Hello, I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this topic and I do apologize in advance if it is, but I was wondering if anyone has used the Cake Boss software for home bakers. It cost $150 and I was wondering if it is worth purchasing. Also, if someone could let me know if there are similar programs available for a lower cost.
Thanks so much for your help!

I have the Cake Boss software. I love it. It took a while to input all the information but once that is done the software is fantastic. I would recommend it for sure. It makes coming up with prices and quotes fast easy and accurate. I think the price is worth it. I used to try to figure out a price on paper factoring in ingredients, time, supplies. It took forever and I often had to call people back after I had it figured out, or worse feel stressed and just blurt out a price which often was under estimated. Then I would feel bad to change the price. Not anymore I can give an accurate quote immediately while I have the person on the telephone. Love it. It will also help you come up with a more accurate price because it helps to figure out what your time is worth. I love it.

I second MsGF. I LOVE my cakeboss software. I bought it a couple of months ago and spent a few evening entering ingredients and prices as well as recipes. Now generating an order and a quote takes minutes. Best of all it generates shopping lists which I have found super useful. I also find it helped me develop a much more accurate pricing structure.

I know people think that $150 is a lot of money but if you only used it for one year that is $.41 a day. And of course you will use it for several years so its actually really cheap. I think that accurately pricing your cakes, you'll make back the $150 in a few orders to be honest with you.

Just be sure you're honest with what goes into your cake. Don't forget your cake boards, your dowels etc. And there is a spot for "overhead" to include electricity and water costs.

It's really an amazing tool. I did several "mock" quotes to determine my cost and time and then built my pricing model from there.

Also the free support and updates is an awesome benefit not found with too many other softwares.

I personally am unaware of another software for small bakeries like this. I know there is big bakery software out there but it's really expensive.

Anyway, I love it...can't say enough wonderful things about it and Masters software. Watch the videos on their website if you haven't already and you can see how easy it is to use.

Hi... For those who have installed the cakeboss software already, can you still install it to a second laptop/computer? Thanks! Ü

Yes... you can install it on a second computer. It works on 2 computers. I am still in the process of inputting all the info and can't wait to start using it for pricing.

I don't think there are similar programs available.

For people who are using it, what do you input for expenses? Things like gas used while grocery shopping and rent and utilities too? How do you know how much of electricity and water to put in?

Thanks for the info pj22! I need to have a ready working backup of this fantastic and promising software! )

I love the software!! I won't quote a cake without being able to first reference cake boss as I always underestimate them otherwise.

I had a computer crash a year ago and they were great to work with for getting the program reinstalled and explaining how to get all my entries to work again

If you are good with Excel (or know someone who is) it isn't too difficult to set up a pricing spreadsheet yourself, the most time-consuming piece is tracking down the unit prices of your ingredients and integrating those prices with your recipes.

Serious businesses will need separate accounting software anyway (unless you hire an accountant), so you may want to look at QuickBooks, it also handles invoicing and tracking expenses.

I actually just purchased the software. I love the idea of it, the fact that it calculates based on the recipe entered, it has a listing of all upcoming payments, etc., but to be honest, I wasn't impressed. I was pretty disappointed.

I'm an insurance agent by day and I work with an agency management system every day. The workflow of Cake Boss is very "all over the place" to me. There are a lot of things that just don't make sense to me - and I don't mean it's because I can't figure them out, it's because it's just not a smooth workflow.

The invoices that are printed are kind of unprofessional, I may just print my own from Excel or Word. The layout just isn't very "invoicy". The logo is shown far above my contact information, the customers information is shown on the left (which doesn't make any sense for window envelopes). Then it lists the same thing on every invoice in the middle - the description of the cake and the total cost. The balance due is hidden under the customers information.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, and I don't mean to talk crap. I'm sure a lot of time and effort was put into making the software. And I'm not a software developer, so I definately couldn't do a better job. But I just find it a little awkward.

Thats my two cents

Please be sure to email [email protected] to request your refund before your 30 days are up. It is important to use that our customers are satisfied with their purchase, which is why we offer the 30 days, no questions asked, refund period.

yummy_in_my_tummy,
This is just my opinion but I think there is kind of an expected work flow with the software. For me it works great workflow wise because I pre-loaded all of my recipes , master materials list etc. That makes generating a quote or an order is super quick and easy. I think workflow becomes an issue if you are entering an order and then you realize your recipe or your materials aren't already in there. You can of course add them but that I think is where the work flow hops around a bit.

To print the invoice, I select print to RTF which is a word document. I can then edit the information and fonts however I see fit. I know Cake Boss gets a lot of requests about formatting invoices but once I figured out I could edit them in Word I was pretty happy. Now I'm not doing a ton of orders so obviousely if I had to edit numerous invoices a day I would find it a bit frustrating but otherwise I really love the software. The price calculation, invoicing and the shopping lists are just such huge help for me.