What is the best software for a bakery with multiple locations?
A bakery with several locations needs software that matches how the business is owned: one business with one menu and one set of books across every shop, or separate businesses (a second brand, a wholesale company, a sister bakery) that one owner runs side by side. ibakepro, bakery management software for bakeries from a single home kitchen to groups with several sites, runs both. Separate businesses link under one login, up to five per group, and each one after the first costs 80 percent less.
First decide what "multiple locations" means for you
| Your situation | Set it up as | What is shared |
|---|---|---|
| Two or three shops, same name, same menu, same bank account | One business | Products, recipes, customers, orders, stock, calendar and Financials |
| A shop plus a production kitchen that supplies it | One business | The kitchen's bake sheet counts every shop's orders together |
| A second brand with its own menu and its own books | Linked businesses | Your login and, if they bake in one kitchen, The Pantry |
| A wholesale company separate from the retail bakery | Linked businesses | Your login and The Pantry |
| A sister bakery in another city with its own manager and accounts | Linked businesses | Your login |
The question that settles most cases: would your accountant want one set of figures or two? One set means one business. Two means linked businesses.
Running several shops as one business
Every shop works from the same orders, products and calendar, so a customer who ordered from one shop last year is the same customer at the other, and the production kitchen sees one count per product for the whole group. Stock sits in The Pantry, checked against every upcoming order. See The Pantry.
The plan sets how many people can sign in: one user on Essentials, two on Growth and unlimited on Business. Each person's role decides what they see, so a shop assistant can work orders without seeing what they earned. With staff at more than one site, Business is the plan that fits.
Running linked businesses
Each linked business keeps its own orders, customers, products, prices, storefront and settings, and you switch between them from one login. Two linked businesses baking in the same kitchen can share The Pantry, so both read the same flour and butter figures and neither promises stock the other has used.
Rules that are worth knowing before you set up:
- Up to five businesses per group.
- 80 percent off each one after the first, on every plan.
- One data region for the group. Every linked business sits in the data region the first one chose: Sydney, London or the United States. See where is my data stored.
- The free trial is for the first business. Linked businesses start paid.
What it costs
Taking three businesses all on the Business plan as an example (one retail bakery, a wholesale arm, a second brand):
| USD | AUD | GBP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First business | US$59 | A$89 | £47 |
| Second, 80 percent off | US$11.80 | A$17.80 | £9.40 |
| Third, 80 percent off | US$11.80 | A$17.80 | £9.40 |
| Total per month | US$82.60 | A$124.60 | £65.80 |
In Canada the same group is C$81 plus two at C$16.20, and in New Zealand NZ$100 plus two at NZ$20. Each linked business can be on a different plan, for example a small second brand on Growth. Plan prices are in what does bakery software cost, and the short answer on setup is in can I run more than one bakery from one account.