Are you looking to grow your wedding cake business? Do you wish there was an easier way to keep track of deposits and payments made on your cake orders?
I’m going to share with you how the features of Square Payment Processing have dramatically helped me with invoicing, appointments, and payments.
Affiliate Disclosure– If you click on a link in this post and activate an account or buy hardware from Square, then I get paid. This is called an affiliate commission. It doesn’t cost you anything and you do not pay more for the product. This is how I make money from my blog and am able to continue to provide valuable content for my readers.
Create and send invoices for your wedding cake business
When I was first getting started in the wedding cake business, I used to hand write all my special orders and staple receipts to the contracts. I had a hard time keeping track of payments made and balances due. My customers would come in to make payments on their cakes and I wasn’t keeping all their information up to date . It definitely did not give them confidence in me as their baker.
With Square I can create and send invoices right from my phone in a professional looking format.
Square keeps track of down payments and partial payments. I can also send a balance due with their final due date. This made my life so much easier and my customers appreciate it too.
Want to read more about taking special orders in your baking business? Click here.
Program automatic discounts
Part of my success at bridal fairs is offering a promotion to people who book with me on location. Some of the ways I like to use discounts are:
- program a bridal fair discount and encourage them to book onsite.
- Offer incentives to book at cake consultations.
Square’s discount features are easy to set up and they are customizable too!
Growing your wedding cake business with a customer directory
Customers can go paperless by simply opting for a digital receipt and entering their email address at the time of check out. Now every time I make a transaction, I’m building my email list! I can even add notes about my customer’s preferences in the customer directory.
- Bride will be dropping off color swatches in March.
- Best friend is picking up cake.
- Customer loves strawberry shortcake. Call her when we make it again.
This feature helps me to take great care of each customer and give them outstanding service.
Schedule tastings and consultations appointments
I have a little seating area in my bake shop for consultations. Although it is a small space, it’s where I do all of my consultations and do most of my bookings.
I meet with my customers and they taste cake, look at photos and I give them quotes for their order. Although its a simple process, keeping my tastings booked helps me better fill my availability calendar.
Schedule tasting times online
No more lengthy phone calls and carrying around a calendar to book tastings. Now my customers can go online and choose the appointment that fits their schedule best.
Send out an automated reminders
Reminders help me cut down on no-show appointments. The client gets a text message reminder several times before their appointment with me.
Take a payment
I charge a fee for my wedding cake tastings and with Square appointments, I can set it to require a payment at the time of scheduling. When I require a payment on a consultation it cuts down on my no-show clients.
Customize consultation times
This is where I set the times that I am available for consultations. It varies throughout the year, so I update it as needed. During wedding booking season I try to do tastings more frequently. Square appointments lets me make seasonal changes to my appointment calendar.
Let’s wrap this up…..
Square Point of Sale, I’m a fan!
I’ve been able to see a big improvement in my custom cake business since using Square Point of Sale. It helps me book my custom cake calendar for the year.
I now sell more cakes and give better service to my clients. Now I have an easy way to take payments in full before pick up and delivery.
Click here to view all of the features Square has to offer
Affiliate Disclosure– If you click on a link in this post and activate an account or buy hardware from Square, then I get paid. This is called an affiliate commission. It doesn’t cost you anything and you do not pay more for the product. This is how I make money from my blog and am able to continue to provide valuable content for my readers.
Click here to get a Square Point of Sale for your baking
