# Bakery setup guide for SmartPOS Hub

> Set up a bakery with a central bakehouse and shops on SmartPOS Hub - recipes, daily production, transfers to shops, cake orders and wastage.

Source: https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/overview/  
Last updated: 2026-10-30  
Product: SmartPOS Hub (https://smartposhub.com)

This guide sets up a bakery, cake shop or patisserie on SmartPOS Hub, in order. It is written for the common setup of **one bakehouse that bakes and several shops that sell**, but it works the same for a single shop that bakes on site. You finish with recipes and real costs, a daily production routine, morning transfers to the shops, custom cake orders and wastage tracking.

## Who this guide is for

- **Bakeries with a central bakehouse** and two or more shops.
- **Single-shop bakeries and cake shops** that bake behind the counter.
- **Patisseries and sweet shops** that take custom cake and party orders.

For a café that also bakes, read the [Café guide](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/cafe/overview/) for the counter and this guide for production.

![Manufacturing dashboard with planned, in progress, overdue, completed today and value produced cards, a completed batches chart and open orders](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/bakery-manufacturing-dashboard.CCh53y7w.png) (web app page: `/manufacturing`)
*The Manufacturing dashboard shows what is being baked, what is late and what was produced.*

## What you will set up

1. [Bakehouse, shops and modules](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/step-1-bakehouse-and-shops/).
2. [Products, weighed items and units](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/step-2-products-weighed-items-and-units/): raw materials, finished goods, kilograms and dozens.
3. [Recipes (bill of materials)](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/step-3-recipes/): ingredients, batch output, extra costs and margins.
4. [Daily production orders](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/step-4-production-orders/): plan, start and complete batches.
5. [Send fresh stock to the shops](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/step-5-send-stock-to-shops/) with stock transfers.
6. [Custom cake orders](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/step-6-custom-cake-orders/) with order options.
7. [Fresh stock, expiry and wastage](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/step-7-fresh-stock-and-wastage/).
8. [Daily operations](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/daily-operations/).
9. [Go-live checklist](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/bakery/checklist/).

![Stock transfers list with daily replenishment transfers from the central bakehouse to three branches, completed and in transit](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/bakery-stock-transfers-list.DmgE0Gap.png) (web app page: `/stock-transfers`)
*Every morning the bakehouse sends fresh stock to each shop with a stock transfer.*

## Modules to turn on

| Module | Where | Needed for |
|---|---|---|
| **Manufacturing** | Settings › Business Settings › Modules | Recipes, production orders, batch costing, wastage |
| **Order options & personalisation** | Settings › Business Settings › Modules | Custom cake details at the till and online |
| **Accounting & Bookkeeping** | Settings › Business Settings › Modules | Optional: production journals in your books |
| **Modifiers** | Settings › Business Settings › Modules | Optional: paid extras like candles or a gift box |
| **Offline POS** | Settings › Business Settings › Modules | Optional: keep the shop tills selling without internet |

## Time needed

| Part | Typical time |
|---|---|
| Steps 1–2 (locations, modules, products, units) | 1–2 hours |
| Step 3 (recipes) | 5–10 minutes per recipe |
| Steps 4–5 (test production and a transfer) | 30 minutes |
| Steps 6–7 (cake form, wastage routine) | 30–45 minutes |

:::tip[Start with your top ten]
Write recipes for the ten products you bake most first. Run them for a week, compare costs and yields, then add the rest.
:::

## Shared guides you will use

  - [Manufacturing module](https://docs.smartposhub.com/modules/manufacturing/) — Every setting and permission of recipes and production.
  - [Order options](https://docs.smartposhub.com/modules/order-options/) — Forms the customer fills in when ordering.
  - [Stock transfers](https://docs.smartposhub.com/inventory/stock-transfers/) — Move stock between locations.
  - [Restaurant guide](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/restaurant/overview/) — If your bakery also has a café with tables.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can SmartPOS Hub track what my bakers make?

Yes. The Manufacturing module holds a recipe for each product. Each production order takes the flour, butter and boxes out of stock and adds the finished loaves at their real cost when the batch is completed.

### I bake in one place and sell in three shops. How does that work?

Make the bakehouse and each shop a business location. Production orders run at the bakehouse, and stock transfers move the fresh goods to the shops every morning.

### Can I sell cakes by weight or by the dozen?

Yes. Use a unit that allows decimals, such as Kilogram, for weighed goods, and sub-units such as Dozen for pieces sold in packs. Label-printing scales are supported with weighing-scale barcodes.

### How do I take custom cake orders?

Use Order options. A Celebration cake form asks for the flavour, filling, message, colour and other details at the till, prices the extras, prints them on a work ticket and lets you track each cake until it is collected.

### How do I record bread that didn't sell?

Record unsold or damaged goods as a stock adjustment with a reason. Waste during baking is recorded on the production order with a waste reason, so it shows in the Wastage report.

### Do I need a special plan?

Manufacturing and Order options must be in your plan. A module that isn't shows as a greyed card Not in your plan on the Modules tab, with a See plans button.

### Can bakers use a phone?

Yes. The Production screen in the SmartPOS Business app lists orders and recipes, shows the materials needed and lets bakers start and complete batches.

### Will my costs and profit be right?

Yes. Completed batches use the actual cost of the ingredient stock they consumed plus extra costs such as labour and gas, so the cost of each loaf sold is real.

### Can customers order cakes online?

Yes. The same order option forms work in your online store and the SmartPOS Shopper app, so the customer fills in the cake details when ordering.

### Can I try it first?

Yes. The public bakery demo listed on smartposhub.com shows a bakehouse with three shops, recipes, daily production and cake orders. It is read-only and resets every few days.