The problem with taking cake orders through DMs
You already know the loop. A customer messages "hi! I want a cake for Saturday." You ask for size, flavor, design, allergies, pickup time. They send it in fragments over two days. You send a Venmo request. They forget. You DM them a reminder. You bake anyway because it's Friday and you don't want to lose the order. They no-show. You eat cake for a week.
Every home bakery does a version of this until they get tired enough to stop. disbatch is what most operators land on when they're done.
What your storefront looks like
A public order page at disbatch.app/your-bakery. Cakes, cupcakes, cookies, custom orders — each with a photo, price, description, and any options you want (flavor, filling, size, dietary notes). Customers pick pickup time from your available windows and pay a deposit at checkout. The order appears in your dashboard the second Stripe confirms the payment.
Deposits that actually get paid
The number-one complaint from home bakers isn't the baking — it's chasing money. disbatch collects a deposit at checkout, so the order isn't "confirmed" until you have their card charged. Set a flat amount ($25 deposit on every cake) or a percentage (30% of the order total, 50% for weddings). Full deep-dive on the deposit page.
Advance notice that protects your prep
Set a minimum lead time on your storefront — 72 hours for standard cakes, 2 weeks for custom, 4 weeks for weddings — and the calendar simply won't let a customer book anything shorter. No more "can you do a cake for tomorrow?" DMs at 8pm.
Custom orders without the back-and-forth
Add custom order questions to any item: "What flavor?" "Any allergies?" "What's the occasion?" "Do you want lettering?" "Upload an inspiration photo." Everything you'd normally text back and forth is captured on the form once, and the answers land in the order detail so you can start work immediately.
Pickup scheduling that matches your kitchen
Home bakeries don't work like restaurants. You bake on Fridays, ice on Saturday mornings, and pickup is 2-6pm. disbatch respects that. Set the exact windows customers can book — different for each day of the week if you want — and block off any date completely with one click when you're taking a weekend off.
The Saturday-morning dashboard
Open the dashboard on your pickup day and see: every order due today, aggregated by item (so you know exactly how many cupcakes to plate), pickup times sorted chronologically, deposit status per order, and pickup notes. Mark each order "picked up" as customers arrive and the system tracks completion for you.
Cottage food friendly
disbatch works within the constraints most home bakers already operate under: pickup only (no delivery unless you handle it yourself), no shipping-cake logistics, cash-at-pickup as an option for states where card processing is a hassle. We're built for the cottage food operator, not the storefront bakery.
Ready to try it?
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card. Set up your storefront in about 20 minutes and share the link the next time a customer asks how to order. See the pricing page for the full breakdown.