Sheet cake costing: the cost of a tray, a slice and the price, step by step

Three numbers you need to know for every cake

Costing a sheet cake comes down to three numbers: what the whole tray costs, what one slice costs and what to sell that slice for so that something is left for rent, wages and profit. Most pastry shops know only the first half of the first number, the ingredient cost, and take the slice price from a competitor's price list. Below we calculate everything on one example, step by step, so you can repeat the same steps for your cheesecake or brownie. The example uses Polish prices in PLN.

• the cost of the whole tray: ingredients plus costs you do not see in the recipe
• the cost of one slice: the tray cost divided by the number of slices
• the slice price: calculated from the margin, not copied from the shop next door

Step 1: the ingredient cost of one tray

List every ingredient with the amount for one tray, convert the package price to a price per kilogram and multiply by the amount from the recipe. The prices in the table are examples. Use your own, from the latest wholesaler invoice, not from six months ago. The example is an apple pie on a large tray, cut into 24 slices.

Step 2: what is not in the recipe

Ingredients are only the start. The tray cost also includes fixed costs (rent, wages, utilities spread over products), the electricity of the oven and mixer, packaging, cleaning and water. The simplest way to add fixed costs is as a percentage of the ingredient cost, and you calculate how much from the company's monthly costs; we describe the method in How to calculate the real food cost of a cake. You calculate electricity from the equipment's power and running time: kilowatts × hours × price per kilowatt-hour. In the example we assume 40% fixed costs and electricity at 1.20 PLN per kWh.

Step 3: the cost of one slice

Now divide by the number of slices you cut the tray into. 69.09 PLN ÷ 24 = 2.88 PLN: that is what one slice of apple pie costs you before you earn a single penny. The ingredients alone are 41.60 PLN ÷ 24 = 1.73 PLN per slice. The difference between these two numbers, 1.15 PLN on every slice, is exactly the costs that are easiest to forget when pricing.

• total cost of a slice: 69.09 PLN ÷ 24 = 2.88 PLN
• ingredients alone per slice: 41.60 PLN ÷ 24 = 1.73 PLN
• cutting into 20 instead of 24 slices raises the cost of a slice to 3.45 PLN

Step 4: the price from the margin, not from a competitor's price list

Margin is calculated from the selling price, markup from cost, and they are two different numbers. All prices in the example are net, without VAT. If you want 55% of the tray price to be left after all costs, the tray price = cost ÷ (1 − 0.55). In the example: 69.09 PLN ÷ 0.45 = 153.53 PLN for the whole tray, or 6.40 PLN per slice. The markup on cost is then about 122%, and the ingredient share of the price (food cost, meaning ingredient cost ÷ net sales × 100)^[1] is 41.60 PLN ÷ 153.53 PLN, about 27%. Only with this number in hand do you check whether the market will accept it, and if not, you look for savings in the recipe or in costs, rather than cutting the price blindly.

• tray price at a 55% margin: 69.09 PLN ÷ 0.45 = 153.53 PLN
• slice price: 153.53 PLN ÷ 24 = 6.40 PLN
• half a tray: 76.77 PLN, a quarter: 38.38 PLN
• margin = (price − cost) ÷ price, markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost

The trap: a baked tray weighs less than its ingredients

4.35 kg of ingredients will not give you 4.35 kg of apple pie, water evaporates in the oven. Let us assume the finished tray weighs 3.8 kg. If you calculate the price per kilogram from the weight of the ingredients and multiply it by the weight of the finished tray, you get less than you planned. In the example: 69.09 PLN ÷ 4.35 kg ÷ 0.45 = 35.30 PLN per kilogram, and 35.30 PLN × 3.8 kg = 134.12 PLN for the tray, or 5.59 PLN per slice. That leaves 65.03 PLN on the tray, 48.5% of the price, not the intended 55%. The takeaway: first calculate the price of the whole tray from its cost and margin, and only then divide it into slices or by the weight of the finished tray: 153.53 PLN ÷ 3.8 kg = 40.40 PLN per kilogram. That price per kilogram gives the full 55%, however much water escapes in the oven.

• price per kg calculated from the ingredient weight: 35.30 PLN
• the same price × finished tray weight of 3.8 kg: 134.12 PLN
• real margin on the tray: 65.03 PLN, 48.5% instead of 55%
• a price of 6.40 PLN per slice gives 153.60 PLN per tray and a 55% margin
• correct: 153.53 PLN ÷ 3.8 kg of finished tray = 40.40 PLN per kilogram

How the BakePilot calculator does it

In BakePilot the same calculation is done by the cost calculator in the recipe. In the “The batch yields” field you choose “Trays”, enter “Tray weight (kg)” and “Portions per batch”, and give the ingredients for one tray. The total production cost consists of ingredients, the fixed cost markup from the organization settings (the “Fixed cost markup (%)” field, added as a percentage of the ingredient cost), electricity from the power and running time of the oven and mixer, calculated at 1.20 PLN per kWh, and the “Packaging”, “Transport”, “Cleaning” and “Water” fields. Instead of equipment you can choose the “Overhead” mode and enter an amount of costs per recipe. The recipe card shows the prices of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and the whole tray, “Food cost / pc”, “Total cost / pc” and the “Price per piece”, as well as the “Margin per tray” and the markup in percent. The calculator avoids the trap described above: it treats the cost of the whole recipe as the cost of the finished tray, calculates the tray price as total cost ÷ (1 − margin), and divides the price per kilogram by “Tray weight (kg)”, the weight after baking. In the example it comes to 153.53 PLN per tray, 40.40 PLN per kilogram and 6.40 PLN per slice, a 55% margin regardless of the loss in the oven. If you do not enter the tray weight, the price per kilogram is calculated from the ingredient weight, and the recipe card clearly warns you about it. The same happens when the entered tray weight does not match the ingredients: less than 60% or more than 105% of their weight, for example 3 kg with 10 kg of ingredients. Such a number is usually a mistake, so the calculator does not use it, and the recipe card and form show a warning with both weights. If you prefer to start from the slice price, choose the “Price per piece” pricing method, enter 6.40 PLN, and the calculator shows what margin that gives. Recipes and the cost calculator are in the Profesjonalny (Professional) plan. We describe the whole example with slices and the wholesale discount simulator in the guide Cheesecake, apple pie, brownie: sheet cakes and slices, and the module on the cost and recipe calculator page.

• “Trays” mode: tray weight and number of portions per batch
• total cost: ingredients + fixed cost markup + electricity + packaging, transport, cleaning, water
• tiles for 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and the whole tray, plus cost and price per piece
• price per kg from the finished tray weight, so baking loss does not eat the margin
• “Margin per tray” and the markup show how much is really left
• after ingredient prices change, “Recalculate all” updates the costs of all recipes at once

Frequently asked questions about cake costing

How much does it cost to bake a tray of cake? The ingredients plus fixed costs, electricity and packaging: in our apple pie example 69.09 PLN, of which the ingredients are 41.60 PLN. How do you calculate the price of a slice of cake? Divide the cost of the whole tray by (1 − margin), and the result by the number of slices: at a 55% margin and 24 slices it comes to 6.40 PLN. Should you price per kilogram or per slice? Per kilogram if you sell by weight, but then calculate from the weight of the finished cake, not the weight of the ingredients. How often should you update the costing? After every significant price change of the main ingredient, because one ingredient can be half the cost of a tray.