HeyPlanlyHome Bakery Pricing: Cost Per Serving, Cake Quotes and Your Margin
A home bakery quote usually goes wrong in one of two ways. It is too low to cover the hours, or it is so high that nobody books. The fix is to price the cake from its parts, servings times a price per serving, and then check the total against what the cake costs you to make. Below is the sample quote from a home bakery spreadsheet, Q-1020 for a 30th birthday, with every number shown so you can check the arithmetic yourself.
Price per serving: three numbers added together
The price per serving is the base rate from Setup plus a flavor upgrade plus a decoration level. In the sample, the bakery charges 4.50 as the base, 0.50 extra for the chocolate and salted caramel filling, and 2.50 for a detailed finish, so every serving is 7.50. Changing one of the three moves the whole cake: each 1.00 added to the base adds 36.00 to a 36-serving order.
| Part of the price | Per serving |
|---|---|
| Base price per serving (Setup) | 4.50 |
| Flavor upgrade: chocolate, salted caramel filling | 0.50 |
| Decoration level: Detailed | 2.50 |
| Price per serving | 7.50 |
The cake line is then 36 servings times 7.50, which is 270.00. Sugar flowers (35.00) and a gold topper (18.00) are typed as separate extras, so the subtotal before tax is 323.00.
Serving chart: tiers turn into servings
Customers order by size, not by slice count. The serving chart on Setup turns each tier into servings, and the quote adds the tiers together. In the sample, Tier 1 is a round 8 inch for 24 servings and Tier 2 is a round 6 inch for 12, so the cake is 36 servings.
| Shape | Servings |
|---|---|
| Round 6 / 8 / 10 in | 12 / 24 / 38 |
| Round 12 / 14 in | 56 / 78 |
| Square 8 / 10 in | 32 / 50 |
| Sheet 9x13 in | 36 |
Cost check: 149.33 behind a 323.00 cake
The right side of the Cake Quote tab is for you and is not printed. It takes the recipe cost, the hours and the extras, and shows what you keep. Ingredients and boxes for 36 servings come to 29.33, which is about 0.81 a serving. Five hours at 20.00 an hour is 100.00, and the 20.00 of extras is the flowers and topper. Total cost is 149.33.
Profit =K13-K12 (quote before tax minus your total cost) Profit per hour =ROUND(K14/K9,2) (profit divided by hours of work)
That gives 173.67 of profit, a 53.8% margin, and 34.73 for each hour of work. Tax is not in the calculation: the 19.38 of sales tax is collected for the state, so the cost check starts from 323.00, not from 342.38.
Deposit and bake plan: from a Confirmed order to a shopping list
The quote books the date with a deposit of 50% of 342.38, which is 171.19. The balance of 171.19 is due at pickup or delivery. Once the deposit is in, the order is set to Confirmed, and the Bake & Shop tab works out what to bake and what to buy. In the sample, six confirmed orders turn into ten batches over the next two weeks: 1.5 batches of lemon raspberry cake, 1.0 red velvet, 1.5 decorated sugar cookies, 2.0 brownies, 2.0 cinnamon rolls and 2.0 cake pops.
The shopping list subtracts what is on the shelf and rounds up to whole packs. Here is a slice of the sample:
| Ingredient | Needed | On hand | To buy | Packs | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powdered sugar (g) | 4300 | 1500 | 2800 | 4 | 11.96 |
| Unsalted butter (g) | 2725 | 900 | 1825 | 5 | 24.95 |
| Cream cheese (g) | 1015 | 226 | 789 | 4 | 11.16 |
| Granulated sugar (g) | 3125 | 2400 | 725 | 1 | 3.29 |
| Eggs, large (pcs) | 32 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 7.98 |
The whole list for these batches is 14 items, 28 packs and an estimated 114.32. The 14 eggs you are short become two packs, so you buy what the batches need and nothing more.
Dashboard: what is owed and what is due
The Dashboard puts money to collect at the top. In the sample, Ava Johnson's 30th birthday cake has 342.38 still owed and no deposit yet, due 1 October. Liam Carter's brownies, due 29 September, also show No deposit, which is the flag to chase before you buy flour. Revenue counts only orders marked Picked up or Delivered, so the month's number is money you have actually earned. In the sample that is 704.00 of revenue and 318.78 of profit after expenses for the month.
Lite or Full: which file to open first
If you only take orders and quote cakes, start with the Lite file: 5 tabs for Orders, This Week, Cake Quote, Dashboard and How to use. The Full file adds Bake & Shop, a Calendar, Recipes with cost per serving, Ingredients, Customers, Money and a P&L by month and quarter. Orders are the same in both, so rows paste across if you move up later. If you also bill delivery by the mile, keep a log of the trips too: Mileage Log: business miles, rate and the deduction shows how.
Home Bakery Business Spreadsheet for Google Sheets and Excel
Cake order tracker with deposits and balances, a cake quote by servings that prints as a one-page quote, a bake plan and shopping list from your orders, recipes with cost per serving, customers with birthdays, and bakery bookkeeping with a P&L. Lite (5 tabs) and Full (14 tabs), sample data inside plus blank copies.
Get the Home Bakery Business Spreadsheet on Etsy →FAQ
How do I price a custom cake by servings in a spreadsheet?
Add up three parts for each serving: your base price, a flavor upgrade and a decoration level. Multiply that by the servings of each tier, then add extras, delivery and sales tax. In the sample quote that is 36 servings at 7.50, which is 270.00 for the cake before extras.
How many servings does a 6, 8 or 10 inch round cake hold?
The sample serving chart says 12, 24 and 38 servings for a round 6, 8 and 10 inch cake. Those are portion counts you choose yourself, so change the chart on the Setup tab to match the slices you actually cut.
How much deposit should a home bakery take to book a date?
The sample file uses 50 percent of the quote total, which is 171.19 on a 342.38 cake. It is a setting on Setup, not a rule. The sample terms say the deposit is non-refundable within 14 days of the event, and the date is held only once the deposit is paid.
Is sales tax included in the cake price or in my profit?
Sales tax is added on the quote as a separate line, 6 percent in the sample, so the customer sees it. Your profit is calculated before tax: a 323.00 subtotal minus 149.33 of cost leaves 173.67, while the 19.38 of tax is kept apart from income.
Does the home bakery spreadsheet work in Excel as well as Google Sheets?
Yes. The file works in both Google Sheets and Excel. It comes in a Lite version with 5 tabs for orders and quotes, and a Full version with 14 tabs that adds baking plans, recipes, customers, money and a P&L, with blank copies of both.
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