Alamat
Malaysia
Every night after closing, Mr Lim and his daughter Jia Wen counted the cash from their neighbourhood bakery in Ipoh. The display shelves were often nearly empty, and customers regularly praised their soft buns and flaky pastries.
One busy week, the bakery recorded RM5,600 in sales. Mr Lim felt certain that the week had been profitable.
But when Jia Wen compared the sales with their bank balance and supplier bills, the profit was only RM640. The bakery looked busy, yet the money left behind was surprisingly small.
The missing cost was not in the sales report
Their standard recipes showed that ingredients for the week should have cost about RM1,820. In reality, flour, butter, eggs, cream and fillings used during the week cost RM2,760.
That was a difference of RM940.
The cash register only recorded items sold to customers. It did not show the dough used for recipe testing, pastries given away as samples, oversized portions or products left unsold at the end of the day.
Four small leaks created one large loss
Jia Wen spent an evening checking their notes, trays and ingredient purchases. She found:
- Failed test batches for two new recipes: RM310
- Free samples and gifts to regular customers: RM260
- Pastries produced but left unsold: RM230
- Dough portions larger than the recipe standard: RM140
Together, these costs added up to RM940. None of them looked serious on their own, but the total changed the result of the entire week.
The full weekly calculation
Mr Lim and Jia Wen rebuilt the bakery’s numbers:
- Sales: RM5,600
- Actual ingredient cost: RM2,760
- Staff wages: RM1,250
- Electricity and gas: RM330
- Rent and packaging allocation: RM620
- Total cost: RM4,960
- Actual profit: RM640
If ingredients had stayed at the planned RM1,820, profit could have been RM1,580. The bakery did not need more customers first. It needed clearer records for everything produced.
Record what leaves the mixing bowl
A bakery record should track more than completed sales. Mr Lim introduced a simple daily sheet with five columns:
- Product and batch size. Record how many buns or pastries each recipe should produce.
- Quantity sold. Use the cash register total or order list.
- Samples and giveaways. Treat them as a marketing cost, even when no cash changes hands.
- Rejected or test products. Record failed batches separately so recipe development has a visible cost.
- Leftovers and waste. Count unsold, damaged or expired items before disposal.
They also weighed the first few dough portions at the start of each shift. Once the team understood the correct size, they could work quickly without weighing every item.
Generosity and experimentation still need a budget
Free samples can bring customers back, and test batches can create popular new products. The problem begins when these activities have no limit and no record.
Mr Lim now sets a weekly sample budget and a separate amount for recipe development. Jia Wen reduces the next day’s production when leftovers rise. Their decisions are still flexible, but they are based on numbers.
Try this for seven days
Choose one product that sells every day and track it for one week:
- Write down the expected quantity from each batch.
- Count how many units are sold.
- Record samples, test items, rejects and leftovers.
- Compare the ingredient cost with the sales collected.
- Adjust the portion size or next day’s production when you see a repeated gap.
After seven days, you will know whether your best-selling product is truly profitable or simply keeping the oven busy.
Turn every batch into a clearer business decision
Track sales, ingredients, samples and waste so your bakery keeps more of the profit it earns.
