Artisanal Solutions / By trade / Software for Chocolate Makers

For chocolate makers

Software for chocolate makers

Bean costs, bars and bonbons with short shelf lives, and summer shipping that can melt a margin. We set up costing, inventory, warm-weather shipping rules and holiday email for chocolate makers.

Get a plan and a priceSee how it works

Built for chocolate makers. Set up for you, on the tools you already use.

Updated

Warm weather rule
  1. Order placed3 bars and a box of bonbons
  2. Forecast checkDestination over 75 F this weekHeat hold
  3. Packed coldInsulated mailer and one cold packAdded at checkout
  4. Ships Monday2-day service, arrives before the weekendScheduled
Built around your products and the carriers you use.

Where chocolate makers start

  • Shipping and cold chain

    Ship chocolate through the summer

    A heat rule that adds a cold pack, holds orders headed somewhere hot, and ships early in the week by 2-day service.

    • Cold pack added in warm months
    • Heat holds by destination
    • Monday to Wednesday ship days
    Shipping and cold chain

  • Recipe costing

    Cost per bar from bean to wrapper

    Beans or couverture, sugar, inclusions, wrapper and labor per batch, so a price change on cocoa shows up in every margin.

    • Cost per bar and per bonbon
    • Margins by product line
    • Labels with allergens and origin
    Recipe costing and labels

  • Inventory

    Bonbons sold before their best-by

    Batches with make dates and best-by dates, so short-life bonbons sell first and bars by origin stay on one count.

    • Best-by dates per batch
    • Origin lots on each bar
    • Oldest stock sold first
    Inventory and lot tracking

  • Email marketing

    Holidays sold from your own list

    Valentine's, Easter and the December rush start with your own list, with preorder windows and ship-by cutoffs set in advance.

    • Holiday preorder emails
    • Abandoned cart and back in stock
    • Gift note and gifting reminders
    Email and SMS marketing

Works with what you already run

Already on one of these? We work with what you have before suggesting a switch.

  • Craftybase
  • Shopify
  • Square
  • ShipStation
  • ReciPal
  • Faire
  • Klaviyo
  • QuickBooks Online

See what this looks like for your business

Tell us what you make. We send back a short plan and a price.

Get a plan and a price

How it works

  1. Tell us what you make

    What you make and what you use now. A spreadsheet and a Square account is a fine answer.

  2. Get a short plan

    Keep this, replace that, connect these, and the cost.

  3. We set it up

    Setup and migration done for you. You approve before anything goes live.

  4. Run it or hand it off

    Take it from there yourself or keep us on for the upkeep.

A good fit if

  • You stop shipping in summer or lose bars to heat
  • Bonbons go past their best-by in the case
  • Most of your year happens in four holidays

Questions

How do I ship chocolate in summer?

Use an insulated mailer with a cold pack, ship early in the week by 2-day service, and hold orders headed to hot regions until the forecast cools. A checkout rule can add the cold pack and the hold automatically.

How do chocolate makers cost a bar?

Add cocoa beans or couverture, sugar, inclusions, wrapper, labor and loss for a batch, then divide by the bars produced. Recipe costing software keeps it current as cocoa prices move.

Do bean-to-bar makers need lot tracking?

Lot numbers by bean origin and batch make recalls fast and let you print the origin on the wrapper. Stores increasingly ask for them.

Can I sell my chocolate on Madeline's?

Yes. Madeline's lists independent chocolate makers on commission, and its Chocolate Club buys from makers at wholesale.

Get a plan and a price

Tell us what you make and what you use today. A spreadsheet and a Square account is a fine answer. We reply by email with what we would keep, what we would change and what it costs.

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