Feature
A bakery online ordering system that turns requests into real orders
A bakery online ordering system does two jobs: it shows customers what you sell and at what price, and it collects each request with the details you need before you say yes. Farinu gives every bakery one online shop with one link, where customers see what you sell and order on the same page. They add products to an order, each shown with its price and the photo and description you add, choose a pickup day you can still bake for, answer your questions and send the request, which arrives in Farinu as a draft order for you to confirm or decline. Nothing is charged online: you agree the deposit and the payment with the customer, as you do today.
Why bakeries move ordering online
Most home bakers take orders through messages. A customer asks for a cake on Saturday, the details arrive over three days in ten messages, and the flavor, the size and the pickup time end up scattered across a chat. Something gets missed, or the price you quote on the spot does not cover your costs.
Asking the same questions every time, before you confirm anything, fixes that: product and quantity, date, pickup time, flavor and allergies, and contact. Your online shop asks them for you, and our free cake order form lists them for orders that still come in by phone or at the market.
Read next: Cake and bakery order form: a free template for home bakers
How online ordering works in Farinu
Your shop shows only the products you choose, at the prices of the price list you choose, such as retail. A product with no price on that list is not shown, so the shop and the order always match. Each product shows its price, and its photo and description once you add them, and a product with no room on any day the shop offers shows as sold out. A customer adds products to the order right in the shop and sets how many of each, then picks a pickup day: days you are closed or away, days inside your lead time and days a product is sold out are disabled with the reason, and a product with 3 or fewer left that day says how many.
Then the customer answers the questions you wrote for the products in the cart, gives a name and a WhatsApp number, and can add a pickup time and an email for a receipt. After sending, they see that nothing has been charged and get your WhatsApp number. The request arrives in Farinu as a draft order, linked to the customer by their WhatsApp number, or to a new customer if the number is new, with the prices of that moment.
How to take bakery orders online, step by step
Setting up online ordering takes a few minutes in your shop's settings, and it uses what you already keep in Farinu.
- Switch on Accept orders online and choose the price list the shop sells from, with prices taken from your costed recipes so each one covers ingredients, packaging, your time and overhead.
- Pick the products to show, add a photo to each from your phone's camera or gallery, and write the questions each one asks, such as flavor, the message on the cake or allergies.
- Set your availability: closed weekdays, away dates, the lead time you need and how many of each product you can bake a day.
- Copy your shop's link and post it on WhatsApp, Instagram or your bio. You can edit the end of the link in the settings.
Read next: Cake and bakery order form: a free template for home bakers, How to sell baked goods online from your home kitchen
A worked example
Here is how one example order looks from your shop to payment. The numbers are illustrative.
| Step | Detail | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 2 dozen decorated sugar cookies, pickup Saturday 10:00, sent from the shop | - |
| Price list | Retail, $36.00 per dozen | $72.00 total |
| Draft | Arrives with the customer's answers; you confirm it | - |
| Send on WhatsApp opens a message with the day, items and total | - | |
| Deposit | 50% recorded when it arrives | $36.00 |
| Pickup | Marked delivered, balance paid, order becomes paid | $36.00 |
What happens when a request arrives
You get a notification in Farinu and an email, and the order shows in your orders and on the calendar as a draft, with the customer's answers, the pickup time and where it came from. If the customer gave an email, they get a receipt of what they asked for.
Nothing is sold until you accept it. Confirm it and Farinu offers a Send on WhatsApp link with a ready message for the customer: the day, the items and the total. Decline it and the order is cancelled.
- Requests arrive as draft orders, linked to the customer and their WhatsApp number
- Prices always come from your price list, so the shop and the order match
- Days that are closed, too soon or sold out cannot be picked
- Costs and margins stay private: customers only see products and prices
Cookie orders and custom cakes
A cookie order and a cake order ask slightly different things. Cookies are usually priced by the dozen with a design or theme; cakes need size, servings, flavor, filling and the message on top. In Farinu each product asks its own short list of questions, in the order you write them, and only the questions of the products in the cart are shown.
Whatever you sell, check the price before you publish it. Farinu costs each recipe, including packaging and your time, and works out a price from your target markup, so the price in your shop actually leaves you something.
What it does not do, and what it costs
Online ordering in Farinu stays small on purpose. It does not take card payments, send WhatsApp messages on its own, offer discount codes, customer accounts or delivery zones. You agree the deposit and the payment with the customer and record them on the order.
The free plan includes online ordering with up to 50 orders a month, counting the ones you enter and the ones that arrive online. When a month reaches the limit, your shop asks customers to message you instead. The Team plan has no order limit.
Questions
- Can customers place orders online in Farinu?
- Yes. Share your shop's link and customers choose products, a pickup day and send their details, all on the same page. Each request arrives as a draft order that you confirm or decline.
- Do customers pay online?
- No. The page tells them nothing has been charged and shows your WhatsApp number. You ask for the deposit and the balance the way you do today, and record them on the order.
- Does online ordering cost extra?
- No. The free plan includes your online shop with ordering and the order calendar, with up to 50 orders a month and costing for up to 10 recipes. Team removes the order limit and adds shop themes, a banner and your own domain, without the Farinu footer.
- How much deposit should I ask for a custom order?
- A common choice is 30 to 50 percent when the order is confirmed, enough to cover ingredients and packaging if the customer cancels. Farinu records the deposit and the balance separately and shows what is still owed.
- Will helpers see my costs when they handle orders?
- No. Helpers can create orders and record payments and see prices and balances, but never costs, margins or profit. Only the owner sees those.
Related pages
Take your next order the organized way
Create a free account to cost up to 10 recipes and share your shop, with up to 50 orders a month on the free plan.