Prefacing this to say that I am so hormonal/menopausal today, and this snobbish attitude just annoys me to no end...
Hmm Snarky, in my opinion anyone who would be willing to take payment even up to the event, and in any form possible, seems more financially desperate than the baker who stood by her contract, required payment 30 days prior so if the clients do default she has time to book another cake on that date.
Holding out for any payment, even up to delivery seems much more financially unstable.
If the customer thinks that little of your services, why bend over backwards to accommodate them just because they are getting married, so what. Just because someone is getting married they get to be excused from being responsible? I think not.
Respect gets respect PERIOD, and it is obvious that you have little to none for many of your fellow bakers. Your apples to oranges comparision of business you used to try and make a point completly falls flat due to the fact that you were comparing apples to oranges. It is a percentage game baby, not an individual incident game. One non-payment, when a small baker has turned away even one other potential client because they booked that day can be a big deal, and generally is, to their annual bottom line.
Okay we get that you own a large bakery, we get that you hate that NC allows home bakers to be legal, but to insinuate that one of them is being unethical or financially unstable because she is upset due to the fact that she is dealing with a large number of no pays and late pays is down right offensive. The only honest thing you spewed from your initial post is that you are being true to your demeanor and CC monacre.
Please do not that I never accused the OP of anything. I said that asking for especially early payment is often a sign of an under capitalized business, and I'm not the only one who thinks so... take this quote from Entrepreneur magazine. As a consumer, I would be wary, in this economy, of having my wedding cake in the hands of someone displaying signs of undercapitalization and poor cash management.
Unfortunately, most business owners don't realize how much money it takes to run a business, just as many businesspeople fall into the trap of anticipating their customers and suppliers paying early. In actuality, however, receivables may take 60 days to come in while you've already had to pay for supplies and payroll.
Never said it was immoral. Never said it was sketchy. If my step daughter told me I had to pay the baker for her wedding 30 days before the event and didn't take credit cards, I'd tell her to find another baker.
Gotta tell you, I would caution a bride against doing business with a business that demanded payment in full that far in advance. It is a sign of a business with poor cash management, and that is indicative of a business likely to fail in a down economy.
Caterers and other wedding professionals typically get final payment no more than two weeks ahead of time, and my guess is that you would have better success in getting payment on time if your policies were more like other wedding vendors.
With the policies you have currently, I wouldn't ever even consider having you as a baker.
Not to nit pick Snark but the above is exactly what you wrote. You used words such as "sign of a business with poor cash management" NOT "sign of an under capitalized business".
I'm surprised that someone who has obviously had some success (as you've told us), and speaks at seminars, doesn't choose her words more carefully.
I don't understand what you get out of berating your fellow bakers on a public forum. Telling people that "you wouldn't ever even consider having you as a baker" is just down right rude and uncalled for.
I'm hoping it's not because you despise the thought of legal home bakers, since I too happen to be one (but in MA).
Let's not forget we all had to start somewhere.
What's that quote?........"be kind to those you meet as you rise......you may need them as you fall"..........or something to that point 
Snarky, your article quote disproves your point. If receivables take up to 60 days, then shouldn't we be asking for payments 60 days in advance, not 14?
snarky - you might want to concentrate on improving your reading comprehension, since the article you quoted in no way supports your claim. I'll help. "paying early" in the article you referenced, refers to customers paying within 30 days AFTER the invoice is received. Which is AFTER the goods are delivered. Which is pretty much the universal terms of sale on credit. However, in a tight economy, it is not at all unusual for customers to pay at 45, 60 or even 90 days after receipt of goods. Most businesses cannot support that happening.
businesses that are willing to grasp at payment at any time up until the last possible friggin' minute are the ones that look desparate...not the ones that stick to their contract terms of payment 14 or 30 days in advance, NEITHER OF WHICH ARE UNREASONABLE FOR CUSTOM ITEMS. Being willing to take payment really late screams "I'm so desparate for cash that you can treat me like dirt, and I'll take it!"
Heck, most custom manufacturing businesses (especially those who don't have the type of business that lends itself to repeat customers, and therefore credit histories) require at least 50% payment before beginning work on an order, whether it's a dress, a tschotchke or metal fabrication.
Do you think that businesses that offer 5% discounts for payments within 10 days of invoice are also poorly capitalized or have cash flow problems? Cuz some of the biggest, most successful businesses in North America have this as a standard term.
I've been a professional accountant for a long time. I've seen the records of hundreds and hundreds of businesses, big and small, successful and unsuccessful.
The successful businesses all had one thing in common - they stuck to their contract terms.
And lots of the successful businesses don't take credit cards. Why should someone have to lose up to 5% (depending on the card and their merchant agreement) just because YOU couldn't plan better for an expense you knew was forthcoming? Hell, if I was doing something like a wedding on credit, I'd accept the fact that a lot of the vendors might not take plastic and would have to eat the cash withdrawal fees - part of the cost of not planning properly, IMO.
Buying a wedding cake isn't an impulse purchase, for crying out loud!
But what do I know? I only did 130 weddings last year and grossed a little over $700,000.
Well, last year I did about 14 cakes and grossed $20 so...ummm...yeah. I guess I have nothing. Actually, I was just going to say more or less this:
I would expect a large business to be able to be a little more flexible with their client's payments then a small business can.
You really can't compare the cash flow of a store front bakery with many employees to a single licensed home baker. It's apples and oranges.
Let's see, I ordered a custom built computer from Dell. I had to pay for it up front in full, no deposit allowed, and I did not want to finance it and end up paying more than I needed (their finance charges are rediculous). So I coughed up the money 100% in full. It took them 30 days to get me my computer...30 days. Had I purchased something stock then yeah I would have expected it sooner, custom built, 30 days. They had their money 100% 30 days before delivery...so see big companies do that too.
Ordered a custom large wood lazy susan to use as a turntable for my really large cakes...guess what! I had to pay in cash, because the guy was a very small custom wood business he didn't accept credit cards, did I think him less of a business man...NO! So I paid him, in full when I placed the order for the custom piece which I received 2 months later. Did I have a problem with this, or think him unethical? NO, he told me how long that piece would take him, given his order load, I accepted that and paid the man... I LOVE my lazy susan!
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