Custom Cake and Dessert Business Invoicing App (2026)
A custom cake is made-to-order for one event on one date, and the ingredients get bought before anyone pays. ShowTheReceipts ($15/mo) takes a non-refundable deposit that holds the date, saves per-serving and per-tier pricing with delivery, setup, and stand rental lines, and bills the balance automatically the week before the event.
How we picked
Entry-plan prices as published in 2026, taken from each vendor's own pricing page or a recent third-party summary. Judged on the small baker's money workflow — date-holding deposits, per-serving and per-tier pricing, delivery and rental lines, and automatic balance collection — not on retail bakery POS, e-commerce storefronts, or production and inventory management.
| Software | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| ShowTheReceipts That's us | $15/mo | Home bakers and cake studios: date deposits, per-serving pricing, delivery and rental lines, balance billing |
| Square | Free + 2.6% + 10¢ | Card payments at pickup or a market stall |
| Invoice2go | $9.99/mo+ | Basic mobile invoicing |
| Wave | Free / $16/mo | Free invoicing with light bookkeeping |
| HoneyBook | $29/mo+ | Proposal-and-contract flows for event vendors |
Ingredients are bought before money arrives
That’s the whole cash-flow problem of custom baking. Flour, butter, fondant, and a Saturday all get committed in advance — so the deposit at booking and the balance before bake week aren’t strictness, they’re the mechanism that keeps the business solvent.
1. ShowTheReceipts — $15/mo
Deposit that holds the date, per-serving and per-tier pricing saved, delivery, setup, and stand rental lines, balance billed automatically before you shop. (If you are setting your wedding cake prices, read our guide on how much to charge for a custom wedding cake, or download a free custom cake order invoice template.)
2. Square — free + processing
Great for pickup and market payments; no order or deposit workflow.
3. Invoice2go — $9.99/mo+
Basic invoicing without deposits or scheduling.
4. Wave — Free / $16/mo
Free invoices plus light bookkeeping.
5. HoneyBook — $29/mo+
Proposals and contracts for event vendors, priced for the whole workflow.
The lines that make a cake quote
- Base — per serving, by flavour and complexity tier
- Tiers and structure — internal supports on tall cakes
- Decoration — sugar flowers, hand-painting, sculpting, per element
- Dietary versions — gluten-free or vegan, priced for the separate bake
- Delivery and setup — by distance and venue complexity
- Stand rental — fee plus refundable deposit
- Rush — inside a stated window
Sugar flowers are hours, not decoration
A single realistic sugar peony can take an evening. Priced as part of “the cake,” it’s invisible; priced per element, it’s a choice the customer makes with their eyes open — and usually still says yes to.
Put the balance before the shop
Bill the balance one to two weeks out, before you buy a case of butter for someone else’s party. It’s the single change that turns a busy season from stressful into profitable.
Frequently asked questions
How should a custom cake be priced?
Per serving as the base, with tiers, sculpting, sugar flowers, and fondant as add-on lines. Per-serving pricing scales honestly with size and makes a 150-guest wedding cake explainable next to a 30-guest birthday one.
How much deposit and when is the balance due?
A non-refundable deposit at booking to hold the date — often 25–50% — with the balance due one to two weeks before the event, before you shop and bake. Buying ingredients for a cake nobody has paid for is the classic home-bakery cash trap.
Should delivery and setup be separate from the cake price?
Yes. Delivering and stacking a tiered cake at a venue is a nerve-wracking hour with real liability, and it's not the same service as handing a box across a kitchen counter. Price it by distance and complexity.
What about cake stands and rental items?
Bill a rental fee plus a refundable deposit, and put the return date on the invoice. Stands disappear after weddings with remarkable consistency, and a deposit is the only reliable way to get them back.