Your First 30 Days Checklist

Starting with BakeOnyx? This week-by-week plan will have your bakery fully set up and running smoothly within your first month. Follow this checklist to build a solid foundation for managing orders, recipes, costs, and customers.

• Complete your setup in manageable weekly steps
• Get accurate recipe costs and pricing from day one
• Process your first orders and set up payment tracking
• Unlock growth features like online ordering and recurring orders

Week 1: Build Your Foundation

Your first week is all about setting up the core of your bakery in BakeOnyx.

1. Complete the onboarding wizard. When you first log in, BakeOnyx will guide you through 5 setup steps. Don't skip this — it covers your bakery name, location, and basic preferences.
2. Add your ingredients. Go to Ingredients and use the Master Ingredient Library to quickly add common items like flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. You can also add custom ingredients specific to your recipes.
3. Create your top 3–5 recipes. Start with your most popular items. Go to Recipes and click New Recipe. Add ingredients with exact quantities — this is critical for accurate costing.
4. Set ingredient costs per unit. For each ingredient, enter the cost you pay per unit (per pound, per dozen, per bag, etc.). This is how BakeOnyx calculates your recipe costs automatically.
5. Test a recipe cost. Create one recipe and check that the auto-calculated cost looks right. If it seems off, review your ingredient quantities and costs.

Week 2: Take Your First Orders

Now that your recipes are set up, it's time to process real orders.

1. Set up your customer list. Go to Customers. You can import customers via CSV (if you have a list from another system) or add them manually as orders come in.
2. Create your first order. Click New Order, select a customer, add your recipes, and set the order date and delivery date. Print the job sheet to give to your baking team.
3. Create an invoice. Once an order is complete, generate an invoice from the order details. This shows your customer the final price and payment terms.
4. Set up payment tracking. Mark payments as they come in — full payments, deposits, or partial payments. This keeps your cash flow clear.

Week 3: Unlock Growth Features

With orders flowing, it's time to expand your capabilities.

1. Enable your online store (if on Growth plan). Go to Settings and turn on your online store. Customers can now browse your menu and place orders directly.
2. Set up delivery zones and time slots. Define where you deliver and when. This helps customers see available delivery options at checkout.
3. Create recurring order templates. For customers who order regularly (weekly birthday cakes, monthly corporate orders), set up templates to speed up the ordering process.
4. Try the POS feature. If you have walk-in customers, test the Point of Sale feature for quick transactions.
5. Set up email templates. Customize order confirmation emails so customers know their order is confirmed and what to expect next.

Week 4: Optimize and Review

Your final week is about making sure everything is working and finding opportunities to improve.

1. Review your reports. Go to Reports and check your P&L Dashboard and Food Cost report. Are your recipe costs accurate? Is your profit margin where you expected?
2. Adjust ingredient prices if needed. If your supplier prices changed or you found a better deal, update ingredient costs so future recipes reflect the new pricing.
3. Explore AI features. Ask Bake Buddy (your AI assistant) questions about your business — like "What's my food cost percentage?" or "Which recipe is most profitable?"
4. Set up expense tracking. Add operating expenses like rent, utilities, and supplies. This gives you a complete picture of your profitability.
5. Consider purchase orders. If you're ready to streamline supplier management, explore purchase orders for bulk ingredient orders.

End-of-Month Check

Before you move into month two, verify that you've completed these key milestones:

• ✓ All your recipes have accurate ingredient costs
• ✓ Your customer list is imported or manually entered
• ✓ You've processed at least 3–5 real orders
• ✓ You've reviewed your first month P&L report
• ✓ Your online store is live (if applicable)
• ✓ Team members are added with the correct roles

Next Steps

You're off to a great start! Here are some related articles to dive deeper:

• Creating a New Order — detailed walkthrough of the order process
• Creating a Recipe — step-by-step recipe setup with costing
• Settings Overview: What to Configure — explore all the settings you can customize