Bakery Invoices — Free, Editable, Built for Orders, Events & Wholesale

How to Invoice for a Bakery (Cakes, Catering & Wholesale)

A bakery invoice has to juggle three very different jobs: a single custom cake with a deposit, a catered event with a headcount and a service charge, and a standing wholesale route billed every week. Get the terms right and you protect your margins on ingredients and labor; get them vague and you eat the cost of a cancelled wedding cake. Here's how bakeries should bill.

Itemize by the Right Unit — Dozen, Tray, or Each

The fastest way to look amateur is a one-line invoice: "Party order — $640." The client can't verify it, and you can't defend it if they push back. Break it out by how the item is actually sold:

• Pastries by the dozen — croissants, scones, morning buns, cookies, priced per dozen or half-dozen
• Cupcakes and individual items each — with the per-unit price shown
• Trays and platters — quiche, fruit, sandwich trays, with the serving size noted
• Custom cakes as a flat line — tier count, servings, and flavor in the description so there's no "I thought it was three tiers" later

Always Take a Deposit — and Show It on the Invoice

For custom cakes and events, a 30-50% deposit holds the date and covers your ingredient and prep risk. Put it on the invoice as a paid line so the document shows the remaining balance due, not the full amount. Spell out your final-headcount cutoff (commonly 72 hours prior) and your cancellation policy right in the notes — the week of a wedding is the worst time to be negotiating whether the deposit is refundable.

Charge for the Labor, Not Just the Product

Catering and event work is where bakeries quietly lose money. Bill these as their own lines so they don't disappear into the food price:

• Delivery, setup, and breakdown — your time and fuel for a drop-off and on-site service
• Service charge — commonly 18% on a fully catered, staffed event
• Rentals — stands, platters, or linens you fronted and need back

Sales Tax and Wholesale Terms

Food tax rules vary by state and by whether the order is to-go versus served — many states tax prepared and catered food but exempt baked goods sold to-go. Apply tax to the taxable lines only, and confirm your state's rule rather than guessing. For wholesale accounts (cafes, restaurants, grocers), drop the deposit and switch to Net 15 or Net 30 with a PO or account number on every invoice so their AP processes it. Then avoid the usual traps:

• One-line orders — "catering, $640" stalls approval and invites disputes. Itemize.
• No deposit recorded — if you took 40% upfront and don't show it, you've just invoiced the client twice.
• Forgetting delivery and setup — the most common way bakeries do an event for free.
• No headcount cutoff — without it, a client cuts 20 guests the day before and expects a discount on food you already baked.

EZdoc handles the formatting and the math so you can invoice from the kitchen instead of the back office. Describe the order, add your deposit and delivery, and download a print-ready PDF in about 30 seconds. Generate your bakery invoice now — three free AI generations to dial it in, then save it as a template and bill every order in seconds.