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Start with the deposit
The deposit holds a date you could have sold to someone else, and it pays for ingredients you buy in advance. Published bakery policies commonly ask for 30% to 50%, and some ask for more on large or complex cakes. Choose an amount that at least covers your ingredients and packaging.
- Cake price$103.00
- Deposit, 50%$51.50
Ingredients + packaging it must cover$19.46
$14.96 of ingredients + $4.50 for the box and board. The rest of the deposit pays toward your time.
The worked example comes from our custom cake pricing guide. Say clearly that the date isn't held until the deposit arrives.
Set cancellation windows
Match the windows to when you actually spend money and time: when you buy ingredients, make decorations and block the oven. One example structure:
- 14+ days beforeThe deposit moves to a new date within 6 months, or is refunded minus a small admin fee.
- 7 to 13 days beforeThe deposit is kept. Nothing more is owed.
- Under 7 days, or decorations already madeThe deposit is kept, and any materials already bought for the order are charged.
Whatever windows you choose, apply them the same way to every customer.
Reschedules and design changes
- Reschedules: allowed with enough notice and subject to your availability. Some bakers allow one move per order, so a date can't keep sliding across the calendar.
- Design changes: set a deadline, such as 7 days before pickup, and say that changes can change the price.
- Design approval: confirm the final design, size and flavors in writing, with a sketch or reference photo.
If you have to cancel
Ovens break and bakers get sick. This year, customers have posted about bakers cancelling the night before a birthday, and how hard it was to find a replacement. Your policy should promise what you'd want as a customer:
- A full refund of everything paid, including the deposit
- As much notice as possible, by phone, not only by text
- An offer to reschedule, if the customer wants it
- If you can, the name of a baker who might take the order
Unhappy customers, no-shows and card disputes
Most refund fights are about what was agreed. Decide these rules before they come up:
Check at pickup
The customer checks the cake when they collect it. Once it leaves, transport and storage are their responsibility.
Complaints
Concerns come with photos within 24 hours. Any partial refund or credit is at your discretion.
No-shows
Orders not collected by the end of the pickup window count as collected and paid in full.
Proof
Keep the accepted policy, the approved design and a photo of the finished cake for every order.
Customers can dispute a card payment with their bank. Some people even suggest it in public replies when a cake didn't match the photo they had in mind. If that happens, the written policy, the customer's "I agree", the design approval and your pickup photo are what you'll show.
Selling online? Refunds affect your payouts
If you take orders through an online store, your refund and dispute record matters to the payment processor as well as to customers. With Shopify Payments, refunds, chargebacks and custom-order lead times are all on the list of things that can lead to a reserve on your payouts. A clear policy, shown before checkout, keeps refunds and disputes down.
- An increased refund rate
- Elevated chargebacks
- Long delivery timelines: pre-orders, custom orders, events
- Extended billing cycles
- Significant volume surges
Source: Shopify Help Center, as summarized in the Unfreeze Pack guide linked below.
If your payouts are already paused, Unfreeze Pack's guide to Shopify Payments payouts paused or on hold explains the difference between a hold, a reserve and a verification pause, and how to respond. Unfreeze Pack is a sister site run by the same owner as this one.
Sample policy wording
Adapt this to your own windows and local rules. Keep it short enough that people actually read it.
Order policy
"A 50% deposit reserves your date; your order isn't booked until it's paid. The balance is due 3 days before pickup. Cancel 14 or more days before pickup and your deposit moves to a new date within 6 months. Within 14 days, the deposit is non-refundable. Design changes are accepted up to 7 days before pickup and may change the price. Please check your cake at pickup; after that, transport and storage are your responsibility. If I ever have to cancel, you'll receive a full refund of everything you've paid."
Put it on the order form, the quote and the invoice, and ask for an "I agree" reply before you take the deposit.
Free custom cake & treat order forms
Cake and cookie/treat order forms with total, deposit, deposit-paid date and balance due, plus pickup slips with allergen tick-boxes.
Get it free on Gumroad Enter $0 at checkout.Frequently asked questions
Can I keep the deposit if a customer cancels?
If your written policy said so and the customer accepted it before paying, keeping a deposit for a late cancellation is common practice. Consumer rules vary by state, province and country, so check yours. Being clear up front matters more than the exact percentage.
What if the customer cancels because of an emergency?
That's your call. Many bakers offer to move the deposit to a new date or give a credit as a one-time exception. Write down what you agreed, so an exception doesn't quietly become your new policy.
How long should I hold a cake that isn't picked up?
Set a window in your policy, such as until closing time on the pickup day. Say that after that the order counts as collected and paid in full, and the balance isn't refunded. Message the customer at the start of the window, and again before it ends.
Do I have to refund a customer who doesn't like the cake?
Your policy should say how quality complaints work: check the cake at pickup, and send photos within a short window, such as 24 hours. Whether you offer a partial refund or a credit is then up to you. Approving the design in writing before you bake prevents most of these arguments.
Where should my cancellation policy go?
On your order form, quote and invoice, on your website or store's refund policy page if you sell online, and in the message where you ask for the deposit. Ask the customer to reply "I agree" or sign before you take payment.
Going further
The Home Bakery Business Forms pack includes an order policy and agreement with deposit and cancellation terms, plus a production planner, pickup log, inventory list and consultation notes. For weddings, the Wedding Cake Consultation & Tasting Kit has a wedding cake quote with a 3-part payment schedule and a final details confirmation.
Disclosure: the templates linked here are made and sold by this site's shop. Unfreeze Pack is a sister site with the same owner. This page is general information, not legal advice. Consumer and cottage food rules vary by state, province and country, so check yours.