I am so clueless when it comes to charging for cakes. Can you guys post your price lists so I can get a clue on what is reasonable?

$1.50/serving for sheet cakes.
$2.50/serving for non-sheet cakes. THis price is going up eff 9-1-07.

Sheet cakes is defined as rectangle, one layer, no filling, BC icing.
Non-sheet cake defined as anything else. I don't care what you call it, if it doesn't fit the definition of sheet cake, then it's a non-sheet cake.

I use the Wilton Wedding Cake chart http://www.wilton.com/wedding/cakeinfo/cakedata.cfm to determine pricing (number of servings from the chart times the per serving rate). Customer is welcome to cut it into as many or as few pieces as they want, but the price is the same for the cake. I will not (!) get into 2 sets of pricing for the same 10" round cake just because one person told me it was for a wedding and another person told me it was for a birthday.

Here's a pictorial on how to cut it Wilton Wedding Cake size: http://cateritsimple.com/_wsn/page19.html

I don't have a business, so this is just my opinion. I have heard that most people charge at least 75 cents more per serving if it's a fondant cake, and then more if it's tiered. I think it would be great to have a printed price list available for customers- good idea!

Thanks for the responses, indydebi, that makes sense.

So, if I went from that, do you add more for fondant (like jenny said), what about roses, fondant figures, etc.?

This is so hard. I am from a small town that is used to Wal-mart pricing, it seems like someone would freak out on me if I charged $75 for a cake but I know that it is worth it!!

I don't do fondant, but if I did, I would charge extra for it.

I don't charge extra for any design elements, such as basketweave, BC roses, stringwork, etc. I have yet to come across any design that takes me so much extra time that it justifies an add'l charge.

I don't charge extra for add'l design elements. On the flip side,
I dont' discount for simplistic designs (iced with a ribbon base border).

I dont' charge extra for the use of fountains or stairs in the cake design. I don't charge extra for silver plateau usage; no deposits either, since I'm always at the wedding.

The only thing that has come up in conversation is my M&M cake. If a bride wants specific colors in the tubes, then she can pay the $50 minimum (via the M&M website) for specific colors, or she can pay me the cost of the candy PLUS labor to sort thru a standard bag of M&M's to sort out her colors.

And sure they would freak out at the price! But if all you've ever been exposed to is McDonald's, then how are you ever going to learn to appreciate a finer restaurant?

I get so irritated at the implication that people who live in small towns have no money. I grew up in small towns. We had to stop calling it a one-horse town because the horse died! We may not have had the big-name stores, but we, the people who lived there, were able to drive to Indianapolis and Dayton to go to those stores. We had those "fancy talkin' pitcher boxes" that showed commercials and ads for things that weren't available in our small town, but we knew they existed and we had the means to drive to get them, or order them and have it delivered.

It becomes a Catch-22. People only spend walmart pricing because that's all that's available. And that's all that's available because it's all people buy. You need to show them something else that is available.

And remember....Walmart is a mass marketing store so they buy their stuff in bulk. It is a lot cheaper to buy in bulk than to buy a few things at a time.

Plus anyone who freaks at 75.00 for a cake can have a choice of going to walmart and buying a cake but without the same kinds of decorations or fillings. You can only get from Walmart what they have there to sell. They are not going to have ....banana cake with peanut butter filling or white choc cake with raspberry filling. On the other hand is someone wants a cake like that YOU can do those things BUT they will have to pay for the speciality of THAT cake....

You can buy a fake Rolex on the street corner or the real thing at Tiffany's. Which one will last longer and be worth more?

Thanks for the comments, it gives me more confidence to feel that I am allowed to ask reasonable pricing.

I haven't posted a lot of my cakes here, and I know that I am new to this without a lot of great work, but I still get asked. I have only done work for friends just for fun (I haven't had any courses or anything) but I put a LOT of work into those cakes and I always get asked by someone at the party to do a cake for their kid. I don't mind using my friends to experiment on for free, but I have to charge at some point for people I don't even know, you know?

This whole "small town" thing really is a catch-22. To be honest, I have a hard time asking for anything, even cost, since I am not so great at this, so I guess I just need to get tough

I sort of do the same as indydebi.. I charge per serving going by this chart http://forum.cakecentral.com/modules/Forums/files/cake_serving_guide_219.pdf. They want an 8" cake.. they pay my amount.. no matter if they cut it for 2 people or 20.

Celebration cakes start at $2 per serving for just BC.. fillings are extra at $0.25 for non premium and $0.75 for premium.. fondant adds $1 per serving. Detailed piping and heavy decoration is priced on an individual basis. Carved 3-D cakes start at $4.50 per serving and only come filled with BC (for stability's sake) which can be flavored.

Wedding cakes start at $3 per serving and they come with one non premium filling, iced plain with a satin ribbon to match your colors.. fondant adds $1 per serving. Detailed piping and heavy decoration is priced on an individual basis.

just posting to this to save for my own reference... I am going to follow a variance of jkalman scaled back for the suthern folks thanks!

Thanks for all the info you all are wonderful. I think I need to relook my prices over and adjust accordingly.

Is there some way to save these forums so I can look back later for reference?

Hello, for my 1/2 sheet cakes I charge a flat rate of $45. (bc icing, writing , flowers included) If they want a picture or any thing extra on it that I have to go buy that I dont usually keep in my supplies then its extra. All my cake are price flat rate. my tiers are $2.5 per person for bc. I dont get many people asking for fondant because they love the bc I use. hope this helped

What does everyone charge for there edible images? I charge $15 -- I pay $12 where I get it done at. I feel bad to charge any more then that.

I'm stuggling with the pricing thing too. Over the weekend, the restaurant owner in my home town talked to me about doing celebration cakes for them. Apparently, people who book parties, etc. with them often ask if they do cakes and they don't. I'm thinking what a great opportunity this will be! I am from a VERY small town but the restaurant is quite well known.

I have a question...when they order a cake or you quote a price, do they tell you what size cake they want or how many people they want to serve?

Does anyone have an order form they fill out when taking a cake order? I would like to create one that would have all the information I needed along with the prices. I just don't know where to begin and I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

Thanks!

I typed up my own orderform on my computer.

it includes: day, date, time they would like it, name, phone, address if delivery, size, flavor, writing, decorations, price.

I do have a price list for the sizes and if they want any extras such as filling, lace, or ribbon. for my use.

as for price:when people ask me how much my cake are, I ask them how many people to figure out what size to go with. I try to compete with the locate bakerys (not the superstore or grocery stores) around my area they usually don't charge per person unless its a tier cake and some charge by the lb. (that confusses me).

hope this helped

I have an order form that I fill out when customers order from me I have 2 actually 1 for weddings and 1 for "other" cakes. It just helps ME keep things straight when I dont have little pieces of scrap paper laying around with details all over them.. This way everything is neat and tidy where I need it. As for pricing It really varies You should get what you are worth.. It takes alot to feel confident enough to charge what you are worth but when the first customer is willing to pay it, it is such a confidence booster you say WOW I am worth that!!! Your cakes improve, and you improve and Boom your in business and everyone all of a sudden knows what you are worth. Trust me get what you think you are worth, dont sell yourself short. Sure there will be people who dont want to pay, but those are the people you wont be able to make happy anyway.. so who needs them You can do it dont be afraid..get what you deserve.

I really agree that the pricing thing is a real pain. I sure struggle with it. I've done tons of cakes and sold some, but have trouble figuring the cost vs. value. I have a situation right now. A friend at church has asked me to do the wedding cake for her son and his bride. I've done only 2 wedding cakes and they were for a friend's sisters and for barter and keep in mind I haven't met the bride. So she emails me and says she wants a 3 tier cake iced in BC, no decorations (florist is providing flowers), filled with mocha mousse, for 150 people and a satelite cake for 50 people. 200 servings. Her budget is $200. ??? Do you guys think that is reasonable? Also, I'll have to deliver it about 30 miles away.
I'd love feedback.

$1 per person....no way that is too low. Charge her atleast double or more. do your research 1st. see what the locals charge and go from there. Im sure it would be much more then that. good luck and keep up posted on what you do and post pict.

I can beat Patticakes outrageous request...I had a bride ask me yesterday for a cheesecake wedding cake to feed 150 people for $100 or less. WTF! Is she kidding?!

How good of a friend are we talking here? If it was a GOOD friend i might do it for cost.. but if it's just an aquaintance.. no way. You need to make sure you make up for your supplies and your time. And delivery.. unless it was next door no way that's free. I don't know where you are from, but I personally wouldn't charge less than 2$ per serving.

If people want to spend $500 on a wedding they need to slim down the invite list.

Over the weekend my daughter and I made a double sheetcake (11" x 15" side by side) for one of my good friends. We charged her $60, but when we delivered it she insisted on paying us $100. Said she knew how much time, effort, etc. went into making and decorating a cake -- which is why she paid to have it done rather than doing it herself. I think most people, if they're being honest, think the same way. They don't want to do it themselves because it is time consuming and you have to have a certain amount of skill to do certain decorations. What a good friend.

You guys are really awesome! Thanks for the responses! This lady is a fairly new friend, but I think alot of her. But I have never met the son or the bride to be and they are the ones in charge of the wedding, apparently. I do like the mileage thing and figuring cost and go from there. I am near Atlanta, by the way, and would have to go almost Downtown...eek!!
Thanks again!

I have 2 order forms - one for weddings and one for other cakes. I don't usually present this to the client though, its just for my sake kind of thing. I keep them all in a binder and organized by the due date so I know what's coming up. I also keep a printed calendar in the binder to write my cakes for the month and upcoming months. So then I know at a quick glance if I'd be booked.

As for pricing. I'm on the cheap side right now, but I'm still establishing myself and want to get the business and build up my portfolio before raising prices. I charge $1.50/serving for all cakes except sheet cakes. Sheet cakes are charged by the bakery that I work through -- $15 for 1/4 sheet, $30 for 1/2 sheet and $45 for full sheet - it varies from 75 cents to a dollar per serving.

I'm to the point of no discounts - even for family, unless its something I suggest to the family that I'd like to try - then its just on me. Its a practice cake for me, and adds another pic to my portfolio, so I don't see it as a loss and a lot of times I use it as my 'gift' to the recipient - like my sister-in-law's graduation cake was her gift...

As for delivering - I haven't done much - but for delivery in town here (small town) - its free - at most I have to drive like 3 miles to go anywhere in town, so its not a cost issue. For surrounding towns (30 miles or so) - I'm charging a flat fee of $20.00.

Recently, I've run into the issue of real flowers on the cake - I'm not charging anything extra for it, but the bride has to purchase the flowers herself - which makes it hard, because I'm the one that actually has to coordinate with the florist to get the right amount...

Also - I don't charge more for fondant cakes right now - this is sort of a new method in my area and I really prefer to do fondant cakes, so that's my incentive to get them order fondant. Same price, but looks better kind of thing.

I'm still modifying my structure as I go along. I'm working on adding a referral discount program as well (thanks to Indydebi's great advice!!).

Does anyone have a sample order form to share?

Most florists know how many flowers are needed for what size cake the bride wants for her design. And when they go to decorate the place where the wedding is they are supposed to decorated the cake with the flowers. Or atleast the ones I know of anyway.