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Haven Coffee
Haven Coffee has five locations across Sydney, all sharing the same welcoming vibe, popular drinks and Square-supported workflow. Below, the team offers insights into how the cafes run day to day, from customer orders to the behind-the-scenes work that keeps the daily grind moving.
On the counter
Front-of-house staff use Square for Restaurants to take orders and payments efficiently. Table service orders are entered on an iPad, and takeaway orders are handled at the counter using Square Register. Tableside payments are taken quickly with Square Terminal, while Square Reader adds extra flexibility for pop-ups, workshops, their coffee cart or simply as a backup when needed.
“I particularly like the feature of Square where you can have multiple devices at once and link to the same account,” says Co-Director Herman Chiu. “We can set up multiple POS stations and do transactions simultaneously.”
The menu interface in Square lets the team customise the layout to suit their needs. Items are colour-coded and separated by category – hot drinks, iced drinks, food and merch – making it easy for team members to find items and put through orders quickly.
Staff manage special requests through the notes feature. Modifiers like drink sizes and alternative milks are built into each menu item, with space to add special requests such as ‘no lid’ or ‘extra choc’ for a cappuccino. Ellie Wardle, bar supervisor at Haven Barangaroo, says it’s a “game-changer during service” and sometimes adds a bit of humour. “On the iPad, if someone types ‘extra hot,’ it autocorrects to ‘extra hot dogs.’ That’s always a laugh!”
The point-of-sale setup is identical across all five cafes. Team members who move between locations can step in and serve customers confidently without having to learn a new system.
Square Gift Cards powers Haven Club, which works as both a gift card and loyalty program. Guests can top up cards for themselves or as gifts, receive 10% off each order, and earn a free coffee when they top up $100 in one go. Staff can also look up a guest’s account by phone number or email if they forget their card. Haven Club has proven hugely popular, with Herman estimating that 40% their total coffee sales flow through the membership.
“Customers love Haven Club. We have many regulars here, and they just love the idea of being part of our Haven community,” Ellie adds. “We know their names. We can find them really easily. Their transaction and their experience are super seamless.”
Behind the counter
In the back of house, Square helps keep the kitchen and prep running smoothly. As soon as an order’s paid for, dockets print instantly at the appropriate station: Food goes to the kitchen, drinks go to the bar, and staff get started right away. “The Square dockets have a very nice layout,” says Executive Chef Tarek Adham. “We see all the modifications or allergies the customer might have. If they want to have any add-ons, it’s all nicely displayed and laid out. We never make any mistakes.”
A central prep kitchen at Haven Green Square produces for all five cafes. Sales reports from Square Dashboard show what each store sells over different periods. Using this data, Tarek and the team decide how much to produce and which store to send it to. “It makes my life very easy – takes a lot of workload off my shoulders,” says Tarek.
“It’s super useful. I love Square. Ever since I’ve had actual access to all the data, I can base my workflow around it and become really precise. My food cost is always good; labour cost is good. We know what we have to do because we can follow the trends over periods of time. I can see what happens this week or last year at the same period, the same season.”
Tarek Adham → Executive Chef
Co-Director Kit Tran tracks sales performance using Square Analytics, giving him a clearer picture of which items resonate with guests – and the confidence to make menu changes when they don’t. Kit recalls a friend who was a fan of their Overnight Oats and came in almost daily for one. But beyond him, very few customers were ordering it. The team replaced it with a new item that’s since been performing well. Fortunately, their friend gave it a try and liked it too. “Sometimes, we just have to make a move, and eventually everything will be alright,” Kit reflects.
The team can also spot early interest when launching new items. Ellie recalls an unexpected insight from real-time reports when Haven introduced the Lychee Matcha as part of its latest seasonal offering. “Normally, on day one, not many people see it on the menu, but we sold so many. So it was a really nice surprise.”
Herman is quick to show how easy it is to check how items are performing, whipping out his phone and opening the Square Point of Sale app to review recently launched signature drinks. “For example, I can go to the Green Square location, and then I can go to the coffee section, and then I want to see how the ice drinks are performing over the weekend because it’s so hot. I can look at how the Iced Latte, Iced Long Black and Iced Matcha did. It’s that easy.”
From the floor to the kitchen, and from gift cards to reporting, Square helps Haven manage both the big picture and the small details. Staff and customers all benefit from a system that’s consistent, flexible and ready for whatever the day brings – and any surprises along the way.
