists Comp free for one location and up to 15 employees, Essentials at US$44.99 (US$39.99 annual) with up to 30 employees, Pro at US$89.99 (US$79.99 annual) and Premium at US$149.99 (US$134.99 annual). Labour compliance tools start on Pro. The old Entrée and The Works plan names you still see on some review sites were replaced in 2025.
For an Australian venue the problem is the award. 7shifts does not advertise Australian modern award interpretation, and Australian reviewers including RosterElf’s 2026 buying guide state its compliance rules target North American jurisdictions. 7shifts lists Xero among its integrations, so hours can reach your books, but the Saturday, Sunday and evening rates in the table above would have to be applied by your payroll system or by hand.
Where 7shifts makes sense: a 40-person single-site restaurant pays one location fee instead of 40 user fees, and if your payroll provider already interprets MA000009 the gap matters less.
Cost at three venue sizes
| Venue | Deputy Lite (A$, ex GST) | Deputy Core | 7shifts Pro, annual (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cafe, 8 staff | 54.00 | 70.00 | 79.99 |
| Bistro, 18 staff | 121.50 | 157.50 | 79.99 |
| Pub, 45 staff | 303.75 | 393.75 | 79.99 |
7shifts gets cheaper per head as headcount grows. The comparison flips once you add the cost of applying award rates outside the roster: use the calculator above with your own error rate and admin time.
Who should buy which
- Buy Deputy if you are in Australia, roster casuals across weekends and evenings, and run payroll in Xero. The award engine on Lite is the whole reason to choose it.
- Consider 7shifts if you run one large site, your payroll provider already handles MA000009, and sales-driven labour forecasting matters more to you than costed rosters.
- Check both trials against a real fortnight: roster one Sunday close and one weekday dinner, then compare the shift costs with the FWO figures above before you commit to an annual plan.
Sources
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Pay Guide: Hospitality Industry (General) Award MA000009, published 24 June 2026.
- Fair Work Commission, Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2020, consolidated to 1 July 2026 (clause 11.1 casual loading; Table 13 overtime).
- Deputy, Australian pricing and Pricing FAQs, checked 4 Nov 2026.
- Deputy Help Center, Export timesheets using Deputy pay rate library awards to Xero.
- 7shifts, Plans & Pricing, checked 4 Nov 2026; integrations directory.
- RosterElf, Best employee scheduling software Australia 2026 (third-party view on 7shifts’ award coverage; RosterElf sells a competing product).
- SoftwareHQ, Deputy Review AU 2026 (add-on pricing).
General information, not payroll or legal advice. Confirm classifications and rates with the FWO Pay Calculator or your payroll provider.
FAQ
Does 7shifts automatically calculate Australian Hospitality Award penalty rates?+
7shifts does not advertise an Australian modern award interpretation engine. Its plan pages list labour compliance and wage tools aimed at North American rules, and independent Australian reviewers note the same gap. If you roster in 7shifts, expect your payroll system to apply MA000009 Saturday, Sunday and evening rates.
Can Deputy export award-interpreted timesheets to Xero?+
Yes. Deputy's help centre documents exporting timesheets that use its Pay Rate Library awards to Xero, where it creates or matches the matching earnings rates. The Xero pay run dates must match the Deputy export period.
What are the Saturday and Sunday rates for a casual Level 2 cook from 1 July 2026?+
Under the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide for MA000009, a casual Level 2 employee earns A$33.85 an hour Monday to Friday, A$40.62 on Saturday and A$47.39 on Sunday, from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026.
How much does Deputy cost for an 18-person cafe?+
On Deputy's published Australian pricing, Lite is A$6.75 per user per month and Core A$8.75 (ex GST, annual or instalments). 18 users is A$121.50 a month on Lite or A$157.50 on Core, above the A$30 monthly minimum.