5 Business Systems Required In Your Baking Business

Are you looking to streamline your day to day activities in your baking business? If your answer is yes, then this blog post is for you.

Hi everyone, this is Maureen of Amari Baking Center. Before I go ahead and share below; please note that we have a YouTube channel where we share cake decoration tutorials, baking tips and baking for business advice as well. If this sounds like something you’d be interested in, click here after reading below – to catch up on all the recent video posts.

Today I’d like to talk to you about the 5 basic business systems that I believe every small bakery business needs.

But first thing’s first;

What is a System?

 A system is a step by step method in which you do a certain task or certain thing in your business. This can be how to bake a 1 kg vanilla cake, how you take orders or even how you receive payments.

For your business to be very successful, which is something I believe we all want, you need to have efficient and effective systems in place that run smoothly every day.

Now you may be wondering;

“Why do I need systems in place in my business?”

 Very good question. The only way for you to run your business successfully, even if it’s just you at first, is to have proper systems in place. For one, they go a long way in helping you start integrating other people into your bakery business.

If and when you start hiring people, with a system in place, you will already have a certain way of doing things and all you’ll have to do is show them how to do those tasks. You can simply write down every single process and tasks, whether it’s a recipe or even how to receive an order. That way you’ll be able to train them better and faster.

Now to the systems;

1. A Production System

This relates to everything in the kitchen.

Whether it’s a home based bakery or a bakery shop, make sure you have a specific production system for your business.

I would suggest having cleaning lists, like daily, weekly, monthly cleaning tasks. You also need to have recipes ready so when it comes to baking the cakes, you have specific recipes and methods you use.

Make sure you have a certain way of opening and closing the bakery. If it’s a home based bakery, have a certain way of starting out your day, even if it’s with clean up – a certain way of closing up.

 The other tasks you need to specify in a bakery production system are:

• How you store your ingredients.
• How you store your baked goods after they’re baked.
• How you cool them the baked products
• How you handle them, especially now, you want to make sure you’re wearing food gloves and be very careful of food hygiene when handling foods.
• How you package and label all your baked goods.

You want to make sure you have a production system that encompasses all those things that have to do with the actual production of your baked goods.

• A Marketing System

These are the various activities done to market your business.

You can choose to have both online and offline marketing systems (and you should have both). The online systems can involve social media accounts and posting every day. It can also include doing paid ads monthly and posting on a website.

For your offline marketing activities, you can do different things like participating in cake fairs, or doing cake tastings and samplings.

You can also network with other customers or vendors that can help you grow your bakery brand and business over time. Make sure you have a marketing system in place with specific tasks for every month and a planned set of activities that you’re going to do to market your business.

• A Financial System

This helps you track money coming in and money going out in your baking business.

Whether you have accounting software (e.g. Quickbooks) or not, make sure you have a way of tracking the money that’s coming in (sales). You can do so with a receipt book or cash sale and If you’re the kind of business that invoices, make sure you have an invoice book.

Now for your money going out (expenses), make sure you’re keeping track of all of it. That could mean having a petty cash voucher book.

Whatever you’re doing, make sure you’re keeping track of your daily, weekly and monthly finances.

• A Payment System

This is a system that keeps track of how you receive money into your business and how you disburse or pay out money.

As far as receiving money goes, you can choose to have a ‘Lipa na Mpesa, Buy Goods Till Number, or maybe a Paybill number for your business.

Always make sure that everyone who’s paying into your business is using the till number or the paybill number to keep a record of all your payments. You can also choose to use cash as another payment option.

 Whenever you’re paying out money, you can choose to write cheques only when a payment is being made to or from your bank account. You can also choose to use one specific phone number/line for m-pesa to make your payments.

Just make sure you have a specific way that you receive or disburse money in your business.

• A Distribution or Delivery System

This is a system or way of distributing your baked goods, whether it’s cakes, cookies/biscuits or bread to your customers.

If you have a shop it’d be easier because your clients will receive the cake directly or come and collect the cake themselves. However, remember that in this day and age, a lot of people are looking for delivery options. So you need to make sure you have a specific way of delivering your baked goods.

 One way to do this is to use a food delivery system. Some people choose to use taxi services. You can also hire a delivery person or outsource to businesses or people who do the deliveries for you.

Whatever it is, make sure you have a specific way in which you distribute or deliver the cakes or other baked goods, to your customers.

Summary on all the 5 systems you need to put in place in your baking business for a smooth daily run, you need;

• A Production System.
• A Financial System.
• A Marketing System.
• A Payment System.
• A Distribution or Delivery System.

I hope this post has been really really helpful to you. I’m curious; would you guys want me to delve deeper in each system and give you more information for each particular system?

If you do please comment below and write Yes, and I will be happy to do so.

Again, I hope this has been really helpful for you. Be sure to implement all these systems into your bakery business and all the best.

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