Cake terms and conditions
Answer six questions and get plain English terms for your cake orders, ready to copy or print.
Free. No signup needed.The short answer
A workable set of cake terms settles eight things: the deposit, when the balance is due, cancellations, moving the date, when the design locks, collection and delivery, allergies, and where your responsibility ends after handover. Set your own numbers below and the wording writes itself.
Cake terms and conditions
BakerInbox
How you take bookings
Your terms
1. Booking and deposit
A date is held once the deposit is paid, not when it is discussed. A non-refundable deposit of 50% of the total is due at booking, and until it clears the date stays open to anyone else.
The deposit comes off your final balance.
2. Paying the balance
The balance is due 14 days before your collection or delivery date. Orders placed inside that window are paid in full at booking.
Decorating does not start on an order whose balance is overdue.
3. Cancellations
You can cancel at any time. The deposit is not refunded, because your date was held and other work was turned away for it.
Cancel within 14 days of the date and the full balance is still payable, whether or not it has been paid yet.
4. Moving your date
A date can be moved once at no charge with at least 28 days notice, subject to my availability.
Inside that window a move counts as a cancellation and a new booking.
5. Changes to the design
Changes are welcome up to 7 days before your date. After that the design is set, because ingredients are ordered and decorations are already being made.
A change that adds size, tiers, or hand work is re-quoted before I accept it.
6. Collection and delivery
Collection is from an address and a time we agree when you book. Please come at the agreed time. A finished cake cannot sit out waiting.
Delivery is quoted separately by distance and setup time. Someone over 18 has to be there to take the cake, and I need a level surface to set it down on.
A cake is fresh and fragile. Carry it flat in the boot on a level surface, never on a seat or a lap, and keep it out of direct sun.
7. Allergies and dietary requirements
Tell me about every allergy before you book, not on the day.
My kitchen handles nuts, gluten, milk, eggs and soya. I cannot promise any cake is free from traces of them, so I do not describe anything as free-from. If I cannot make your order safely, I will say so plainly.
8. Unpaid balances
An order still unpaid at the balance deadline may be cancelled, and the deposit is kept.
If you are struggling to pay on time, tell me before the deadline and we will sort something out.
9. Photos and design references
Send whatever inspires you. A photo of another baker's cake is a reference, not something I copy: your cake will be my own version of that idea, made by my hand, so small differences are normal and expected.
I photograph finished cakes and may use those photos to show my work. Tell me if you would rather I did not.
10. Looking after the cake
Keep the cake boxed, level, and somewhere cool and dry. Out of the fridge unless it has a fresh cream or fresh fruit filling: a fridge dries the sponge and makes fondant sweat.
Buttercream and fondant cakes are at their best within two to three days.
11. After handover
Please check the cake before you leave or before I go. If something is not right, tell me then and I will put it right if I can.
Once a cake has been handed over in good condition it is your responsibility, so my bakery cannot cover damage that happens in transit, in storage, or at the venue.
12. Accepting these terms
These terms are part of your booking with my bakery. Paying the deposit means you accept them.
This is starter wording to edit and make your own, not legal advice. Read every line and change anything that does not match how you work. If a booking is unusually large or you are unsure where you stand, take proper advice on it. Not sure what to set the deposit to? Read the deposit guide.
Terms only work if the deposit and the balance get chased. BakerInbox tracks both against every order.
Start free trialWhat your terms need to settle
| Clause | What it settles | A common starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Whether a date is held before any money moves | Non-refundable, 50% of the total, due at booking |
| Balance deadline | When the rest is paid, and what happens if it is late | Due 14 days before the date, paid in full for late bookings |
| Cancellation | What the customer loses, and when the full price is still owed | Deposit kept, full balance owed inside 14 days of the date |
| Moving the date | Whether a move is free, and how much notice it needs | One free move with 28 days notice, subject to availability |
| Design changes | The point the design stops changing | Locked 7 days before, re-quoted if it adds work |
| Collection and delivery | Who carries the cake, and when responsibility passes over | Named time and place, cake checked together at handover |
| Allergies | What you can and cannot promise about your kitchen | No free-from claim, allergies declared before booking |
| Unpaid balances | What happens to the date when the balance is overdue | Order cancelled, deposit kept |
| Reference photos | That the cake is your version of an idea, not a copy | Inspiration welcome, small differences expected |
| Storage | How the customer keeps the cake until the day | Boxed, level, cool and dry, out of the fridge |
| Damage after handover | Where your responsibility ends | Ends at handover in good condition |
Starting points to change, not rules. Terms are yours to set.
Made with BakerInbox. Free cake tools at bakerinbox.com/tools
Terms for a UK cake business
Terms and conditions are the lines you point at when a booking goes wrong. Written once, before anyone is upset, they save the argument about what was agreed in a DM two months ago.
Why bother
Terms are for the awkward conversation, not the easy one
Most bookings never need them. The one that does is the customer who moves a wedding twice, cancels a week out, or says the deposit was refundable. Writing it down once, before anyone is upset, means you point at a line instead of arguing about what was said in a DM eight weeks ago.
The deposit
A date is held by money, not by a message
Until a deposit is paid, a date is a conversation. Saying so in writing is the single most useful line you can have, because it stops the slow-drift booking that blocks a Saturday for a month and then evaporates. Make it non-refundable and say why: you turned other work away for that date.
Allergies
Never promise what a home kitchen cannot deliver
A kitchen that handles nuts, gluten, milk and eggs cannot promise a cake is free from traces of them. Say that plainly and say it before booking, not on the day. It protects you, and it gives an allergic customer the honest answer they need to decide.
Handover
Responsibility passes when the box does
Almost every damaged cake is damaged after it leaves you: on a car seat, in a warm boot, at a venue with nowhere level to stand it. Check the cake together at handover, then be clear that transport and storage are on the customer from that point.
FAQ
Common questions
Do I need terms and conditions to sell cakes in the UK?
You can take orders without them, but they are what settles a dispute. A short written set covering the deposit, the deadlines, cancellations and handover is enough for most home bakers. This tool writes a starting set you edit and own.
How much deposit should I take for a cake order?
Half at booking, non-refundable, with the balance a couple of weeks before the date, is a common starting point for custom work. Smaller orders often take a lower deposit. Set it where it covers the ingredients and the date you are turning other work away for.
Can I make the deposit non-refundable?
Bakers commonly do, because holding a date means turning other work away. What matters is that the customer is told before they pay, in writing, and that the wording is clear. Say what the deposit is for, not just that you are keeping it.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is starter wording to edit and make your own, and no tool can promise a set of terms is enforceable in your situation. Read every line, change what does not match how you work, and take proper advice if a booking is unusual or the amounts are large.
Where do I put my terms?
Somewhere the customer sees them before they pay the deposit. A link in your booking message, a page on your site, or the confirmation you send with the invoice. Terms nobody was shown before paying are the ones that get argued about.
What if a customer wants to change the date?
Decide the notice you need and write it down. One free move with about a month's notice, subject to availability, is a common line. Inside that window it is usually treated as a cancellation and a fresh booking, because the date is already blocked.
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