Managing costs and staff at Bar Milano is simple with Deputy

Bar Milano is famous for serving up delicious North Italian cuisine with a seaside influence. It is where the mountains of Italy meet the waves of Maroubra, casual yet refined. Owner Patrick Agostinelli describes the restaurant as fun dining, not fine dining, and the perfect place to relax and enjoy great food.

The team is focused on creating an unforgettable experience, from the food and cocktails to the relaxed coastal atmosphere and friendly staff.

Many of the favourites on Bar Milano’s menu are old family recipes, creating a history on each plate and a narrative that has captured the imagination of its guests. 

Bar Milano is built on high quality, from its fresh ingredients to its passionate people.

“We recruit based on personality,” says Patrick. “Resumes are important, but body language and eye contact are also important. We are looking for people who can have a genuine interaction with the guests, who are passionate and believe in what they do. That is the key to success in the hospitality industry.”

Both Patrick and co-owner Georgette Unger needed a solution that could support a dynamic team and give them time to focus on growing the business.

“We did all the research on all the different types of software available,” says Georgette. “We needed a solution that integrated with Kounta, our point-of-sale system.”

With big plans to expand the Bar Milano brand and potentially open a second or third site, Patrick and Georgette were in the market for a solution that could grow with the business.

“One of the main reasons we chose Deputy is because it integrated with Kounta (Lightspeed). It is functional and very easy to use, especially when it comes to sending updates and messages to staff. Efficiency is probably the key benefit,” says Patrick.

Georgette says Deputy is very current, with updates made in real-time and no need to manually input staff pay rates.

“Running a restaurant can be hectic. It’s a fast-paced environment, so having changes to Fair Work pay rates made automatically on Deputy is fantastic. All pay rate changes are made in real-time with no manual process required from us,” she says.

Patrick has seen the benefits of Deputy’s integration with the business’s financials and accounting as it integrates with Kounta (Lightspeed) and Xero. This allows them to see real-time sales data from their point-of-sale system to adjust staff schedules according to customer demand, and the integration with Xero allows for the processing of payroll in minutes.

“You have full control of costing, which is everything. That is a key priority when using a system like Deputy. When a sale is made, that sale goes into Deputy and allows us to track where we are with actual revenue and also forecasting. Deputy also shows you your labour percentage, which helps us to know how many staff we need,” he says.

“I would recommend Deputy to any business looking to drive efficiency. I wouldn’t think of any other tool to manage my team.”