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.
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.