i had a meeting with a business thats a franchise that is having a grand opening and wanted a sheet cake with their logo on it..they wanted a full sheet cake to serve around 100..they didnt want the logo to be a transfer they wanted it to be made out of fondant covering the buttercream cake..

i charged them 275..cus my servings are 2.75 a slice for buttercream cakes..im wondering now if its too high..maybe i shouldve used a different standard cus its a sheet cake..which i rarely do ever..i just always charge 2.75 a serving...is there a different standard for sheet cakes??i would hate to think i lost a job cus of that..thanks

well, if it is a one layer i do charge less than I would a 2 layer cake cuz i wouldn't have to make extra bc/doing a filling. they may have just been surprised by having to pay per serving. did you explain?

I may be misunderstanding here but what difference does it make if it's a sheet cake? You still put product into making the cake, you still put hours into making the cake, you still have to pay utilities to make the cake-NOW GET PAID FOR IT! If you charge $2.75/slice so be it, its a tax right-off for them anyway!

I charge for a basic full sheet cake no decorations 195$. So that seems fine!

not too much! They either want a real cake or they want grocery store "cake". It's still the same amount of cake no matter it's form.

No, there's not a different pricing structure for sheet cakes. Per serving pricing is perfectly fine.

people already balk at my pricing per serving because the old school bakeries charge $40 for a full sheet cake so, i just take like $.25 off cuz i'm nice

I charge more for tiered cakes because it takes more materials (cake boards, dowels, bubble tea straws) and more "work" to make a level, well balanced tiered cake. Sheet cakes are easier and require less skill, so I charge less. That just my opinion!

they did specify they wanted it to be 3 inches high cus they are putting a tartan around it..i explained that if i layer it it will be 4 inches high..and they did ask for my list of fillings so not sure..the logo is going to be big which they want it made out of fondant..so im going to have to replicate the logo out of fondant instead of a transfer..cus they dont like the taste a transfer has..i just didnt want to come off as being too price with them cus they are a big company..

My "full sheet" is split & filled & 4 inches high. Serves 102. Not so many supplies like dowels & boards, but a real PIA to manipulate, etc., so yes, I charge the same as for any other cake.

If a client only wants a 2 inch tall cake, it will still cost the same per serving.

I find that if I discount "sheet" cakes, that's all people want because they can get the same flavors and pay less. Not the type of work I really want to do......

Rae

IMO you were too low on the pricing, unless the $2.75/serving price also includes a free fondant decoration.

i wont charge the same for a two inch as i would a 4 inch..i just thought that since it was stacked and going to be customized and really it is pressure when you have to replicate an emblem cus its their logo and thats the main thing they want so i know thats going to take some time and has to be exact so i thought that i would just charge them per serving..

i only had doubts when i talked to another baker friend..who works for a store bakery and she freaked out..i told her ..our cakes are not even in the same category so our pricing would be different..but i let the doubt creep in so now im overthinking it

It's not "$275 for cake".

It's "$275 for enough cake to feed ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE."

A $4 cup of coffee isn't a lot of money ..... unless you're buying 100 of them.

well its a new day and i decideded if i lost the job to somthing they only count as a tax write off..i really didnt need it..and they dont really want a fresh customized cake..i still havnt heard back from them..but im not going to lose sleep over it ..it is what it is..just cus my business is in a small town doesnt mean my product is worth less..your write indi about the coffee not being alot till you order a 100 and texas sugar..those were my sentiments exactly..

the logo is very important to businesses and you really cant mess that part up so i factored the time i was going to have to put into that,,im sticking to my guns on this one and good luck to whoever might get the cake order...still might be me! lol

Sometimes we do need to take a step back and think about things from a different way. It isn't worth giving up your time and ingredients to do a cake for less. If they want to pay less, then they go somewhere else.

well they called me a day ago and put in their order!! im sooooooo glad i stuck to my guns!! its going to be good publicity for my business and i feel great that i didnt let the big guys push me and my small town buisness around!

I charge the same $ per slice as I do for Sheet Cakes the same amount per slice that I do for a round... The only time I discount my Sheet cakes is if it's a kitchen cake or ordered along with other cakes (like as a filler or just in case there's more guess). And the only reason I even discount it then is as a courtesy. Don't 2nd guess your pricing. Your cakes are way more valuable than just picking up a sheet cake at a chain store, because you put a little bit of your heart in to each and every order. So don't sale yourself short...

i do the same for my kitchen cakes..i offer a discount after they order the wedding cake and thats only cus its just a frosted cake made to match their servings..but when im going to decorate it and put alot of time in it ..thats when the per serving comes into play..if they wanted a sheet cake with roses i think the price wouldve been different..but they want the company logo carved out of fondant ..so thats why i kept it at the per serving price..i know its not going to have dowels or extras..but it will require my extra time..very glad they called me back

heres what a 275 sheet cake looks like..lol!!
http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2112009

Looks great to me! Nice job on the logo!

thanks!! it even came out in the paper..so pretty proud of it!

You should be!

Awesome job, having to do that by hand I would have charged even more..LOL they got a great deal! Congrats on the success!

Wow! Great cake and a steal at $275.

thanks yall!!they get their grand opening cakes done by someone local in every town they open in but i think theyve always got it done with a photo image..so this was the first time they got it done out of fondant..they werent expecting a full sheet to cost that much but i the end they were really pleased..i agree...after this ordeal i might charge more..lol!

$275 is a bargain for such a well done custom cake. That's cheaper than if they went out an bought 100 custom cupcakes, or took the 100 guests out to a diner for a piece of cake. Bravo to you. If you were in California, I would have ordered one of your cakes when my son opened his pub