Case Study: Ume Burger saves 20 hours a week in admin and cuts labour costs with Deputy

Ume Burger and Deputy work together to flip the best Japanese burgers in Sydney

Ume Burger, founded by award‑winning chefs Kerby Craig and Joe Siahaan, grew from a Surry Hills pop‑up into two busy Sydney CBD locations (including Barangaroo) serving hundreds of burgers a day. Rapid expansion exposed major rostering and payroll pain points: Craig was managing schedules in Excel, spending 20–30 hours a week (or hiring a $500–$600/week bookkeeper) on admin, and struggled to match staff availability and breaks across two sites.

They adopted Deputy to automate rostering, let staff submit availability and swap shifts, and provide real‑time wage costing plus automated timekeeping and payroll. The outcome: roughly 20 hours saved per week in admin, fewer payroll errors, tighter roster cost control, and the ability to run both businesses with a much smaller admin team.

Ume Burger

Kerby Craig

Founder & Head Chef