I'm looking into signing up for BakeryBuddy....I need something fairly easy to use and simple to learn. I would love to do my own program...but w/everything I'm doing right, I just don't have the time to commit to it. So I'm looking for something ready to use!!

Anyone use this or a similar program??
Christine

I just sent an email to the owner about this program last night after reading about in ACD. I would love to get some feedback on it too. Hopefully someone will be able to offer us some insight here. I can let you know what I get back from the owner if I get a response if you would like. I all about the baking and decorating, I'm finding it difficult to do a good job keeping track of everything.

I actually sent an email to them over a week ago (11/22) and asked a few questions. But I haven't received a response yet. I just emailed them again this afternoon.

Was a little worried about their legimaticy & customer satisfaction since I have yet to receive a response!! Most places will get back to you w/in a couple days.....3-5 at the most!! I don't want to sign up until I get a response.

Please let me know if what you find out.
Christine

I would point out that it may be wise to maybe give them (or any other company) a little bit of leeway in the response department if they've been mentioned in ACD or some other major industry magazine as it's not likely they are set up for a giant flood of inquiries that would follow their appearance in the mag. It really may just be that they've been totally inundated with questions and requests.

Does it cost money to join? I looked at there web site & it is not made clear.


RoseAnn

The price is nowhere to be seen on the site, but if you fill in the form, they show that you need to make a payment of $125 for one year.

$125.00 a year isn't bad, but if you can find your way around a computer then Excel, quicken/Quickbooks or any other money manager would do the same as far as cash and client tracking goes. Recipe saving and job sheets are a bonus....but is it really a necessity???

I am still trying to figure out a good name...I haven't even gotten to the record keeping yet. I use index cards...hehehehehe

[quote="pinkbunny
It wasn't just their lack of response time.......which they didn't even send me an email saying they received my request and would get back to me...I've gotten absolutely no response....which if I'm giving them my $$$...is a little worrisome....even if I take out the holidays and weekends it still over 8 days (11 days w/holiday-weekend) w/no response to my quesitons!!!
.[/quote]

It's very simple to add an "automatic response" to your email account and it's free. So...I agree with you pink bunny about that being worrysome.

I have some costing shets that I will try to post...if I can't get them on the cc site because they are too big I will pm you for your email addy...

maybe that will be a small solution to your problem at hand before you spend....$125.00 bucks...

if it works...take that $125.00 and buy yourself something pretty ..on me..lol

I just went up to Bakery Buddy and I have to say I am very disturbed by this web site. First of all nowhere does it state that it costs anything. After sign up with your info, you get a email that sends you a link to "your account". But it won't let you access your account unless you pay! Pay what? There is no info, and not only that if you go to the make a payment page, there is no security so if you put in your credit card number it is available to all those identity thiefs out there! BEWARE OF THESE KINDS OF SITES!!

thanks rainboz, but since they are scanned from a textbook I dont' want you to get into trouble. Jackie pointed out that that would be copy right infringement.

I don't mind sending them out on an individual basis..since they ARE provided for student use I think that..this way..I'm ok and not in any trouble..lol

But...as PinkBunny suggested...they could be made into a formula excel spreadsheet for ease of use...if I only knew how...!

lol

I'm going to take up Pink Bunny's suggestion to make an excel sheet on the info.

NOW that would be a great idea we wouldn't have to work so hard..lol

it can be a self computing form...I just have to find time to teach myself how to do the formulas...

Well...there IS an EXCEL FOR DUMMIES....bookstore here I come....I just have to remember....it's a COMPUTER BOOK I'm after NOT cake decorating books...lol

but the costing sheets are pretty simple, but you just have to calculate everything yourself, but it's a sort of start and..you can then have an idea of what you're spending so you can have an idea of what to charge...

and I like them because when you cost out your butter cream per portion ...you can then transfer THAT amount to another page that you can print up that has your finished cake...

lets say you cost out all the ingredients for the things that you use on your cake....you can then cost out your cake...or to make it simpler...you can just make those ingredients part of the cost of the cake...

as hard or as simple as you like!

PastryDiva - Is this similar to the pricing matrix that is posted in another forum topic?

I just sent you a PM - I am pretty good with excel and if you will send me the info, I'll get it into a format that everyone can use.

PastryDiva and MontiBellesBakery, I also started playing around w/excel last night and trying to set it up for automatic calculations. They look like good sheets, but I'm more likely to use them if they are on the computer!! I don't like having to keep track of a bunch of paper.

If you guys are good with excel by all means convert the sheets, I'm sure that that would be the optimum way for them to be used!

go for it! Let me know how you like them once you convert them.

No they are not similar to the price matrix..I go those and cant figure them out..lol

Pretty dumb for a cake chick..lol

Not dumb for a Cake Chick...just not important. I have a degree in Business and used to teach computer classes on Microsoft Office which includes excel. I am bored with the work my company does (i've been at it for almost 10 years), so I am shifting gears these days and now I am doing for my new company what my current company does for other people when they start a business. It's coming in real handy.

lol, everything I"ve learned about computers is basically self taught, it just the technology moves in leaps and bounds before I can get my hands on them again..by the time I figure out what I'm doing..it's all new..

sigh.

Everything that you can learn is always good. and easily converted from one business to another. I've taken classes that people wonder if I've lost my mind.

I still keep up with my chemistry...after all..baking is just formulas, percentages of ingredients and how they react to one another..lol

I'd love to know what you all come up with. Excel is my absolutely favorite program, I use it for everything. I've made up sales and expense sheets, and included a page for orders and customer information all in one simple workbook.

Well I have been sitting at the computer for the past several days trying to come up something that works. So after a few fits and me screaming at the computer.....my husband finally asks me what I'm trying to do. so I explained everything. He checked out the website and instead of paying for that (b/c he was unsure of it also).....he is going to make me my own program!!!! Since my husband is a computer programmer....I'm in luck. He said it probably take him a couple weeks, but I've been trying to come up w/a list of everything I want to be able to do in the program. it is quite long already!! But he is starting on it this week!!

I can't wait!!! I don't think he realizes what he's gotten himself into!!!!

Hey everybody,
Bakery Buddy finally wrote me back and set me a long email about how it works. If you type in "smart" at username and "person" in password, you can check it out. You can have a free 2 week trial by writing to [email protected], and write "Free Trial Offer Enrollment" in the subject line. It is $125 a year after that. Just that I'd fill you in on my latest communication.

Thanks izzybee! I went and played with it some this moring and for someone like me who is just getting started and doesn't have a formal system in place yet, it seems pretty impressive.

I would love to hear feedback from others, especially those of you who have been doing this a while and already have a system in place.

izzybee, I still haven't heard anything back from them!! what email did you use to contact them??

I actually signed up to be a member about 1 week ago, and she contacted me. I suggest you contact her at the email address in my post if your interested. If you pm me I can send you a copy of the whole email.

Bringing this back......

I guess my recent post had something wrong about it b/c it was removed.... but I found this one.

I got a reply fairly quickly from this person. They are a homebaker and quite busy I believe with decorating and that could be why she took so long to contact you back. I think they were also developing some things like a user-manual.

I have the user-manual and a conversion chart that she sent me, as well as a password & username for accessing the "demo" of the site. I was just wondering if anyone else had signed up for this or was using it. The pricing matrix confuses me a bit b/c I've been using cake mixes (I admire all of you who bake from scratch, just haven't had the time or money to experiment w/ that yet). Anyway, if anyone has more info. on this now, I'd certainly appreciate it!!!

anyone??

yes, she finally ended up getting back to me. But it wasn't w/the email listed on the BakeryBuddy site....it was a different one. it's something like [email protected] ...i think.

I'll have to find it, but she said she doesn't check the one listed on the site much, so it is best to use the other one. If I can remember it I'll post it.

so do you use it, pinkbunny? Do you like it? Is it worth the money?

bumping - anyone else?