Top 5 Features to Look for in Bakery Management Software

Use this checklist during vendor demos. If a system fails any of these requirements, move on.

1. Mobile-First Design

Minimum requirement: Full functionality on smartphone and tablet, not just a "view-only" companion app.

Demo test:

1. Ask to see the mobile version (not just screenshots)
2. Create an order on mobile
3. Check inventory on mobile
4. Generate a bake sheet on mobile

Questions to ask:

• Can I do everything on mobile that I can do on desktop?
• Is there a native app or is it browser-based?
• Does it work offline or require constant internet?
• What screen sizes are supported?

Red flag: "The mobile app is for viewing only—you need the desktop for full access."

2. Automated Production Planning

Minimum requirement: System aggregates all orders into a single production document with calculated totals.

What it must do:

• Pull orders for a specific date automatically
• Sum product quantities across all customers
• Calculate total dough/ingredient requirements
• Include standing (recurring) orders automatically
• Generate pack lists by customer

Demo test:

1. Enter 3 orders with overlapping products
2. Generate bake sheet for that day
3. Check that totals are correct
4. Verify standing orders appear without manual entry

Questions to ask:

• How far in advance can I generate production plans?
• Can I adjust the bake sheet manually after generation?
• Does it show which customer ordered what?
• How does it handle order changes after the bake sheet is created?

Red flag: "You export to Excel and calculate totals there."

3. Digital Order Records

Minimum requirement: Searchable order history with filtering by customer, date, product, and status.

What it must store:

• Order date and delivery date
• Customer details
• Products and quantities
• Pricing at time of order
• Delivery address
• Order status (pending, confirmed, delivered)
• Any notes or modifications

Demo test:

1. Search for a specific customer's orders
2. Find all orders containing "croissant" in the last 30 days
3. Pull up an order from 3 months ago
4. Export order history to CSV

Questions to ask:

• How long is order history retained?
• Can I search by product across all orders?
• Is there an audit trail if someone modifies an order?
• Can customers see their own order history?

Red flag: "We delete orders older than 90 days to save storage."

4. Recipe Costing & Scaling

Minimum requirement: System calculates per-unit cost based on current ingredient prices and scales recipes mathematically.

What it must do:

• Store recipes with gram-weight ingredients
• Link ingredients to current purchase prices
• Calculate cost per unit (e.g., cost per croissant)
• Scale recipes up/down by desired yield
• Update costs when ingredient prices change

Demo test:

1. Enter a recipe with 5 ingredients
2. Check the calculated cost per unit
3. Scale the recipe to 2x and verify ingredient quantities double
4. Change an ingredient price and confirm the recipe cost updates

Questions to ask:

• How do ingredient prices get updated—manual or automatic?
• Can I see margin percentage alongside cost?
• Does it account for yield loss (e.g., dough trimming)?
• Can I cost multi-stage recipes (e.g., croissants with pre-ferment)?

Red flag: "You enter the cost manually for each recipe."

5. Standing Order Management

Minimum requirement: System handles recurring orders without manual re-entry each week.

What it must include:

• Recurring delivery schedules
• Auto-population of weekly orders
• Easy modification before cutoff
• Customer order history
• Cut-off time enforcement

Nice to have:

• Customer-specific pricing
• Flexible delivery day scheduling
• Order templates
• Bulk order adjustments

Demo test:

1. Create a standing order for a customer
2. Verify it auto-populates for the next delivery day
3. Make a modification before cutoff
4. Check that the bake sheet reflects the change

Questions to ask:

• How far in advance can standing orders be set up?
• Can I modify or skip individual deliveries easily?
• Does it handle customer-specific pricing?
• Can customers have different delivery schedules?

Red flag: "You re-enter recurring orders manually each week."

Evaluation Scorecard

Use this during demos:

Feature	Must Have	Has It?	Notes
Mobile-first	Full mobile functionality	[ ]
Production planning	Auto-aggregate orders	[ ]
Order records	Searchable history	[ ]
Recipe costing	Auto-calculate costs	[ ]
Standing orders	Auto-recurring deliveries	[ ]

Any unchecked box = disqualify the vendor.

Beyond the Basics

Once core features are confirmed, evaluate:

Inventory management: Does it track ingredient levels and alert on low stock?

Packing lists: Does it generate packing lists by customer automatically?

Delivery organization: Does it organize orders by delivery zone?

Reporting: What built-in reports exist (sales, costs, margins)?

Data export: Can you export your data if needed?

Pricing Transparency

Demand clear answers:

• What's the monthly/annual cost?
• Are there per-user fees?
• What's included vs. add-on pricing?
• Is there a setup/onboarding fee?
• What happens to my data if I cancel?

Avoid vendors who require "contact for pricing" — they're screening for enterprise budgets.

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Test all five features in one place. Start a free trial at dicedos.com and run through this checklist yourself.