What Would You Charge?

Business By mamas07 Updated 25 Feb 2013 , 6:02pm by Lilly200

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mamas07 Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 8:57pm
post #1 of 32

Ajust curious what all of you would charge for this cake?

just a plain white cake with strawberry buttercream filling/frosting with fondant and fondant accents..its an 8" 2 layer cake

i am still verry new to this ...

[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2889129/width/200/height/400[/IMG]

31 replies
-K8memphis Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
-K8memphis Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 9:30pm
post #2 of 32

$112.50 plus tax

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jason_kraft Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 9:34pm
post #3 of 32

AHow much did this cake cost you to make including ingredients, labor, and share of overhead?

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Lilly200 Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 10:11pm
post #4 of 32

I charge £65 for this cake is that too much or too little? What do you all think? I would love to hear what others think.

400

 

it is an 8" madeira cake with rasberry preserve and vanilla buttercream.

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mamas07 Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 10:57pm
post #5 of 32

Aeverything cost bout 50.00 all together..

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mamas07 Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 10:59pm
post #6 of 32

A

Original message sent by jason_kraft

How much did this cake cost you to make including ingredients, labor, and share of overhead?

bout 50.00 all together

Original message sent by -K8memphis

$112.50 plus tax

really??

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-K8memphis Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 11:03pm
post #7 of 32

$4.50 a serving times 25 servings

 

i might construct it different make it look like 4 layers inside

 

and use a strawberry filling with wipped cream and a splash but yes.

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-K8memphis Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 11:05pm
post #8 of 32

and i'm sure my prices are behind the times--

 

haven't raised them to today's higher costs

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jason_kraft Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 11:08pm
post #9 of 32

A

Original message sent by mamas07

everything cost bout 50.00 all together..

Does that include labor? How many hours did you spend making this cake, including prep, baking, decorating, and cleanup?

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Relznik Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 11:30pm
post #10 of 32

I would charge £55 (GBP) for that cake.

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lorraine41 Posted 7 Jan 2013 , 11:34pm
post #11 of 32

I would charge about $90

My charge is $3.50 /serving

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ellavanilla Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 4:28am
post #12 of 32

I would charge $75 + $10 for the strawberry filling (depending on market prices).  I don't fully enrobe cakes in fondant, so I might even charge more for that.

 

For the knitting cake--WOW! My hourly rate would have to be high on that one. 

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mamas07 Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 5:07am
post #13 of 32

A

Original message sent by -K8memphis

$4.50 a serving times 25 servings

i might construct it different make it look like 4 layers inside

and use a strawberry filling with wipped cream and a splash but yes.

i though about doing 4 layers but for some reason the last time i did that it fell apart on me :( 25 servings? what size slices? im only asking cuz i am new to all this - i didnt think you could get 25 slices at most i thought 20 .. and whats a splash?

Original message sent by Lilly200

I charge £65 for this cake is that too much or too little? What do you all think? I would love to hear what others think. [URL=http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2889245/]400 [/URL]

it is an 8" madeira cake with rasberry preserve and vanilla buttercream.

i think you undercharged im my opinion.. thats a lot of work-- my cake took me a decent amount of time i could imagine that..

Original message sent by jason_kraft

Does that include labor? How many hours did you spend making this cake, including prep, baking, decorating, and cleanup?

no that does not include labor.. it took me about 4 hrs total..

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jason_kraft Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 5:18am
post #14 of 32

A

Original message sent by mamas07

no that does not include labor.. it took me about 4 hrs total..

$50 in ingredients plus 4 hours at $15/hour = $110. Add $10 for overhead (this is an estimate assuming $1000 in annual overhead costs like advertising, insurance, licensing, etc. and two orders per week on average) and you're at $120, which is your cost, and the absolute minimum price at which you should sell this cake (and that's still low considering you would earn zero profit). The best selling price for your area is dependent on the market price, if your cost is higher than the market price then you either need to get more efficient or target a different market.

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mamas07 Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 6:07am
post #15 of 32

At

Original message sent by jason_kraft

$50 in ingredients plus 4 hours at $15/hour = $110. Add $10 for overhead (this is an estimate assuming $1000 in annual overhead costs like advertising, insurance, licensing, etc. and two orders per week on average) and you're at $120, which is your cost, and the absolute minimum price at which you should sell this cake (and that's still low considering you would earn zero profit). The best selling price for your area is dependent on the market price, if your cost is higher than the market price then you either need to get more efficient or target a different market.

thanks soo much.. i didnt think a little 8" cake would cost that much..like i said im just starting..

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jason_kraft Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 6:11am
post #16 of 32

A8" cakes normally don't cost that much, $50 is very high for ingredient costs for a single 8" tier and 4 hours is a long time to spend on a single tier cake unless there are elaborate decorations or sculpting involved.

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mamas07 Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 6:33am
post #17 of 32

A

Original message sent by jason_kraft

8" cakes normally don't cost that much, $50 is very high for ingredient costs for a single 8" tier and 4 hours is a long time to spend on a single tier cake unless there are elaborate decorations or sculpting involved.

well i didn't make my own fondant- tried that in the past didn't work out so well-- so i just grabbed some pre made fondant, that was the most expensive ingredient. the 4 hours includes clean up, prepping etc like you asked and the stars took the longest time as i used a mold and it only had 3 stars on it & each star was dusted in edible glitter-- not to mention the photo wasn't of a complete cake i also made a banner with more stars in the center...

like i said im barely starting this whole cake decorating so naturally its gonna take me a little bit longer then others ..

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cai0311 Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 2:38pm
post #18 of 32

You may want to purchase the program Cake Boss.  I have found it so helpful in my business for pricing cakes and keeping track of orders.

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-K8memphis Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 3:03pm
post #19 of 32

to me there are two main 'camps' for determining the serving size of a cake

 

there's the very helpful chart from wilton and one from earlene moore

 

you can google

 

wilton Wedding Cake Data Chart (note all the great info including how many cups of batter per pan)

 

and go to

 

www.earlenescakes.com and you'll enjoy her site very much dig around take in the beauty of her work and you'll find her chart eventually

 

wilton gives the traditional serving size --earlene's are a little more generous sized--every decorator just decides for them self

 

a splash is a term i learned from margaret braun--it's a flavored simple syrup that you brush or squirt onto baked cake as you assemble the layers into a tier--adds moisture and any flavor you want to subtly accent the cake

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mamas07 Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 5:04pm
post #20 of 32

A

Original message sent by -K8memphis

to me there are two main 'camps' for determining the serving size of a cake

there's the very helpful chart from wilton and one from earlene moore

you can google

wilton Wedding Cake Data Chart (note all the great info including how many cups of batter per pan)

and go to

[URL=http://www.earlenescakes.com]www.earlenescakes.com[/URL] and you'll enjoy her site very much dig around take in the beauty of her work and you'll find her chart eventually

wilton gives the traditional serving size --earlene's are a little more generous sized--every decorator just decides for them self

a splash is a term i learned from margaret braun--it's a flavored simple syrup that you brush or squirt onto baked cake as you assemble the layers into a tier--adds moisture and any flavor you want to subtly accent the cake

thank you for your kind response and information. much appreciated!!

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Lilly200 Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 9:36pm
post #21 of 32

It took me a couple of hours to bake the cake and to make the buttercream to crumb coat and fill it. Then about another 11 hours to decorate with the fondant and make the balls of wool and buttons ect as it was my first attempt.  It was alot of work but well worth it.
 

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jason_kraft Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 9:46pm
post #22 of 32

A

Original message sent by Lilly200

It took me a couple of hours to bake the cake and to make the buttercream to crumb coat and fill it. Then about another 11 hours to decorate with the fondant and make the balls of wool and buttons ect as it was my first attempt.  It was alot of work but well worth it.

At a price of £65, assuming £20 in ingredients and £10 in overhead, and a 20% markup for profit, you have £24 left for labor costs. This works out to a wage of about £1.8/hour.

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Lilly200 Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 11:29pm
post #23 of 32

AOI

Original message sent by jason_kraft

At a price of £65, assuming £20 in ingredients and £10 in overhead, and a 20% markup for profit, you have £24 left for labor costs. This works out to a wage of about £1.8/hour.

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Lilly200 Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 11:33pm
post #24 of 32

AThanks for your help. I actually worked it out and for the cake ingredients, fondant, cake drum and box about £28. May have to up the price a little! Any suggestions?

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jason_kraft Posted 8 Jan 2013 , 11:41pm
post #25 of 32

A

Original message sent by Lilly200

Thanks for your help. I actually worked it out and for the cake ingredients, fondant, cake drum and box about £28. May have to up the price a little! Any suggestions?

If you wanted to make just above minimum wage with a decent profit margin for a cake requiring that much labor, you are looking at a price around £28 + £10 + (13 * £7) + 20% = £155. Whether your market can support that price is another question, you will need to analyze existing businesses to see what other people are charging as a point of comparison.

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Lilly200 Posted 9 Jan 2013 , 7:41am
post #26 of 32

AWow! that seems alot, not sure if people would pay that much. Thank you very much for your help, at least now I know how to work out prices : )

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ellavanilla Posted 9 Jan 2013 , 6:17pm
post #27 of 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lilly200 

Wow! that seems alot, not sure if people would pay that much. Thank you very much for your help, at least now I know how to work out prices : )

 

Something to consider is finding a way to reduce your costs. That's where a baker who buys in bulk, or wholesale will have an edge on you. $28 for ingredients is fine for a one-off cake for yourself, but not so much for multiples. I'm guessing you had some of the ingredients left over when you were finished, as well, so your cake cost will be divided by the amount you used and not the total purchase for supplies. 

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jason_kraft Posted 9 Jan 2013 , 7:13pm
post #28 of 32

AFor anything but the simplest custom cakes, labor will be your most expensive cost component, usually by a significant margin. Finding ways to be more efficient, outsourcing when others can do parts of the job better for cheaper, and selling the customer on less labor-intensive designs are among the fastest ways to reduce costs.

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ellavanilla Posted 9 Jan 2013 , 7:20pm
post #29 of 32

Jason is right. What I should have said was reducing the cost of your supplies. 

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Shar32 Posted 9 Jan 2013 , 9:09pm
post #30 of 32

A[quote name="Lilly200" url="/t/752595/what-would-you-charge#post_7346578"]I charge £65 for this cake is that too much or too little? What do you all think? I would love to hear what others think. [URL=http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2889245/]400 [/URL]

it is an 8" madeira cake with rasberry preserve and vanilla buttercream. [/quote

I live in the uk, I would have charged about £85 for that cake design:)

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