Puto Preorders for a Weekend Stall: Batch Size, Pickup Windows and Unsold Pieces

A puto preorder sheet needs to answer three separate questions: what customers requested, what they paid for and what they actually collected. These quantities can differ. Planning from confirmed demand reduces speculative batches, while a separate stock count makes damage, late pickups and refunds visible.

Start with confirmed demand and real capacity

Use this hypothetical example:24 pieces are prepaid,12 more are tentative inquiries, and the seller’s established recipe yields 12 saleable pieces per steamer run. The kitchen can complete at most four runs in the available period. That means 48 pieces of capacity, not 48 pieces of demand. If 12 is only the mould count rather than a reliably achieved saleable yield, measure the actual result first using the puto-pack costing guide.

Before accepting the next order

• Prepaid and confirmed: 24 pieces; Reserve two 12-piece runs, subject to the measured yield.
• Tentative inquiry: 12 pieces; Do not count as received cash or confirmed demand.
• Maximum production capacity: 48 pieces; A ceiling after allowing for all work; not a target to fill.
• Possible buffer: Set from past sales and defects; Keep small and record separately from customer orders.

Build pickup windows around the whole job

1. Give each order an identifier and record quantity, chosen recipe or topping, quoted amount, amount received, balance due, pickup time and agreed cancellation terms.
2. Measure the full cycle for the established batch: mixing, filling, steaming, safe cooling, unmoulding, packing and cleaning. Allow time for checks and delays, rather than adding up only steam minutes.
3. Allocate the confirmed 24 pieces to runs and pickup windows that fit that cycle. Reserve time for a replacement run if the kitchen can support it; do not promise an extra order solely because unused moulds exist.
4. Check the saleable yield after each run. If a 12-piece run gives only 10 suitable cakes, record two damaged pieces and resolve the shortfall before the pickup time.
5. Pack and label each order using clean utensils. Keep any milk, egg or other relevant ingredient information with that order, especially when toppings differ.
6. At collection, record pieces handed over and the payment or balance received. At closing, reconcile the physical stock separately from the cash, then document uncollected orders and any refunds.

Keep the batter and mould setup stable while learning the order system. The guide to puto that rises evenly helps with the separate recipe and steaming task; a production sheet cannot compensate for an unproven change of flour or leavener.

Reconcile stock and money separately

For example,24 cakes made, zero damaged,22 collected and two still held reconcile as 24 =0 +22 +2. If all 24 were prepaid at ₱15 each, cash received is ₱360 even though two cakes remain uncollected. Those two are not automatically unpaid stock or a new sale opportunity. Follow the agreed pickup and refund arrangement, and never sell the same committed order twice.

In a separate completed-sales example,24 cakes collected at ₱15 bring ₱360. If ingredients, energy and packaging actually used cost ₱200, the difference is ₱160 before labour, stall charges, transport, equipment costs or refunds. This is an illustrative contribution calculation, not a net-profit claim or a current market price. Making more cakes adds costs even when those extras do not sell.

Make the pickup plan match safe holding

Treat these moist cooked cakes as perishable. Use a clean rack briefly to release steam, then refrigerate at 4°C or below within two hours, or one hour above 32°C; do not wait for a full tray to become completely cold on the counter. Keep chilled stock cold through the pickup window and give the customer the handling instructions for the actual recipe. If safe holding or collection cannot be arranged, reduce or reschedule the order. Source 1