Crumb & LedgerA home baker’s toolkit

No. 01 Custom order quote

Custom order quote

Count everything the order really takes, including your hours, and get a price, a deposit and a message you can paste straight into the DM.

Example numbers are filled in. Change them to yours; this page remembers them on this device.
i. The order
What are they ordering?
Slice size

Servings from Wilton’s chart for 4-inch-tall tiers. This cake: . Servings guide

ii. Ingredients and supplies

Don’t know your ingredient cost? Cost the recipe once and it shows up here.

iii. Your time
How detailed is the design?

Sets decorating time to 1, 2.5 or 5 hours. Change it if your design takes longer.

Not what you wish you made. What you’d want to be paid to do this for someone else.

iv. Delivery and overhead

70¢ a mile is the IRS 2025 business rate. Card and app fees run about 2.6% to 3.5%; cash is 0.

v. Profit and deposit

Profit is separate from your wage. It pays for the next pan, the slow months and the mistakes.

How the price is worked out

cost = ingredients + supplies + extras + (hours × hourly rate) + delivery + overhead
price = cost ÷ (1 − margin) ÷ (1 − payment fee), rounded up
deposit = price × deposit %, to the dollar

Profit and fees are worked out on the final price, so the numbers on the slip add up exactly. The hourly figure is what’s left after every cost, divided by your hours.

Is $245 for a two-tier cake too much?

For 32 party slices that’s about $7.66 a slice, which is in the range many US custom bakers charge. If it’s more than your area will pay, look at the hours first: a simpler design or fewer tiers is a better fix than working for $3 an hour.

Should friends and family get a discount?

That’s your call, but make it on purpose. Price the order here first, then decide what you’re giving away. The “price you were going to say” box shows exactly what the discount costs you.