Case Study: Cuckoo Callay automates rostering and simplifies payroll with Deputy

Automating the rostering process makes life easier for the Cuckoo Callay team

Cuckoo Callay is a Sydney café group that grew from one Newtown location in 2013 to two cafes and a 120‑seat restaurant, employing about 60 mostly casual staff. Rapid growth made rostering and staff management the biggest headache: rosters were done by hand each week, staff had to check in person or by text, and manual timesheets caused transcription errors and took hours to process.

Implementing Deputy automated rostering, sends rosters straight to staff phones, and provides an easy-to-use platform for timesheets and payroll exports, giving up‑to‑date labour and sales data. The result: significant time savings, fewer payroll errors, simpler staff communication through manager messaging and chat support, and smoother integrations—benefits the owners say they’d happily recommend.

Cuckoo Callay

Eleanor Harris

Co-Founder