Does this work in Excel and Google Sheets?

Both. Google Sheets: File > Import, or open and make a copy. Excel 365: open it directly. No macros, no add-ons, nothing to install.

How does the complexity tier work?

It multiplies the decorating time you enter. Enter the time a simple cake of that size would take, then pick the tier: Moderate is 1.6x, Elaborate 2.6x, Showpiece 4x.

Can I cost a quarter teaspoon of something?

Yes. Buy in kilos or liters, use in grams, milliliters or teaspoons, the conversion is automatic and exact.

Should packaging go on the ingredient shelf?

Yes. Drums, boards, dowels, boxes and ribbon are cost of goods, and on a tiered cake they are not small.

I'm not confident with spreadsheets. Will I manage?

Yes. The white cells are the only ones you touch. The Quick-Start Guide has your first real number on screen in about five minutes, and if you get stuck, message me.

Home → Tools → Cake and Custom Order Pricing Calculator

Cake & Custom Order Pricing Calculator

Four hours of piping went into a cake priced like a box mix.

True cost per serving for custom cakes, including micro-ingredients, decoration complexity and overhead, with the minimum price at your margin.

$24 USD · one-time

Buy on Etsy · $24Gumroad coming soon

Instant download · Excel & Google Sheets · works on Mac and Windows · on Etsy today, Gumroad soon

Cake and Custom Order Pricing Calculator dashboard

Who it's for

Made for the way you actually work.

Home bakers pricing custom orders instead of apologizing for them
Cottage-license bakers turning a hobby into a business
Cake decorators whose detail work never makes the invoice
Bakers who go quiet when someone asks about a wedding tier

What's included

Everything in one file.

Dashboard: Three headline numbers and two charts. Read-only.
Start Here: Five steps from opening the file to a real number on screen.
Cake Pricing: Where you cost one recipe. The main working sheet.
Ingredients: Your shelf. Enter each purchase once; used everywhere.
Settings: Labor rate, overhead, target margin and fees.
Instructions: What each sheet does, and what to do if a number looks off.
About: Version, license and support.
PDF Quick-Start Guide: two pages, first result in five minutes

How it works

Three steps to a number you trust.

Open Settings. Set your hourly rate, overhead %, and the gross margin you want to keep.
Open Ingredients. Replace the sample shelf with what you actually buy, and set yield % for anything you waste, fondant scraps, isomalt, gold leaf.
Open Cake Pricing. Name the order and enter how many servings it feeds.

A look inside

The screens you'll be working in.

List of the eight sheets in the cake pricing calculator

Cake Pricing sheet with ingredients, hours and cost per cake

Ingredients sheet with pack prices, units and yield

Settings sheet with overhead, target margin and fees

Three steps to a price: load ingredients, cost the cake, read the minimum

Compatibility list showing Excel, Google Sheets, Mac and Windows support

Questions

Good to know.

Does this work in Excel and Google Sheets?: Both. Google Sheets: File > Import, or open and make a copy. Excel 365: open it directly. No macros, no add-ons, nothing to install.
How does the complexity tier work?: It multiplies the decorating time you enter. Enter the time a simple cake of that size would take, then pick the tier: Moderate is 1.6x, Elaborate 2.6x, Showpiece 4x.
Can I cost a quarter teaspoon of something?: Yes. Buy in kilos or liters, use in grams, milliliters or teaspoons, the conversion is automatic and exact.
Should packaging go on the ingredient shelf?: Yes. Drums, boards, dowels, boxes and ribbon are cost of goods, and on a tiered cake they are not small.
I'm not confident with spreadsheets. Will I manage?: Yes. The white cells are the only ones you touch. The Quick-Start Guide has your first real number on screen in about five minutes, and if you get stuck, message me.

One mispriced job costs more than this.

$24 once, and it's yours to keep. It pays for itself the first time it stops you underpricing a job or leaving margin on the table. No subscription, no login, just a file that does the maths.

Buy on Etsy · $24Gumroad coming soon

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