What is the best software for a home bakery in New Zealand?

A New Zealand home bakery needs software that keeps a trail from every ingredient to every customer, because MPI's exemption for home cake makers still requires you to trace ingredients and be able to recall a product. It should also take deposits in NZ dollars and be ready for GST at 15 percent once your sales reach NZ$60,000. ibakepro is bakery management software for New Zealand bakers from a home kitchen to a bakery with a team, from NZ$29 a month, with New Zealand accounts able to choose the Sydney data region.

Do I still need a food control plan to bake cakes at home?

Not if you make or decorate shelf-stable cakes in your home kitchen and sell them direct to the people eating them. Under a Food Notice issued by MPI on 30 October 2025 and in force until 31 October 2028, you do not register a food control plan or national programme for that work. MPI defines a shelf-stable cake as one that is safe at room temperature until it is eaten, or one meant to be eaten within 3 to 5 days that does not need refrigeration to stay safe, which can include some ganache or cream fillings.

The exemption does not cover cakes that need refrigeration, other bakery products or food sold for resale. If you also bake bread for a cafe or sell cheesecakes, you are back under a food control plan or national programme, usually through your council. The home baking laws table has both rows with their official links. Check with your council or MPI if your menu sits on the line.

What does the exemption ask of me, and where does software help?

Three conditions apply even when you are exempt: follow good hygiene practice, tell MPI if something is wrong with a product, and have a way to trace the ingredients you used and run a recall. The third one is a records job, and it is where a notebook falls short. If a supplier recalls a batch of desiccated coconut, you need to know which cakes used it and who bought them, in minutes.

In ibakepro:

• Ingredients link to products. Every pantry item is used in recipes, and recipes in products, so one ingredient shows you every product it went into. See The Pantry.
• Products link to customers. Each order holds the customer, the product, the flavour and the date, so the list of who to call is one search away.
• Allergens follow the same chain. Each ingredient carries its allergens, and they roll up to every product and order. See allergen management.

When do I need to charge GST?

You must register for GST once your sales from a taxable activity were at least NZ$60,000 in the last 12 months, or you expect them to be in the next 12 months, and then register within 21 days. GST is charged at 15 percent. Below that line, registering is optional. When you register, ibakepro applies GST at the rate you set and shows it on every quote and order.

What should it cost?

A home baker taking orders by message starts on Essentials, with deposits by card through your own Stripe account and the balance chased before the date. Growth adds a shop where customers order for a date you can do, which is the step most bakers take before a busy December. The New Zealand setup is on bakery software for New Zealand bakers, and a summer Christmas is planned in running a bakery through a summer Christmas.