By the time a barista service reaches your shortlist, the coffee is usually the easy part. The questions that decide whether it works sit around it: who carries the risk, who covers a sick day, who fixes the machine, and how you will know it is being used.
These are the questions we would ask if we were in your seat, answered with how we run our own bars. Hold any service you are considering to the same list.
Risk and compliance
What insurance do you carry, and can we see it? For us: $20 million public liability, products liability, professional indemnity and workers compensation. Certificates of currency go to your building management or procurement team on request.
Who insures the equipment once it is on our floor? Ask this one specifically, because the answer is often not what people assume. We insure all equipment up until delivery. After installation, your business insures it against theft, fire and accidental damage. In most cases it can be added as an endorsement to your existing policy, and we provide the equipment value schedule for your insurer.
Are your baristas food safety certified? Ours hold food safety certificates, and we carry Food Safety Supervisor certification. If you run under a facilities management agreement, ask how the service fits inside it. We work within existing FM contract structures, compliance requirements and reporting cadence.
The crew
Who employs the barista? This decides who manages leave, performance and rosters. Our baristas are trained, managed and paid by us. You are not taking on hospitality staffing.
What happens when our barista is sick or on leave? The answer you want is a specific one. Ours are rostered to your peaks, with cover arranged when someone is away, so a sick day is our problem to solve.
Will it be the same people every day? Consistency is most of the value. A barista who learns your regulars by name is what makes a bar a gathering point. We run the same trained crew at each site.
How many baristas will we need? Be wary of a confident number before anyone has seen your floor. It depends on headcount, peak times and layout. We confirm it on the first call, then right-size it during the pilot.
Equipment and the space
Who owns and maintains the machine? With us, the La Marzocco machine, grinder and beans are ours. Servicing, calibration and restocking run on our schedule, with no surprise bills for maintenance.
What do you need from us? Get this in writing early. We need power to spec, water and drainage, storage and dishwashing, secure access for our crew and delivery access for milk and sundries. Our install team walks the site before any contract, and if electrical or plumbing work is needed we recommend trades.
How long until it is running? A cart-based bar is live one to two weeks from approval. A custom integrated bar takes four to six weeks, including design, procurement and install.
Reporting and the numbers
How will we know it is being used? A service you cannot measure is hard to defend at budget time. Through our Square partnership, you see consumption, peak periods and popular drinks on a live dashboard, with monthly reporting that includes sustainability metrics.
How is it billed? Ask about the invoice cycle, how co-payments are handled, and what extras cost. Ours is one invoice at the end of each month, payable in 14 days, with any team co-payments collected through the point of sale deducted from it. Additional barista hours are $65 an hour, exclusive of GST, and fees carry a 5% annual adjustment on the contract anniversary.
Can we see results from sites like ours? Look for the client's own figures, not the provider's claims. JLL reports a 500 to 600% increase in personal connections across departments at 101 Collins Street, and we wrote up what made that bar work.
The commitment
Can we trial it? Ours is a four to ten week pilot with no lock-in and no setup or cancellation fees.
What happens after the pilot? Ask for the term, the notice period and the early exit terms in plain English. Ours: an ongoing agreement typically runs 12 to 24 months. After the initial term, either party can end it with 90 days' written notice. Ending early carries a fee of six months of service fees or the remaining contract balance, whichever is lower, because it covers the equipment, install and barista hiring we invest in upfront.
A provider who answers all of this plainly, before you sign, is one you can work with. If you want to put these questions to us about an in-house barista cafe for your office in Melbourne or Sydney, we are happy to answer them on the first call.
