I was just wondering if any of you accept last minute orders and if you do, do you add a rush fee? I have received a couple of last minute orders. I wasn't sure if I should add a rush fee and if so what is the norm. I am very new to this. I can't go by what is normal for my area. I live on a military installation outside of the US. Any suggestion will be appreciated.
If I have time to take an order, I just take it, if I don't, I don't. So I don't add an extra fee. If someone called me on Friday for a Saturday wedding, no rush fee would make that cake look good if I had to start baking right then.
The only time I *may* add any type of fee for shorter notice is if it meant I had to pay higher shipping to have fondant or something in time for them.
I also don't add a rush fee.I wish I could but if I can take the order I do and consider it an extra cake I didn't have before.
I tried a rush fee, but every time I tried to add it on, the customer would go somewhere else. So if I can do it and do it well, I will, but most of the time, I'm not going to knock myself out.
Now, if you are the only show in town (like on a base), you probably could try and get away with it because its not like there are a ton of bakers waiting in the wings for it.
If someone calls the week that they want the cake I usually just say I can't do it. If it's a client I've worked with and I could do it, I will, but I probably wouldn't charge a rush fee. My pricing is higher than Walmart anyway so if they appreciate what they're getting from me I wouldn't penalize them for having good taste! 
I don't add a fee on but tell them they cannot have a very custom cake but whichever is the quickest to do - ie not 3d but a 2d or 1d picture on the top of the plain cake.
Thank you everyone for the good advice. I've decided no rush fee but also no custom cakes with less than 24 hours notice.
Thank you everyone for the good advice. I've decided no rush fee but also no custom cakes with less than 24 hours notice.
No matter how often I hear it, it's just amazing that people will try to order a custom made, special design cake in under 24 hours. 
Um, I think that's what walmart is for .... people who tend to forget that birthdays come at the same time every single year. 
To the original question, I never added a rush fee. If I had the time, I booked it. If not, I referred them to another baker in town.
My favorite, though, is the poor guy who called multiple bakers (including me) at 11:00 a.m. and wanted a carved cake to look like his car for a dinner he was throwing at 5:00 that afternoon!! I said, "Dude! (yeah, really, I said "dude!"), do you have ANY idea how many DAYS it takes to make a cake like that?"
Like many others have said, I don't charge a rush fee. If I am booked, I turn it down. If not, I get more money that week. Last weekend, I should have just turned down a couple. I do NOT like working until 3:00 AM.
I do on occasion. It just depends on if I have time to squeeze in their request, and if they are a friend I usually don't slap on my $25 rush fee. But if it is a stranger or a friend/family member who continually waits to the last minute then yes I charge a late fee of 10% of order or $25 minimum.
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