Home bakers and cake makers

Magpie sells this week's bakes from your home kitchen, for pickup or local delivery. It takes custom cake orders and quotes wedding cakes with a deposit.

Your shop, enquiries, quotes and the week's email are in your own Magpie account. A helper who boxes orders on a market day can join you in a team.

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  1. Pickup ordersStore
  2. Custom cakesForms
  3. Wedding quotesProposals
  4. Market daysCalendar
  5. The week's listNewsletter
Marigold Home Bakes’ products: this week’s country sourdough, cinnamon buns, lemon drizzle loaf, celebration cake, cookies and a gift card, each with whether it is live, its stock and its price, and the custom cake kept as a draft.

This combination of six Magpie areas fits a home baker.

Store
Store sells this week's bakes, each with a stock, for pickup or local delivery.
Forms
Forms takes a custom cake enquiry with the date, the servings and a design photo.
Proposals
Proposals quotes a wedding cake by tier, and takes the deposit when the couple sign.
Invoicing
Invoicing bills the balance before the wedding, and an office's cupcake order, with Pay online.
Calendar
Calendar lists your markets and pop-ups on a public calendar, each with its own page.
Newsletter
Newsletter emails this week's bake list to your subscribers, the morning orders open.

Customers order this week's bakes for pickup at your door or a delivery date.

Store is your online shop, and each bake is a product with its own stock. A loaf stops selling when its stock is gone. A field on a cake asks for the message to pipe on it. Buyers pay by card into your Stripe account.

Local pickup shows your address and pickup times at checkout, with no shipping address asked. Local delivery goes to the postal codes you list, on the days you deliver. Orders close at your cutoff, and buyers choose a delivery date at checkout.

A paid order at Marigold Home Bakes: two country sourdoughs and a box of cinnamon buns for pickup at the kitchen door on Saturday, with the neighbour’s discount, the tax and Stripe’s fee, and a note about when Dana will collect.

A custom cake enquiry arrives with the date, the servings and a photo of the design.

Forms builds your custom cake enquiry. It asks for the date, the servings and the flavours from a list. A File question takes a photo of the design the customer has in mind. The tier questions can show only when someone chooses a tiered cake.

Each enquiry is emailed to you, and the responses are kept in one list. Once you agree the price, you record the order and send a payment link. The customer pays by card, and the order is marked paid.

Marigold Home Bakes’ custom cake enquiry in the builder: the date it is needed, the servings, the tiers, the flavours, a question for a photo of the design, the message and any allergies at the table.

A wedding cake is quoted by tier, and the deposit is paid when the couple sign.

Proposals sets out the cake as packages: two tiers, three or four, each with its price. Optional lines add sugar flowers or a dessert table. The couple choose, sign on the page and pay the deposit by card.

The balance is invoiced on a date you choose, such as two weeks before the wedding. You see when the proposal is opened, and the couple can ask a question on it.

Maya Lindqvist’s proposal page from Marigold Home Bakes for a wedding cake in June: the cover, the two-, three- and four-tier cakes to choose from, sugar flowers and a dessert table as extras, and the total in a bar at the foot of the screen.

You bill the balance and an office's order, and they pay by card from the email.

Invoicing bills the rest of a wedding cake on its date, with reminders until paid. An office's cupcake order goes on an invoice of its own, with your tax rate. Sending emails the PDF with a Pay online button.

Card payments go to your own Stripe account, with no Magpie fee. A bank transfer or cash is recorded by hand. A café that takes your loaves can be billed every month on a recurring invoice.

Your markets and pop-ups go on a public calendar, each with its own page.

Calendar lists each market and pop-up as a public event. Your public calendar is at an address of your own, to put in your bio. Each event's page shows the date, the time and the place.

A tasting evening or a decorating class can take RSVPs, up to the seats you set. Sharing an event starts a social media post about it.

Marigold Home Bakes’ pop-up bake sale in the new event drawer: on the public calendar with RSVPs up to 60 and the count shown, beside the month with the Saturday bakes, the pickup window, the farmers market and the wedding cake balance due.

This week's bake list reaches your subscribers the morning orders open.

Newsletter gives you a sign-up page with double opt-in, and checkout can ask buyers to subscribe. You write the week's list, send yourself a test and schedule it for Monday morning. Each bake can link to its page in the shop.

A sent email has a web copy, which can start a social media post. The newsletter's page counts the subscribers and the copies delivered.

This week’s bake list from Marigold Home Bakes in the composer: pumpkin sourdough back, the cinnamon buns, the lemon drizzle loaf and a market date, with the cutoff for Friday delivery and Saturday pickup.

Five more areas cover posts, recipes, receipts, a code for the stall and the books.

Social Media
Social Media starts a post from a live bake, with its photos and link. It posts to Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn at your time, and reminds you for Instagram.
Daily Operations
Daily Operations keeps each recipe with its allergens, its yield and how long it keeps. It works out what a batch costs from its ingredients.
Expenses
Expenses keeps the receipts for flour, butter and boxes, photographed at the till. A market's stall fee is an expense too.
QR Codes
QR Codes makes a code for the market table that opens your shop. It can point somewhere else later.
Accounting
Accounting adds each paid order, deposit and invoice to the books, with Stripe's fees and payouts. Your receipts are beside them.

This week's bake list goes from the shop to the books.

Each step starts from what the one before it made.

  1. The list goes live

    Monday's bakes go live in the shop at the time you set, each with its stock.

  2. The email

    The newsletter goes out the same morning, with a link to each bake.

  3. The orders

    A loaf sells until its stock is gone, and each cake carries its message.

  4. The cutoff

    Delivery orders close at your cutoff, and Local deliveries lists them soonest first.

  5. The pickup day

    Marking an order ready emails the customer your address and pickup times.

  6. The books

    Each paid order is in the books with Stripe's fee, and the week's receipts beside it.

Setting up takes five steps.

  1. Set up your shop for pickup and delivery

    You name the shop, add pickup at your door and your delivery days with a cutoff. Help: Collections and shipping.

  2. Add this week's bakes

    You add each bake with its stock, and a message field on the cakes. Help: Create products, options, and inventory.

  3. Publish the custom cake enquiry

    You add the date, servings, flavour and photo questions, then publish the Form. Help: Build, publish, and share a form.

  4. Start your newsletter

    You start the newsletter and choose it for the sign-up box at checkout. Help: Start and configure a newsletter.

  5. Connect Stripe

    You connect your Stripe account, so customers can pay by card. Help: Connect Stripe to receive money.

Plans

A baker working alone fits Pro, for your own work in Personal. The free plan includes 5 invoices a month and 5 proposals, and Pro has no limit. Pro also raises the newsletter's monthly allowance.

Magpie adds no fee to your shop's sales, invoices or deposits. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. Prices are on the Pricing page.

Other food businesses and makers have pages of their own.

Personal chefs

A personal chef books cook days at clients' homes and bills them with the groceries.

Questions home bakers ask

Can customers order this week's bakes for my pickup day?

Yes. Each bake is a product with its own stock, and stops selling when it is gone. Local pickup shows your address and pickup times at checkout. A required Date field can ask which day they will collect. When you mark an order ready, Magpie emails the customer the address and any instructions.

Can I open orders at a set time each week?

Yes. A bake that is not live can go live at a date and time you set. Monday at eight works. A collection, such as this week's list, can be published at a set time too. You can also take a bake off the shop and keep it for next week.

Can I take orders for a Christmas bake before I have made any?

Yes. With Sell when out of stock on, a product keeps selling past zero. Customers see an expected date, if you set one, on the product page and their order. Every order with items not yet baked is listed under Pre-orders. Payment is taken when they order.

Can I deliver locally on set days?

Yes. Local delivery goes to the postal codes you list, on the days you deliver. You set how many days' notice you need and a cutoff time. Buyers choose one of the next 14 delivery days at checkout. Delivery can have a fee, or be free over an order amount.

Can customers collect from my house?

Yes. A pickup method has your address, your pickup times and a note such as which door. Buyers see the address when they choose it, and Stripe asks for no shipping address. Pickup can be free or carry a price.

Can customers write the message for the cake when they order?

Yes. A personalisation field on a cake asks for the message to pipe on it. It takes short text, and can be required, free or at an added price. The order, its emails and the packing slip show what they wrote.

Can buyers tell me about an allergy when they order?

Yes. A long text field on a product asks for dietary notes as they buy it. The product page can show a specification such as Allergens: wheat, eggs, milk. Each recipe in Daily Operations records its allergens too.

Can customers choose a size or a flavour?

Yes. An option such as Size gives 6 inch and 8 inch their own price and stock. A second option, such as Flavour, works the same way. Each combination is an item customers choose.

Can I sell gift cards?

Yes. A gift card product sells fixed amounts and, if you choose, a custom amount. The buyer can have it emailed to someone on a date they pick. The holder spends it in your shop, and it never expires.

How do people order a custom cake?

They answer your custom cake Form. It asks for the date, the servings and the flavours. A File question takes a photo of the design. A question about tiers can show only when they choose a tiered cake. Each enquiry is emailed to you, and the responses are kept in one list.

How do I take payment for a custom cake once we agree a price?

You record the order at the price you agreed, and choose to send a payment link. Magpie emails the customer a Stripe payment page for the total. The link works for 24 hours, and the order is marked paid when they pay. One Custom cake product covers every one, at whatever price you agree.

Can I ask for a deposit on a wedding cake?

Yes. The quote is a proposal with a payment schedule that starts with a deposit. The deposit's invoice is issued when the couple accept, and they pay it by card. The balance is invoiced on a date you choose, such as two weeks before the wedding.

Can the couple choose between tiers and flavours on the quote?

Yes. A pricing section offers 2 to 4 packages, such as two tiers or three, and they choose one. Optional lines add sugar flowers or a dessert table. A line priced by the guest lets them set the number within the range you allow. The total follows each choice.

Can I bill an office for a cupcake order?

Yes. An invoice bills the office with lines for the cupcakes and delivery, and your tax rate. Sending it emails the PDF with a Pay online button. Reminders go out until it is paid. A café that takes your loaves can be billed every month on a recurring invoice.

Can I put my market dates where customers can see them?

Yes. Each market is an event on your public calendar, at an address of your own. The event's page shows the date, the time and the place. Share event starts a social media post about it.

Can I sell at a market stall?

Yes. A stall sale is recorded as an order, paid in cash or on your card terminal. Its items come out of the same stock as the shop.

Can I put a code on the table that opens my shop?

Yes. A QR code opens any address, such as your shop or one bake's page. A dynamic code can be pointed somewhere else after the sign is printed. Its page counts the scans.

Can I email customers this week's bake list?

Yes. Newsletter gives you a sign-up page with double opt-in, and checkout can ask buyers to subscribe. You write each email in Markdown, send yourself a test and schedule it. A sent email has a web copy to share.

Can I post the week's bakes on Instagram?

Yes. Promote on Social Media starts a post from a live bake, with its link and photos. For Instagram, Magpie emails you a reminder at the post's time. On your phone, the posting page copies the text and opens the share sheet. Bluesky, Mastodon and LinkedIn are posted for you.

Can I keep my recipes with their allergens and costs?

Yes. Daily Operations keeps each recipe with its ingredients, method, yield, how long it keeps and allergens. It works out what a batch costs from its ingredients in Inventory. A buttercream or a syrup can be a recipe inside another.

Can I keep receipts for flour, butter and boxes without paper?

Yes. You photograph each receipt on your phone, up to 10 MB each. Receipt Inbox keeps receipts you photograph first and enter later. Categories total what the month cost.

Can I see what I made this month?

Yes. Accounting adds each paid order, deposit and invoice payment to the books, with Stripe's fees. Your expenses are in the same books. Profit and Loss shows the month's income and costs, and exports as PDF or CSV.

What does Magpie take from my sales?

Magpie adds no fee to your shop's sales, deposits or invoice payments. Stripe's processing fee is taken from each card payment. The rest goes to your own Stripe account, and Stripe pays it out to your bank.

Can customers order without signing up first?

Yes. Customers check out on Stripe's checkout page without signing up first. Magpie keeps each order in a free Magpie account for their email address. A custom cake enquiry is answered without signing up first too.

Can I give regulars a discount code?

Yes. A discount code takes a percentage or an amount off, or gives free shipping. It can be limited by dates, a minimum order and a number of uses. The customer types it in their cart.

Can customers ask to be told when the sourdough is back?

Yes. When a bake with counted stock sells out, its product page asks for an email address. Magpie sends one email when it can be bought again. You see how many people are waiting.

Can I take a week off?

Yes. Remove from store takes the week's bakes off the shop and keeps them as drafts. Each can go live again at a date and time you set. Orders already paid keep their pickup or delivery details.

Take orders for this week's bakes.

Create a Magpie account and add this week's bakes to your shop.

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