Everything we have written, in one place

Every guide Skai Solutions has published for Australian and New Zealand operators, in one place: what phone answering costs in both markets, award rates and wages, compliance obligations, venue benchmarks, POS integration detail and city guides. Every figure on these pages is either linked to its source or shown as arithmetic you can check yourself.

What it costs

The published numbers, in local currency, with every source linked.

• AI receptionist cost in Australia and New Zealand
  The published plans in both currencies, the four billing models that make headline prices impossible to compare, and what a setup fee should actually buy.
• Phone answering service cost in New Zealand
  Every way a NZ venue can get its phone answered, priced side by side - message taking, virtual receptionist, AI, and rostering a person on it.
• Phone answering service cost in Australia
  The same comparison for Australian operators, at current Fair Work rates.
• Virtual receptionist cost in Australia
  What the per-call and per-minute plans actually work out to once a venue's real call volume goes through them.
• Restaurant phone system cost in Australia
  A$20 to A$35 per user a month, plus setup, handsets and porting. The full inputs table at August 2026 market rates, with a worked example for a two person cafe.

How the products differ

What actually separates these products, and where Skai Solutions is the wrong buy.

• The cheapest way to get a restaurant phone answered
  All five categories priced against each other, including what a staff member on the award actually costs and the August 2026 Australian phone system market ranges.
• Does an AI receptionist actually work?
  The four ways it fails, what the peer-reviewed evidence on unanswered calls really says, and five tests to run before you believe a demo.
• AI receptionist for restaurants and cafes
  What the category covers, what each tier costs in Australia and New Zealand, what it handles badly, and who should not buy one.
• AI phone ordering systems for takeaways
  The three levels of phone automation, which ones can write into a POS that exists in this part of the world, and when none of it is worth buying.
• Best AI phone agents for NZ restaurants
  Who actually serves New Zealand hospitality, and who just says they do.
• How AI phone answering actually works
  One call followed from divert to POS ticket in five stages, the four things it handles badly, and the venues that should not buy one.
• How does a virtual receptionist work?
  The divert, who is on the other end, what it costs against a A$33.05 casual hour, and the four venue situations where the model breaks down.
• What is a telephone answering service?
  Three different products share one name. Message taking, virtual reception and software side by side, what each does badly, and who should buy nothing at all.

Running the venue

Benchmarks you can check your own venue against, from named sources with the year attached.

• Staff roster rules for Australian restaurants
  How much notice you have to give to change a published roster, the award limits on hours and days off, and why a rostered off employee can lawfully decline your call.
• How much a food handler certificate costs in Australia
  The full price ladder from the free government course to the accredited supervisor skill set, why New South Wales costs more, and what it costs to train a whole team.
• Restaurant receptionist duties and responsibilities
  The full job on both sides of the pass, what the Restaurant Industry Award pays for it in 2026, a description you can copy, and the two points where the role stops coping.
• What a normal restaurant profit margin looks like in Australia
  Worked from ATO small business benchmarks by turnover band: 16% at the small end, 9% above A$2 million, and why cafes beat restaurants until they do not.
• What delivery app commission fees cost you
  30%, 16% and 6% on published September 2026 merchant rates, identical in both markets, with one A$40 order run through the app, your own site and the phone.
• What to do when staff call in sick
  Sick leave in Australia against New Zealand, who pays for the medical certificate, and four ways to cover the shift ordered cheapest first.
• What restaurant no-shows actually cost
  Australia's recorded no-show rate is 1.41%, measured across 251,804 bookings. Why that costs more than it sounds, and four fixes ordered cheapest first.
• What are the hospitality award pay levels?
  All seven classifications and their rates from 1 July 2026, how the award decides a level by duties rather than job title, and what being one level out costs per year.
• What is the minimum shift length for hospitality staff?
  Two hours for an Australian casual, three for a part timer, and no statutory minimum at all in New Zealand, where cancelling a shift is the expensive part instead.
• What percentage should labour cost be?
  Wage costs run about 40% of revenue in New Zealand hospitality. How to work out your own ratio properly, and what to do when it is worse.
• What is a good food cost percentage?
  The tax office puts cost of sales at 32% to 39% of turnover for small Australian restaurants and 34% to 42% for cafes, from lodged returns rather than a rule of thumb.
• Hospitality award rates from 1 July 2026
  Every level, the weekend penalties and the late night loadings, plus which award actually covers a standalone restaurant. Award minimums rose 4.75%.
• What casual loading costs in hospitality
  The loading is 25%, so a Level 1 casual is A$33.05 an hour from 1 July 2026. Minimum shifts, the two mistakes that cause most underpayments, and when a casual can ask to go permanent.
• Does your venue need a food safety supervisor?
  Required since 8 December 2023, certificate valid five years, and the clause almost nobody reads: in NSW the supervisor has to be reachable by phone while you trade.
• What your answering machine message should say
  A script you can read straight into the handset, why the first hang-up spike lands in the opening seconds, and four ways to stop needing voicemail at all.
• How to answer the phone at a restaurant
  The greeting, the six fields to capture in the order that survives a dropped call, and four fixes ordered cheapest first when the phone beats the floor.
• Is there still a staff shortage?
  Accommodation and food services vacancies fell to 34,000 in May 2026 from 40,600. Why a shift still feels short, and four fixes ordered cheapest first.

POS integrations

Eight systems connected today. If yours is not here, we say so.

• All POS integrations
  The full list, plus the systems we are asked about and do not support yet.
• Kounta / Lightspeed
  AI phone orders into Kounta and Lightspeed.
• Square
  AI phone orders into Square.
• Impos
  AI phone orders into Impos.
• H&L POS
  AI phone orders into H&L.
• Tevalis
  AI phone orders into Tevalis.
• Revel Systems
  AI phone orders into Revel.
• TouchBistro
  AI phone orders into TouchBistro.
• Oracle MICROS
  AI phone orders into Oracle MICROS.

New Zealand

Built here, priced in NZD.

• What a food control plan costs in New Zealand
  Registration, verification and the rising food business levy priced from published Auckland Council fees, with a worked first year total of NZ$1,299.84 for one site.
• Hospitality wages in New Zealand, 2026
  The NZ$23.95 minimum wage from 1 April 2026, the NZ$27.84 industry average, and pay by role. Plus why New Zealand has no hospitality award and what that does to your roster.
• Skai Solutions for New Zealand venues
  How it works for a NZ restaurant, cafe or takeaway.
• New Zealand pricing
  Plans in NZD, excluding GST.
• Auckland
  AI phone answering for Auckland restaurants and cafes.
• Wellington
  AI phone answering for Wellington venues.
• Christchurch
  AI phone answering for Christchurch venues.

Australia

Plans in AUD.

• Australian pricing
  Plans in AUD, excluding GST.

About

• About Skai Solutions
  Who builds this, where, and why it is hospitality-only.
• Privacy policy
  What we collect, how call recordings are handled.
• Terms of service
  Billing, notice periods, and what you are agreeing to.

Talk to us about your venue

Thirty minutes, no commitment. We will tell you on the call if your POS is not supported or if your call volume does not justify this yet.

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