A restaurant bookkeeper for Darwin, ready for the 7pm public holidays.

Who we work with in Darwin

Roger Financial does the bookkeeping, payroll and BAS for cafes, restaurants, takeaways, pubs and bars in Darwin and across the Territory, from a single venue to a small group. Hospitality is the only industry we work in.

If the books are behind, we clean up the history first, free, and as your registered tax agent we bring overdue BAS, IAS and STP lodgments up to date. Then the weekly rhythm starts: one page every Friday with sales, wages, food cost and a BAS put-aside figure, so a week with a 7pm public holiday in it shows in the wage line straight away.

Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve become public holidays at 7pm

In the Northern Territory, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are public holidays from 7pm to midnight. This year both fall on a Thursday, so a dinner service starts on weekday rates and finishes on public holiday rates.

Under the Restaurant Award, a Level 2 casual earns $33.85 an hour on a weekday and $67.70 on a public holiday. A part-time Level 3 cook goes from $27.97 to $62.93.

What the 7pm switch costs a $20,000-a-week restaurant

Take a Darwin restaurant doing $20,000 a week, open 5pm to 10pm on Christmas Eve with five Level 2 casuals and two part-time Level 3 cooks. The first two hours are ordinary Thursday hours. From 7pm to 10pm they're public holiday hours:

• Casuals, 15 hours after 7pm: $507.75 at weekday rates, $1,015.50 at public holiday rates
• Cooks, 6 hours after 7pm: $167.82 at weekday rates, $377.58 at public holiday rates
• Extra wages: $717.51
• Super at 12% on the extra: $86.10
• Extra cost of the night: $803.61, or 4.0% of the week's sales

New Year's Eve on the same roster costs the same again, $1,607.22 for the two nights. Super is due on the penalties because public holiday penalties for ordinary hours count as ordinary time earnings, and the rate is 12%.

We'd put that number into the set menu price or the roster before bookings open. Our piece on restaurant break-even turns a cost like this into covers.

The rest of the Territory's calendar

The NT list also has May Day, Monday 3 May 2027, and Picnic Day, Monday 2 August 2027, along with Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday. This year Boxing Day falls on Saturday 26 December, and Monday 28 December is a public holiday as well.

Between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day the Territory has six public holidays or part-days in nine days: the two 7pm evenings, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, the Monday after it and New Year's Day. Last December's roster is a poor guide, because the dates move every year. Show days are regional holidays, so check the NT Government's list for where your venue is.

Payroll tax starts at $2.5 million, and the tax-free amount goes quickly

The Territory Revenue Office charges 5.5% payroll tax once a business or group pays more than $2.5 million a year in Australian wages, and super counts as wages. Above $2.5 million the tax-free amount falls by $1 for every $2 of wages, so a group at $7.5 million has none left.

You register within 21 days of the end of the first month you're liable. From 1 July 2026 a 6.5% rate applies to groups with Australia-wide wages of $100 million or more, which won't touch most independent venues. The tax itself is worked out on your NT wages, so a group with venues interstate uses its Australia-wide total only to decide whether it pays and at which rate.

Workers compensation: an approved insurer, with family and directors declared

Workers compensation insurance is compulsory for every NT employer that isn't a self-insurer, and only insurers approved by NT WorkSafe can sell it. Each insurer sets its own premium, based on claims performance.

Two rules matter for family-run venues. A company director is covered only if the company's policy discloses the director and their pay to the insurer. In a venue owned by an individual or partnership, family members who live with the owner are covered only if their details and pay are disclosed when they start, when the policy is taken out or at renewal.

Lease disputes start with the Commissioner of Business Tenancies

Retail shop leases of less than 1,000 square metres fall under the Business Tenancies (Fair Dealings) Act 2003, and the Tenancy Unit at NT Consumer Affairs handles business tenancies. A tenant or landlord with a claim applies to the Commissioner of Business Tenancies, who sets up a conciliation conference. NT Consumer Affairs publishes the disclosure statement forms and the application form for a retail tenancy claim.

A retail tenancy claim can only go to court once the Commissioner has issued a certificate, unless you're seeking an injunction. After that the Local Court can hear it, and the Supreme Court can hear claims over $200,000.

How we run a Darwin restaurant's books from Sydney

We're in Sydney and work in your Xero file. Your suppliers email their invoices to a capture address and we code them as they arrive. Payroll runs weekly with STP and super, the bank and every card and delivery payout get reconciled, and on Friday you get one page with sales, wages, food cost, profit and a BAS put-aside figure.

In payrolls we've taken over we have found pay runs processed but never filed through STP, sometimes for months, and a pay run missing from the books entirely. A missing pay run makes those weeks' wages look cheaper than they were.

Our page for owners looking for a restaurant bookkeeper shows what a drifting week costs. Pricing is flat: $499 a month for Core, $599 for Essentials with your monthly IAS and quarterly BAS lodged by a registered tax agent, and $799 for Foundation with company and personal tax returns. Every package includes a monthly call with Amit, and our hospitality accounting page covers the tax side.

Who we're not for

If you want a bookkeeper who drops into the restaurant, a Darwin firm will suit you better. We're remote, which suits owners who want the numbers every Friday more than a visit.

Tell us about your venue below and we'll reply within one business day with a flat price.