Hospitality event staffing

Hospitality staffing software for agencies placing bartenders, servers and catering crews.

Catering and hospitality shifts are won or lost on certifications, punctuality and last-minute coverage. Staffli is hospitality staffing software built for the agency side: certifications on file with their expiry dates, your most reliable crew booked first, SMS that reaches people, clock-in verified at the venue and client invoices built from the hours you validate.

Hospitality staffing software: client portal where a venue or caterer requests a crew for a date

What hospitality staffing software has to get right

Certifications on file

Alcohol and food handler certifications sit on each worker's profile with their expiry dates, and nobody without a valid card lands on a shift that requires one.

SMS that reaches the crew

Shift offers, reminders and last-minute changes go out by push, SMS or both, with a delivery status on every message.

Clock-in verified at the venue

Workers clock in on site with a location check and a selfie, so you know who is there before the client asks.

Client invoices from validated hours

The hours you validate become the client invoice, with night rates, premiums, sales tax by state and split billing. Export to QuickBooks or Xero.

Catering staffing software for banquets, bars and plated dinners

A hospitality booking is rarely one role. A plated wedding dinner can need a banquet captain, servers, bartenders and a barback, each with a different call time, dress code and rate. In Staffli one event holds every role, and a venue's recurring banquets run as one program for the season.

Staffing ratios depend on the service style and the menu. Our guide to catering staff ratios walks through the common rules of thumb, and the event staffing calculator turns a guest count into a headcount.

  • Several roles per event, each with its own call time and rates
  • A venue's recurring banquets grouped as one program
Read the catering staff ratios guide

Alcohol server certifications, state by state

Which card a bartender needs depends on the state, and sometimes the county or city. Hospitality staffing software cannot decide the rule for you, but it can make sure nobody without the right card lands on the shift, and remind the worker before the card expires.

California: RBS certification

Since July 1, 2022, on-premises alcohol servers and their managers must hold a Responsible Beverage Service certification. New hires have 60 days from their first day of work, and the certification is valid for three years (California ABC).

Texas: TABC seller-server certificate

State law does not require it, but many employers do. The certificate is valid for two years from the date it is issued, and the employer's permit can be protected from administrative action ("safe harbor") only if, among other conditions, sellers and their managers are certified within 30 days of hire (TABC).

Illinois: BASSET

Illinois runs its own server and seller training program, BASSET, through the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. Check the commission's current rules for your venue and city before the season starts.

Alcohol tasting staff rules by state
Worker profile in the event staff app with a valid alcohol server certificate and its expiry date

Last-minute coverage when a server calls out

Hospitality staffing runs on the evening before. Your most reliable crew is booked first, backups are already lined up when a bartender cancels at 9 pm, and confirmed workers get a reminder before the shift. Nelson, your AI staffing coordinator, flags short-staffed shifts before you ask.

Billing hospitality clients: night rates, premiums and split invoices

Banquet nights run late and holiday weekends cost more. Validated hours carry the right day or night rate and premiums, invoices go out per client with sales tax by state and PO numbers, and when one crew serves a venue and its caterer, each payer gets its own invoice. Invoices export to QuickBooks or Xero. Staffli does not run payroll or move money.

Staffing agency invoicing software
Hospitality staffing invoice built from validated hours

What your venue and catering clients see

Your clients log into a portal on your domain. They request a crew, see who is coming, read the recap after the event and find their invoices. You keep the final word on every request.

Staffli vs spreadsheets and group texts

Most hospitality agencies start on a spreadsheet and a group text. Here is the same work, job by job, done both ways.

  • Staffing a plated dinner

    Spreadsheet and group texts
    One spreadsheet tab per event, roles in columns, names typed in by hand.
    Staffli
    One event with every role, its headcount, call time and rates.
  • Checking alcohol certifications

    Spreadsheet and group texts
    Ask for a photo of the card, hope it has not expired.
    Staffli
    The card is on the profile with its expiry date, checked before anyone is booked.
  • Covering a callout at 9 pm

    Spreadsheet and group texts
    Text everyone you know, wait for a reply.
    Staffli
    Backups are already lined up on the shift.
  • Proving the crew was on time

    Spreadsheet and group texts
    A sign-in sheet at the staff entrance.
    Staffli
    Clock-in verified at the venue with a selfie.
  • Billing night and holiday hours

    Spreadsheet and group texts
    Recalculated by hand in the invoice spreadsheet.
    Staffli
    Rates and premiums applied to validated hours, export to QuickBooks or Xero.
  • Splitting a crew between venue and caterer

    Spreadsheet and group texts
    Two invoices built by hand, checked line by line.
    Staffli
    One invoice per payer from the same hours.

Included with every agency

One price per active worker. No modules to buy, no seats for managers.

  • Complete setup done for youYour domain bought for you, markets, positions, rates, recap templates, branding, roster import
  • Back officeShifts, programs, tiers and waves, hours validation, finance dashboard
  • Branded worker appYour name, icon and colors, on the App Store and Google Play. Geofenced clock-in with selfie
  • Client portalShift requests you validate, recaps, casting likes, invoices, one thread. Included
  • Client invoicing & payrollConsolidated and split invoices, sales tax by state, synced with QuickBooks. Payroll exports for ADP, Gusto and Paychex
  • Nelson, your AI staffing coordinatorCreates events, staffs, launches waves, lists invoices, sets reminders
  • SMS channelA2P registration filed for you. Every message logged with its delivery status
  • Documents & e-signatureOnboarding documents signed in the app, certifications with expiry alerts, reminders. No DocuSign needed
  • Hypercare & support30 days with every adjustment included, then one named person who knows your agency

FAQ

Hospitality staffing software: questions agencies ask

What is hospitality staffing software?

Software that a staffing agency uses to place hospitality workers (bartenders, servers, banquet captains, catering crews) with clients: it keeps the roster and its certifications, dispatches shifts, reaches the crew, verifies attendance and bills the client from the hours. It is different from a scheduler built for one restaurant or hotel's own team, which does not handle clients, rates or invoices.

Is Staffli catering staffing software too?

Yes. Caterers and catering staffing agencies use the same tools: events with several roles, programs for recurring banquets, certifications on file, clock-in verified at the venue and invoices built from validated hours.

Does Staffli track alcohol-service certifications?

Yes. TABC, RBS, BASSET, RAMP, TIPS and other certifications are stored per worker with their expiry dates, with reminders before they lapse. Workers without a valid one are not booked on shifts that require it.

How does Staffli reduce no-shows on hospitality shifts?

Reminders before the shift by push and SMS with delivery status, your most reliable workers booked first, backups lined up, and Nelson flagging short-staffed shifts before you ask.

Can clients request shifts themselves?

Yes. Clients request a crew from their portal on your domain, and you validate every request before it reaches your workers. They also see who is coming, the recaps and their invoices.

Can I bill night rates and holiday premiums?

Yes. Day and night rates and holiday premiums apply to validated hours, with sales tax by state and split billing on the invoice.

Do workers download a Staffli app or my agency's app?

Your agency's app. Staffli is fully white-label: the worker app carries your name, your logo and your colors, the client portal runs on your own domain, and your data sits in a dedicated database. Workers and clients never see the Staffli brand.

How is Staffli priced?

Staffli is priced per active worker per month. You only pay for workers who actually worked a shift in the last two months. Admin seats are unlimited, with no per-seat fees for managers. SMS is billed at 3 cents a message. The exact rate is on the pricing page.

Not legal advice. Alcohol service rules change and can differ by county and city: check with your state's alcohol regulator before you staff a bar. Rules above checked on November 1, 2026.

Sources

  1. Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Training Program, California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
  2. TABC Certification FAQs, Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
  3. BASSET program, Illinois Liquor Control Commission

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