A QR-first restaurant POS for Saskatoon, for a patio that can stay open all year.
Saskatoon lets a sidewalk café run all year, posts every health inspection online, and splits a bill between two provincial taxes. With Waitery, guests scan a table QR code, then order, tip and pay on their phone. It costs $14 CAD per location per month, and setup is free.
Four numbers a Saskatoon operator plans around.
Each card links its official source (checked October 31, 2026).
New City business licence
For a Commercial Business Licence, then $95 a year to renew. One licence per location.
Sidewalk café licence year
A sidewalk café may run the whole year, at no fee beyond your business licence.
Inspection report online
Inspection InSite reports are generally posted within one working day of the visit.
PST on food, LCT on drinks
Meals carry 6% PST. Beer, wine and spirits carry 10% Liquor Consumption Tax instead.
Source: Saskatchewan Finance, Bulletin PST-33: Restaurants (PDF)
Saskatoon sidewalk cafés can run all year.
Saskatoon's sidewalk café licence runs from April 1 to March 31, or any part of it, so a café can stay open through the winter. There is no fee beyond your Commercial Business Licence, but you apply every year. A new or changed café goes to the Saskatchewan Health Authority, police, fire and City departments, plus the liquor regulator if you serve alcohol outside. A renewal with the same owner and design skips that review.
The standards that shape your layout:
- $2,000,000 in liability insurance.
- A 2-metre clear path for people walking by, and a 1.5-metre walkway to your door.
- Fences no higher than 1 metre, and the café wheelchair accessible.
- The same hours as the restaurant, and the area kept clear of ice and snow.
A parking patio takes over street parking stalls instead. It is licensed for at least two months, and the City's form lists a fee of $14.40 per stall per day for the first 30 days, then $12.96. On a wooden deck only electric heaters are allowed; gas and propane are not. For winter, the City suggests blankets, a snow plan and a call to Saskatoon Fire (306-975-2520) before adding heaters.
With a QR code on each café table, a guest in a parka can order and pay without waiting for someone to come out.
Source: City of Saskatoon, Sidewalk Cafes & Parking Patios
The City licence, then the health licence.
Any business on commercially zoned property needs a City of Saskatoon Commercial Business Licence. A new licence costs $135, and the yearly renewal is $95. Each location needs its own. The City won't issue it until your building permits are taken out. Approval arrives by mail in about two to three weeks, and the licence lasts one year from the day it is issued.
Before opening, the City tells restaurants to call the Saskatchewan Health Authority (306-655-4605) to book a kitchen inspection and get a provincial health licence. A liquor licence comes from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority. Have your POS hardware delivered and tested before that inspection.
Inspection InSite: your report is public the next working day.
Public health inspectors in Saskatchewan carry out around 15,000 food facility inspections a year. Results go on the province's Inspection InSite website, generally within one working day, and stay there for three years unless the restaurant changes owners. You can't ask to have a report left off, but a Public Health Inspection Manager will review one you disagree with.
- Routine inspections are unannounced. Inspectors aim to visit at least once a year.
- How often you are seen depends on your menu, how much handling the food needs and your record.
A health licence lasts up to two years. It can carry conditions, such as take-out only without public washrooms. Copies of a restaurant's inspection reports cost $30 on request.
A POS can't pass an inspection for you. It can cut down on lost tickets: allergy modifiers reach the kitchen as the guest chose them.
Source: SHA, Restaurant Inspections
PST on the food, LCT on the drinks.
Saskatchewan adds 6% PST to the 5% GST, and restaurant meals and non-alcoholic drinks have carried PST since April 1, 2017. The PST must show as its own amount on the bill. Beer, wine and spirits are different: no PST, but 10% Liquor Consumption Tax on the price before GST. Bulletin PST-33 covers the tricky cases:
- An optional tip shown or paid separately is not taxed. A mandatory gratuity added to the bill is.
- Delivery charged as its own line on take-out is not taxed.
- A percentage-off deal is taxed on the lower price; a $5 coupon is taxed on the price before the coupon.
- Free staff meals given as a term of employment carry no PST; discounted staff meals do, on the lower price.
Waitery handles sales tax per province and sends itemized receipts by email or SMS. Before going live, ring a test bill with a burger, a pint and a tip, and check each line.
Saskatchewan's minimum wage is $15.70 an hour from October 1, 2026. The Time Clock & Labor add-on ($19 a month) keeps staff hours in the same system as sales.
Source: Saskatchewan Finance, Bulletin PST-33: Restaurants (PDF)
Source: Saskatchewan, Liquor Consumption Tax
Source: CRA, GST/HST and PST rates
Source: Government of Saskatchewan, minimum wage news release, June 29, 2026
What to ask before choosing a POS system in Saskatoon.
Patio tables that order themselves
Give each café table its own QR code. In February, nobody wants to wave through the window.
QR orderingOne closing time for both rooms
The café can't stay open later than the restaurant. Time-based menus change on the clock, inside and out.
Guest menuTips on their own line
Guests tip as a separate step on their phone, which keeps optional tips apart from the taxable meal.
Pay at the tableKitchen tickets the inspector can read
Modifiers such as “no sesame” reach the kitchen screen as written, with a printer as backup.
Kitchen displayPickup and delivery on the same menu
Online ordering is in the monthly price, on the same menu as dine-in.
Online orderingA price you can read first
$14 CAD a month per location, free setup, and no per-screen kitchen display fee.
POS cost in CanadaWaitery pricing for a Saskatoon restaurant.
$14 CAD a month per location covers QR ordering, the kitchen display, the server handheld app, online ordering, kitchen printer support and the owner panel, in English and French. Setup is free, and kitchen screens carry no per-screen software fee. Waitery's hardware is yours to buy or lease over 48 months, with a 1-year warranty. Processing rates are quoted individually.
See the full pricing page, our guide to restaurant POS cost in Canada, or compare Waitery with other POS systems.
Based in Mississauga, shipping to Saskatoon.
Waitery is based in Mississauga, Ontario, and there is no Saskatoon office. Hardware ships to Saskatoon like anywhere else in Canada. Opening a second spot elsewhere on the Prairies? See our Regina restaurant POS page or the Edmonton page, or start with the full restaurant POS overview.
Saskatoon restaurant POS questions.
How much does a restaurant POS cost in Saskatoon?
Waitery's software is $14 CAD a month per location for the whole platform, and setup is free. A server handheld is $700, or $24.49 a month on a 48-month lease. Card processing is quoted for each restaurant.
What licences does a Saskatoon restaurant need?
A City of Saskatoon Commercial Business Licence ($135 new, $95 to renew each year) and a provincial health licence from the Saskatchewan Health Authority, which inspects the kitchen before you open. Serving alcohol also needs a liquor licence from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority.
Can a Saskatoon restaurant keep a sidewalk café open in winter?
Yes. A sidewalk café licence covers April 1 to March 31, or any part of it, and costs nothing beyond your business licence. You need $2,000,000 in liability insurance, a 2-metre clear path for people walking by, and the area kept clear of ice and snow.
Where can guests see a Saskatoon restaurant's inspection results?
On the provincial Inspection InSite website. Reports are generally posted within one working day of an inspection and stay up for three years unless the restaurant changes owners. Operators cannot ask to have a report left off.
Do Saskatoon restaurants charge PST on meals and drinks?
Meals and non-alcoholic drinks carry 6% PST, shown as its own amount, plus 5% GST. Beer, wine and spirits are not charged PST; they carry the 10% Liquor Consumption Tax instead. Optional tips shown separately are not taxed.
Does Waitery have a Saskatoon office?
No. Waitery is based in Mississauga, Ontario, and there is no Saskatoon office. We ship and support hardware across Canada, Saskatoon included.
Sources
All from City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Health Authority, Government of Saskatchewan and Government of Canada pages, checked October 31, 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm on the source before acting on them.
- City of Saskatoon, Commercial Business Licence
- City of Saskatoon, Specialized Requirements
- City of Saskatoon, Sidewalk Cafes & Parking Patios
- City of Saskatoon, Sidewalk Cafe Guidelines (PDF)
- City of Saskatoon, Sidewalk Cafe Application (PDF)
- SHA, Restaurant Inspections
- Saskatchewan, Inspection InSite FAQ
- Saskatchewan, Provincial Sales Tax
- Saskatchewan Finance, Bulletin PST-33: Restaurants (PDF)
- Saskatchewan, Liquor Consumption Tax
- CRA, GST/HST and PST rates
- Government of Saskatchewan, minimum wage news release, June 29, 2026
See Waitery set up for your Saskatoon menu.
Book a 20-minute demo. Bring your menu, your sidewalk café plan and a sample bill with food and drinks on it.
Book a demo