Busy is not the same as profitable
A bakery can sell out every morning and still lose money, because the cost sits in flour, sugar, fuel and labour — inputs that move in price constantly and get bought in a rush.
The other leak is unsold stock. Bread that doesn't move by evening is money that was spent and never came back, and almost nobody writes it down. It disappears quietly and reappears as a month that felt good but didn't pay.
PesaScope tracks the takings, the costs and what's left over, so the picture is the real one.
A day in the bakery
- Record the morning bakeHow many loaves, buns and cakes came out. This is the number everything else is measured against.
- Sell through the dayCounter sales, a delivery to a shop, a walk-in buying six buns — recorded in seconds, cash or Mobile Money.
- Buy inputs as you buy themFlour, sugar, yeast, gas. Recorded as expenses so the cost of the day sits against the takings of the day.
- Count what's left at closeWhat didn't sell is the number worth watching. A week of it tells you whether you're baking too much and where.
Your product list is ready
Pick "Bakery" at sign-up and your usual lines are loaded, split into Bread, Cakes and Snacks. Set your prices and add whatever else you make.
Custom cake orders are handled as a service, so a deposit today and collection on Saturday both land in the right place.
A week in a small bakery
Cakes are a fifth of the takings and a much larger share of the profit — the sort of thing that only shows up once both sides are recorded.
If you want to go further on cost
PesaScope has an optional production module for businesses that want to cost a batch properly: what goes into a recipe, what a run consumes, and what each unit therefore costs to make.
It's switched off by default, and a bakery does not need it to get the daily picture. Turn it on when you want to know the cost of a loaf to the shilling rather than to the sack of flour.
Read further
Questions bakers ask
Can I track bread that didn't sell?
Yes — record it as stock written off at the end of the day. Over a week it shows you where you're consistently over-baking, which is usually worth more than any price change.
Do I have to use recipes and batches?
No. The production module is optional and off by default. Most bakeries start by recording sales and expenses, which already gives an honest profit figure, and turn on costing later if they want it.
I supply shops as well as selling at the counter. Does that work?
Yes. A shop buying on account is recorded as a credit sale, so the balance sits under their name until they pay.
Can I take deposits for cake orders?
Yes. Record what the customer paid up front; the remainder shows as owed until collection.
Does it work on a cheap phone?
Yes. It's built for the cheap Android phones most bakeries actually have. The main app needs a connection to record, though — the separate POS till app is the part that sells offline.
Will it tell me what a loaf costs to make?
At the simple level it shows takings against total inputs for the period. For a per-loaf figure you'd use the production module, where a recipe and a batch give you cost per unit.
Set it up in about three minutes
Pick your trade at sign-up and PesaScope loads your starting list for you. Change any price, add what's missing, and record your first sale the same day.
Start free →