Your shop. Your craft.
Your responsibility.

Independent baker relationship

You operate as an independent business. You decide whether to accept a request, quote work, set prices, set deposits of at least 10%, create your cancellation policy, choose your delivery/pickup practices, and manage your own business records and taxes.

CakeMatch is not the maker, seller, employer, agent, partner, or guarantor of your baked goods or services. You may not state or imply that CakeMatch has certified, insured, licensed, endorsed, or guaranteed you unless you have a specific CakeMatch badge that accurately says what was verified.

Food safety, laws, and customer disclosures

You are solely responsible for every item you make and for complying with the laws, permits, cottage-food rules, zoning restrictions, tax rules, labeling requirements, and business obligations that apply where you operate. You are also solely responsible for ingredients, allergens, cross-contact, dietary claims, packaging, storage, temperature control, transport, food safety, and product liability.

Do not describe an item as gluten-free, nut-free, vegan, kosher, halal, allergy-safe, licensed, insured, or otherwise certified unless that claim is accurate and you can support it. CakeMatch's state-resource pages are a starting point only, not legal advice or a determination that you may operate.

Insurance and credentials

You must maintain any insurance required by your laws, lease, lender, or insurer and acknowledge that a personal homeowners or renters policy may not cover a baking business. Commercial bakeries and bakers who provide setup services must maintain at least $1 million in applicable business liability insurance unless a stricter legal requirement applies.

Home bakers may join without insurance where permitted, but may display an insured badge only after CakeMatch has reviewed a current certificate. Credentials are optional when no credential is required. Any document you upload must be genuine, current, and belong to you or your business.

Orders, deposits, and CakeMatch payments

You set the cake price, delivery fee, deposit amount, and the details of your quote. Deposits must be at least 10% of the full quote. This minimum is separate from CakeMatch's 5% marketplace service fee, which is calculated on the cake price, excludes delivery, and is collected from the first deposit for new and unpaid orders. Choose a deposit that also covers the early costs you need for ingredients and labor.

When you connect Stripe and offer payment through CakeMatch, customer payments are processed directly through your connected Stripe account. CakeMatch receives only the disclosed marketplace fee. Previously paid orders retain the fee recorded when they were paid. You are responsible for your Stripe onboarding, tax and payout setup, account balances, refunds, chargebacks, and any payment-processor obligations.

Customer cancellations and baker cancellations

When a customer cancels, the order is cancelled directly—there is no CakeMatch approval queue. You decide whether to refund your portion of the deposit under your own clear cancellation policy. The CakeMatch service fee is not returned on a customer cancellation.

If you cancel an accepted order, miss the agreed deadline, or materially fail to fulfill it, you must promptly fund a full refund of the customer's payment, including CakeMatch's marketplace fee. You must keep an accurate message and order record and cooperate with a legitimate payment dispute or CakeMatch inquiry.

Safe and professional conduct

Use good judgment for delivery and pickup. You choose whether to offer home pickup, delivery, venue setup, or another handoff arrangement; CakeMatch recommends that you follow appropriate safety practices and does not direct your day-to-day operations.

Do not discriminate unlawfully, harass, threaten, scam, submit forged documents, arrange prohibited or illegal activity, or use CakeMatch to evade fees after a match is made. Keep communications professional. You may block a user when appropriate, but you remain responsible for complying with law and fulfilling or properly cancelling an accepted order.

Enforcement and appeal

CakeMatch may apply a strike, restrict visibility, suspend a listing, or remove an account for a material safety, integrity, fraud, legal, or fulfillment concern. A baker may submit an appeal within 10 days of a decision. CakeMatch retains the final decision after reviewing the available information.

Membership and Founding Baker offers

Every approved baker chooses a standard plan with the application: Monthly ($14.99/month), 6 Months ($79.99 every six months), or Annual ($149/year). The chosen plan is saved before payment setup. After verification, CakeMatch directs the baker to Stripe to securely save a card; Stripe shows the exact selected amount and first charge date before the baker confirms. There is no membership charge on that day. The first charge occurs six calendar months after card setup, and the selected plan renews automatically on its stated cadence unless cancelled through Stripe. Annual charges, including annual renewals, have a 14-day refund window; monthly plans end at the paid-through month after cancellation.

The limited Founding Baker Charter is separate: a non-refundable $25 reservation is credited toward the $300 four-year Charter total, with a $275 activation balance after verification. The activation balance has a 14-day refund window. The Charter term begins once paid in full and does not automatically renew after year four. Before the Charter ends, CakeMatch will invite the baker to choose a standard plan to continue.