I'm about 2 months from opening and I'm getting cold feet on my cake contact. up until now (home kitchen ) I've had a contact in Word that I used to list all the legal stuff and it also listed my prices. Now I'm getting into some software (which I need to post a question about) and it does a nice clean invoice. The things that are lost are all the paragraphs with the legal stuff. should I give them the invoice and then another pack of papers to sign? or am I over killing it here. I just like to protect myself.

also, do you guys bust out the big contacts for small cakes or just for big ones? someone order a dinky $80 cake and it almost seems nuts to burry them in paper, BUT... you never know!

My contract was a contract.
My invoice was an invoice.
My order forms were order forms.

This means my contract is NOT the order form and the order form is NOT the contract. But the combination of the two create the legal contract.

Some of my brides ended up with 7 or 8 forms in their file. An order form for each item (Cake, Catering, Drinks, Appetizers, Child's Menu, CHocolate Fountain), the excel stick-people 'drawing' of the cake with decorating details, the Summary Form that added up everything and calculated the sales tax ... and the multi-page contract.

There is no way I could have operated with a one-document order-form-contract-detail form.

i do a contract for everycake, no matter what the size. Because my contract is a combination, order form, price form, contact info and delivery/pick up form.

It is five pages, sound like a lot until you look at it. page one is the contact page and basic questions like where the venue is for the wedding. and all the questions associated with, indoor wedding/outdoor etc.

next page is design page, then pricing, and detailing. the last page is the final price of cake, deposit, when final payment is due and delivery charge etc. and also works as a recipt for them. I just make a copy for them, the orginal I keep and it goes into a folder with the date of the wedding on it.

It has made it so much easier when brides call to make changes. they refer to page # and say item 6 I would like to change to yellow roses instead of red or something like that.

I usually either have a rough sketch or the picture they choose attached to the contract as well.


I tried a nice clean invoice once when ordering , and it didnt go to well, the bride tends to be over excited and forgets things that were discussed and agreed upon like when payment is due and exactly what they are paying for. I say stick with your contract and maybe offer the nice cean invoice as the Final payment invoice. that way you are protected and you still have an invoice for the computer program.

I use separate forms for wedding cakes and occasional cakes. Wedding cakes have a full blown contract that is 3 pages long and lists everything, they don't get a paper invoice, I do email them an invoice that reflects what has been paid and what is still owed, each time a payment is made.


The occasional cakes have a 1 page paper, that they do sign stating that everything is correct and that they understand my policies regarding pickups, etc.

Here is a copy of it

khalstead I like your occasional cakes form. I may have to borrow that if you dont mind. I rarely do a small cake, mostly just weddings. but that form would be perfect.. mind if i steal the concept?

great! I was worried that people would think I was crazy to give them an invoice and an 8 page contract (yes, mine is long but it covers all forms of jerks!!) I'll stick with two separate forms

thanks everyone!

Does the CakeBoss take care of any of this?

I have a contract that I like to have all of my customers to look over and sign. And then I have an invoice that I email customers like Khalstead every time they make a payment. Khalstead I also want to know if you could email me the copy if you don't mind it will make it easier for me by separating wedding cake orders from celebration cake orders.
Thanks
Kima
[email protected]

Khalstead
I would like that form too if you don't mind. I PMed you with my email.
Thanks

KHalstead ,

would you mind sending me a copy of this form too?
this seems to be a nice and clear one to be used in any kind of cake.
Thank you for sharing.
my email is:
[email protected]

Rachel

thank you !!!

anyone wanting to download (open with Microsoft Word) my order form so that you can edit it and resave to suit your own needs can get it here.

http://www.freewebs.com/khalstead/contactorderforms.htm



I also have my wedding cake contract posted and anyone is welcome to do the same with it! I like to let my customers see what my policies are and so forth before they're sitting in front of me.

My wedding contract is 5 pages. My event order/quote form is 5 pages. (with room for drawings, and all info, including flavors, etc.)
My invoice is like an excel program (but I use an IMac). So, I just have to enter in servings and get a total.
Brides need to know their rights, and what to expect from you. I can't see how a one page combo form is going to protect you or the bride.

My wedding cake contract is 3 pages and covers just about everything, I only use the form I posted when it's just a birthday or other occasional cake that doesn't require much info to be given.

For weddings, I always use a full blown contract and sometimes i use that contract for occasional cakes as well if the order is over $500.00

I have a contract and an invoice.