Public Holiday Surcharge

A lot of hospitality businesses on public holidays will put their prices up by a set amount for every sale. This is to cover the costs of the staff who are working on what should be a day off for everyone. The percentage rate is set anywhere between 5 and 15%.

From the ACCC site:

Restaurants, cafes and bistros that charge a surcharge on certain days do not need to provide a separate menu or price list or have a separate price column with the surcharge factored in. However, the menu must include the words “a surcharge of [percentage] applies on [the specified day or days]” and these words must be displayed at least as prominently as the most prominent price on the menu.

If the menu does not have prices listed, these words must be displayed in a way that is conspicuous and visible to a reader. These measures apply to pricing for both food and beverages.

Setting a public holiday surcharge on the POS terminal requires you to show the sub-total plus the surcharge on the receipt and the total price. You cannot set a price level at 10% and set all POS terminals to use that price level, as it will not show the surcharge amount.

To set automatic surcharges in Idealpos so you don't have to press a surcharge button for every sale, go to Setup > POS Terminals > Modify > POS Settings > Automatic Surcharge.

Enter the % amount, change the text to Public Holiday Surcharge, enter the dates the charges will apply between and select the day/s the charges will apply. This may need to be modified each week. Each POS terminal will need to be changed to these details.