Event booking software for Australian function rooms, clubs and wedding venues
Event booking software is the system an Australian venue uses to answer a function enquiry, check the room, hold the date and confirm the booking once the deposit is paid. For a club function room, a pub upstairs room or a wedding venue in the Hunter or the Yarra Valley, it replaces the diary at reception and the inbox that only one person checks. This guide covers how holds and deposits should work, what clubs and wedding venues need, and how GST applies to hire, deposits and bonds.
Checked against Australian Taxation Office guidance · last reviewed 2026-10-01
Available in Australia
Run your venue or catering business in Australia on Venura
- Booking calendar that warns before a double booking
- Quotes, invoices and receipts in AUD with GST
- Deposits, balances and due-date reminders
- Share PDFs on WhatsApp or email from your phone
No setup fee · Cancel anytime · Web, Android and iPhone · Plans for Australia priced on request
From enquiry to booked function: where Australian venues lose the date
Function enquiries arrive at odd hours. Someone planning a 21st, a wake or an end of financial year party sends the same form to four venues after work, and the venue that comes back first with a date, a package and a price is usually the one they visit. Venues rarely lose these bookings on price. They lose them because the reply waited for the functions coordinator to be back on Tuesday.
A booking system shortens that gap. The enquiry lands with the date, guest numbers and budget already captured, availability is checked against every room, and a quote built from your packages can go out from a phone the same evening. The person asking gets an answer while they are still comparing.
Tentative holds, first option and the second enquiry
Most venues will pencil in a date while a client decides, and most diaries end up full of holds nobody followed up. A tentative hold needs an expiry date, a reminder before it lapses, and a clear rule for what happens when a second client wants the same Saturday: usually the first client is offered the chance to confirm with a deposit within a day or two, or the date goes to the second.
Wedding venues feel this most. Popular spring and autumn Saturdays are often asked about by several couples a year or more ahead, so the system has to show which couple holds first option and when it runs out.
Sample booking quote: 50th birthday in a Brisbane club function room
Saturday night 50th birthday for 90 guests in a club function room, cocktail-style food and a four-hour beverage package. Prices are illustrative and shown before GST.
| Item | Qty | Rate | Tax | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Function room hire, 6 pm to 11 pm | 1 evening | $800.00 | GST 10% | $800.00 |
| Canapes and substantial cocktail menu | 90 guest | $62.00 | GST 10% | $5,580.00 |
| Four-hour beverage package | 90 guest | $38.00 | GST 10% | $3,420.00 |
| Microphone, screen and playlist setup | 1 evening | $150.00 | GST 10% | $150.00 |
| Security officer for a function over 80 guests | 4 hour | $70.00 | GST 10% | $280.00 |
- Subtotal
- $10,230.00
- GST 10% on $10,230.00
- $1,023.00
- Total
- $11,253.00
- Deposit (30%)
- $3,375.90
- Balance due
- $7,877.10
- The 30% booking deposit is a part payment of the price, so GST is accounted for on it.
- A A$500 damage bond, if taken, is held as security and is not part of the price unless it is forfeited or applied.
- Final numbers 7 days before the function; charged on the confirmed number after that.
- Illustrative prices only; replace them with your own packages.
What to test in a demo before choosing event booking software in Australia
| Test | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Send an enquiry at 8 pm and time the first reply | Function clients compare several venues the same evening; slow replies lose bookings. |
| Hold a Saturday for one client, then enquire for it as a second | The system should show first option and the hold expiry, not double book. |
| Book two rooms that share one bar | Shared bars and kitchens are where club function diaries go wrong. |
| Record a booking deposit and a damage bond separately | GST treats a part payment and a security bond differently, so they need separate lines.[1] |
| Issue a tax invoice with GST shown per line | Corporate clients need a valid tax invoice to claim GST credits. |
| Apply a minimum spend and add room hire when it is not met | Clubs and pubs often price exclusive use this way. |
| Print the run sheet for the bar, kitchen and security | Times, numbers and dietary needs should flow from the booking. |
Clubs, pubs and RSL-style venues: rooms, members and the bar
Licensed clubs often run several rooms off one kitchen and one bar, with member functions, community groups and private parties in the same week. The booking system has to treat the bar and kitchen as shared resources, so two large functions are not booked into rooms that depend on the same service at the same time.
Clubs also tend to price differently for members and community groups. Packages per head, a minimum spend for exclusive use, and room hire charged only when the minimum is not reached are all common, and the quote should show which rule applies so there is no argument at the end of the night.
- Rooms linked to one bar or kitchen, so capacity is checked across them.
- Member and non-member pricing on the same package.
- Minimum spend for exclusive use, with room hire applied if it is not met.
- Responsible service of alcohol staffing and security noted on the event sheet for larger functions.
Deposits, bonds and GST: what applies to a function booking
GST at 10% applies to venue and function room hire, catering served at the venue, beverage packages and most extras, so a registered venue's quote should show the GST for each part of the booking. Private clients usually compare GST-inclusive totals; this page's sample shows GST separately only so the maths is visible.
Two kinds of money arrive before the event and the GST rules treat them differently. A booking deposit that is a part payment of the price is consideration for the function, so GST is accounted for on it in the usual way. A security bond held against damage is different: Division 99 of the GST Act says a deposit given as security is not consideration for a supply until it is forfeited or applied towards the price. If you keep part of a bond for damage, GST is attributed when you forfeit it.
Keeping the two apart in the booking system, with the bond on its own line and its return or forfeiture recorded, saves a long conversation with your bookkeeper at BAS time.
How to choose event booking software in Australia
Lists of event booking software mix products that do quite different jobs. Work out which kind of booking makes most of your function revenue, then compare tools inside that kind only.
A venue whose income comes from private functions, weddings and corporate events needs a function sales system. A venue that mostly sells tables or tickets may be better served by the tool it already has, with private hire handled on the side.
| Kind of tool | Built for | Suits | Struggles with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant and pub table booking platforms | Covers and dining times | Venues where functions are occasional | Exclusive hire, bonds and staged deposits |
| Function and event sales systems (where Venura sits) | Enquiry, hold, quote, deposit and run sheet | Function rooms, clubs and wedding venues | Public ticket sales |
| Hall and facility hire tools | Hourly bookings for halls, courts and meeting rooms | Council and community halls without catering | Packages, menus and per-head pricing |
| Ticketing platforms | Selling seats to the public | Gigs, festivals and shared events | Private functions booked by one client |
The enquiry form and the handover to the floor
An enquiry form that asks the right questions saves a round of emails. Ask for the date and a backup date, the type of function, the guest range rather than one number, whether they want food and drinks packages or a bar tab, any accessibility needs, and a budget band. With those answers, the first reply can be a real quote instead of a request for more details.
The other end of the booking matters as much. A week out, the duty manager, the chef and the bar all need the same run sheet: arrival and finish times, final numbers, dietary needs, the speeches, the cake, and who the client contact is on the night. When that sheet is built from the booking rather than retyped, the details the client confirmed by email are the details the staff see.
- Date, backup date and start and finish times.
- Type of function and guest range.
- Food and beverage preferences, or bar tab with a limit.
- Dietary and accessibility needs.
- Budget band and preferred contact method.
Where Venura fits for an Australian venue
Venura is venue and catering software for the booking side of functions, on the web, Android and iOS. It keeps the function diary with tentative and confirmed bookings and double-booking warnings, builds quotes and tax invoices with your own GST lines, records deposits, bonds and balances against each booking, produces the run sheet, and shares documents by email or WhatsApp.
It does not take card payments, does not connect to payment gateways or accounting software such as Xero or MYOB, and does not sell tickets. Venues usually keep their payment terminal and accounts as they are and record payments in Venura. There is a free 30-day trial, and pricing for Australian venues is quoted on request.
Try Venura on your next booking
Bookings, quotes, invoices and payments for your venue or catering business in Australia, in AUD with GST. Web, Android and iPhone. Free for 30 days.
Event booking software questions from Australia
What is event booking software?
Event booking software is the system a venue uses to take function enquiries, check room availability, hold dates and confirm bookings with a deposit. For Australian function rooms, clubs and wedding venues it usually also builds the quote, records payments and produces the run sheet the staff work from on the night.
Is GST charged on a function deposit or a bond?
A booking deposit that is a part payment of the price is consideration for the function, so GST applies to it. A bond held as security against damage is not consideration under Division 99 of the GST Act until it is forfeited or applied towards the price, at which point GST is attributed. Check your own situation with your accountant.
How long should a venue hold a date without a deposit?
There is no rule, but many venues hold a date for seven to fourteen days and shorten that when a second client asks. What matters is that the hold has an expiry the system tracks, and that the first client is told when someone else is interested.
What software do wedding venues use for bookings?
Wedding venues usually use a function or event sales system that handles tentative holds, staged payments over a long lead time and a detailed run sheet. Some add a separate planning tool for couples. The booking system should show which couple holds first option on a Saturday and every payment due before the day.
Do I need to issue a tax invoice for every function?
A GST-registered venue must provide a tax invoice when a registered business client asks for one, and corporate clients nearly always do because they need it to claim GST credits. Building the invoice from the booking keeps the figures consistent with the quote and the deposit already paid.
Does Venura process payments or connect to Xero?
No. Venura records deposits, bonds and balances against each booking and produces quotes, receipts and invoices, but it does not process card payments and does not connect to payment gateways or accounting software such as Xero or MYOB. Venues record the payment in Venura after taking it through their usual terminal or bank.
More templates for Australia
- A quote template for Australian function venues and caterers
- Tax invoice template for Australian function venues and caterers
- Receipt template for deposits, bonds and balances at Australian venues
- Banquet event order template for Australian venues and caterers
- Event management software for Australian function centres, clubs and wedding venues
- Venue management software for Australian wedding venues, clubs and multi-space sites
- Catering software for Australian caterers: from corporate orders to wedding kitchens
- All Australia guides
Event booking software in other countries
Sources
- A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999, Division 99: deposits as security (Federal Register of Legislation) (checked 2026-10-06)
- GSTR 2006/2: GST and deposits held as security (Australian Taxation Office) (checked 2026-10-06)
This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change, so confirm with your accountant or the authority linked above.
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