How Cakulate works, in plain words

Start here

How Cakulate prices a cake

Every custom cake price is built in the same five steps. You never have to do this math yourself, but knowing the steps helps you trust the number and explain it to a customer.

1. List the work. The cake is broken into tasks: baking and filling each tier, stacking, the finish, piping, flowers, figures, delivery. Each task has a time, based on real orders measured by college-trained bakers and decorators at each skill level.
2. Price each task at the right person’s pay. Baking is charged at the baking rate, everyday decorating at the decorating rate, and detailed art at the lead artist rate, whether that is you doing all three or your team. Baking time is charged a little above the hourly wage, because nobody is productive every minute of a shift.
3. Allow for big jobs. On large decorating jobs, each task gets a little faster because setup is shared. You choose whether that saving lowers the customer’s price or stays with you as margin.
4. Add what you buy. Ingredients, boards, boxes, dowels and any ready-made decor are added at what you pay for them.
5. Add your margin, then fees. Your profit margin goes on top of the cost. Delivery and any flat fees you set are added after that, so they are not marked up. Big wedding cakes are checked against a minimum per serving, so a plain but large cake is never underpriced.

• The customer never sees your rates, times or margin. They see what is included and the price.
• Change any time in Library or on the quote itself; the price updates as you type.

Start here

Your first quote in five minutes

The fastest way to learn Cakulate is to quote a real order you have this week.

1. Open Quote. Tap the basics in Quick configure: occasion, servings, tiers, sizes, flavor, finish and date.
2. Tell the assistant about the design, or attach the customer’s inspiration photo. You can also paste their message or add a photo from a Pinterest or Instagram link.
3. Read what it counted. It lists the tiers, flowers, piping and other work it sees, and asks only what a photo cannot show, like pickup or delivery.
4. Check the price panel on the right. Every task, who does it, and the quoted range. Change a quantity or a time and the price updates.
5. Press Customer link to send a clean quote your customer can accept from their phone, or Email to customer if you have their address.

• Every quote saves on its own. Find it again in History.
• Use Customer view on the quote to see exactly what your customer will see.

In the app: Quote

Set up your shop

Rates, margin and minimums

These are the numbers every price is built from. The defaults are a sensible start; make them yours.

1. Go to Settings, Pricing and rates.
2. Not sure what to pay? Pick your state under Suggest rates for my area to fill in typical pay from government wage data, then adjust to what you really pay.
3. Set your target margin. Many solo artists and custom shops aim for 40 to 50 percent.
4. Set your smallest order, so no quote comes out below it.
5. Choose what happens on big decorating jobs: lower the customer’s price, or keep the saving as margin.

• If it is just you, enter what you would pay someone else to do the work. Otherwise your own time is free in every price.

In the app: Settings, Pricing and rates

Set up your shop

Solo or a team: people, pay and skill level

Cakulate works for a solo artist and for a shop with staff. Your pay and pace go into every price.

1. Go to Settings, Team.
2. Working alone? Choose It’s just me and enter your hourly rate. You are the baker, decorator and lead artist.
3. Have a team? Choose Add my team. For each person, enter their pay, their skill level (beginner, intermediate or advanced) and the work they do.
4. Pick who usually does each kind of work. On any quote you can change who is on it under Who’s on it.

• Newer people are given more time per task, at their own pay, based on real times measured at each skill level.
• Hired your first helper? Add them as a beginner. Your existing quotes are not affected.

In the app: Settings, Team

Set up your shop

Flavors, fillings and shapes

Your menu becomes one-tap choices on every quote. Premium choices can add their extra ingredient cost and prep time.

1. Go to Settings, Menu and turn on menu pricing.
2. Edit the flavors, fillings and shapes you offer.
3. For premium items, add the extra cost per serving and any extra prep minutes.

In the app: Settings, Menu

Set up your shop

Delivery and setup

Quotes start as pickup. When an order needs delivery, it is charged the way you choose here.

1. Go to Settings, Delivery.
2. Choose how you charge: a flat fee, by the mile, by drive time, or by zones.
3. Add your shop address so miles can be worked out.
4. Turn on any extras: vehicle cost, handling, or a setup fee for stacking at the venue.

• Delivery is added after your margin, so it is never marked up.

In the app: Settings, Delivery

Set up your shop

Consults, sketches and paperwork

By default your admin time is overhead: covered by your margin, never a line on the quote.

1. Go to Settings, Admin time.
2. For any task, keep it as overhead, charge a flat fee (for example a design fee), or turn it off.

In the app: Settings, Admin time

Win the order

Quote links, deposits and sales tax

Your customer gets a clean page to accept the quote or ask for changes, and a button to pay the deposit.

1. Set up deposits in Settings, Deposits: a percent of the quote or a flat amount, plus your payment link (Square, PayPal, Venmo).
2. Turn on sales tax in Settings, Sales tax if you charge it. Mark wholesale customers with a resale certificate as tax-exempt on their customer page.
3. On a quote, press Customer link. The link is copied for you, good for 30 days.
4. When the customer accepts or asks for changes, you get an email and the quote is updated in History.
5. When the deposit arrives, mark it paid in History.

In the app: Settings, Deposits and Sales tax

Win the order

Automatic emails

Follow-ups and reminders go out once a day on their own, each only once per order. All are off until you turn them on.

1. Go to Settings, Reminders.
2. Turn on the ones you want: quote follow-up, deposit reminder, balance reminder, pickup or delivery reminder, and review request.
3. For review requests, add your Google, Yelp or Facebook review link.
4. Open Edit the wording to make every email sound like you. The preview shows how it reads.

• Mark an order Customer had a complaint and it will never get a review request.

In the app: Settings, Reminders

Win the order

Order form and pickup menu

Put a link on your website or Instagram. Requests arrive as draft quotes with the customer’s details and photos already attached.

1. Go to Settings, Order form and pick your link.
2. Turn on Take requests through the order form, and add a thank-you message if you like.
3. Sell ready-to-buy items? Also turn on the pickup menu. Customers choose quantities and a pickup day from your Products.
4. New requests show in History marked New inquiry or Presale order.

In the app: Settings, Order form

Run the kitchen

Calendar and capacity

See every booked order by day, and get warned before you take on more than you, or your team, can make.

1. Open Calendar. Switch between Month and Week. Drag an order to move it to another day.
2. Press Capacity to set how many custom orders you take per day, closed days, minimum notice, and the hours of baking, decorating and lead artist work you or your team have each week.
3. When a new quote would fill a week, you see a warning on the quote before you send it.
4. Press Add to my calendar to see your orders in Google, Outlook or Apple Calendar.

In the app: Calendar

Run the kitchen

Schedule, bake list and punch list

Cakulate works backward from each event so you know what to do each day.

1. Open Orders and pick a range, like This week.
2. Pickup list: every order by day with times, phone numbers and a delivery route link.
3. Schedule: each order’s work placed on the days before the event, with hours by kind of work.
4. Bake list: every cake round to bake by size, shape and flavor, plus fillings.
5. Decor punch list: what to make and what to buy for each order. Check items off as you go.

In the app: Orders

Run the kitchen

Invoices, receipts and agreements

Every order has a printable invoice, receipt and order agreement.

1. On a quote, press Invoice and receipt.
2. Set the agreed price and press Create invoice. Tax and the deposit already paid are worked out for you.
3. When the balance is paid, mark it paid. The receipt updates.
4. Edit your agreement wording in Settings, Invoices. A monthly sales tax report is there too.

In the app: Quote, Invoice and receipt

Get more accurate over time

Log real times and let Cakulate learn

Your starting times come from real orders measured by trained bakers and decorators. Your own shop will be faster at some things and slower at others. Logging real times closes that gap.

1. After an order, open its quote and press Log real times.
2. Enter how many minutes the tasks you timed really took. Skip any you did not time.
3. Once a task has real times from three or more orders and keeps running long or short, it shows in Library, Time check with a suggested new time.
4. Press Use to update the task. Every future quote uses the new time.

• Save an order you are proud of with Save as reference. The assistant compares new orders to your reference cases.

In the app: Quote, Log real times; Library, Time check

Get more accurate over time

Products, Library and inventory

Ready-to-buy items like cupcakes and cookies are priced from recipe, packaging and labor.

1. In Library, enter the ingredients and packaging you buy with the package price and size.
2. In Products, build each item from its recipe, packaging and tasks. See the per-unit price and how it drops with bigger batches.
3. Track stock with On hand and Keep at least in Library. Library, Shopping list shows what to reorder.

In the app: Library and Products