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Overview

Every product in Knead has a sell unit. The sell unit defines how you price the product and how your customer orders it. Getting it right matters because it flows into every part of the platform — from The Board to invoices to recipe scaling.

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What Is a Sell Unit?

A sell unit is the quantity a customer buys when they order one unit of your product. If you sell cookies by the dozen, the sell unit is “dozen.” If you sell cakes individually, the sell unit is “each.” Common sell units in Knead:
Sell UnitQuantityBest For
Each1 itemCakes, pies, cake pops, cupcakes (individual)
Dozen12 itemsCookies, macarons, cupcakes (bulk)
Half dozen6 itemsCookies, muffins, rolls
Two dozen24 itemsLarge cookie orders, party trays
BoxVariesAssortments, gift sets, sampler boxes
Loaf1 loafBreads, banana bread, pound cake
BatchVariesGranola, brittle, trail mix
You set the sell unit once when creating a product. Knead uses it everywhere from that point forward.

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How Sell Units Flow Through Knead

The sell unit is not a label. It shapes how the entire system handles your product.

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The Board (Order Form)

When a customer visits The Board, they see quantities in your sell unit. If your sell unit is “dozen,” the order form asks “How many dozen?” Not “How many cookies?” This keeps ordering clear and matches how you think about your products.

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Invoices

Line items on invoices display the sell unit alongside the quantity and price. A customer who orders 3 dozen cookies at $28 per dozen sees:
3 dozen @ $28.00 — $84.00
This reads naturally and matches what they ordered.

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Recipe Scaling

When you attach a recipe to a product, Knead uses the sell unit to calculate cost per unit. If your recipe makes 4 dozen cookies and the ingredient cost is $26, Knead divides by 4 to get the cost per dozen.

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Cost and Margin Calculations

Your margin is calculated per sell unit. Knead shows what it costs to produce one sell unit and compares that against your sell price. This gives you a clear per-unit margin percentage.
Good to know: Knead stores the sell unit as text on each product. The default is “each” if you do not set one. You can enter any value that makes sense for your business.

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Setting the Sell Unit on a Product

  1. Open your product catalog.
  2. Tap Add Product (or open an existing product to edit).
  3. Find the Sell Unit field.
  4. Select a common option from the dropdown or type a custom value.
  5. Set the price per sell unit.
  6. Tap Save.
Pro tip: Choose your sell unit before setting the price. The price you enter is the price per sell unit. Setting the sell unit to “dozen” and the price to $28 means $28 per dozen, not $28 per cookie.

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Changing a Sell Unit Later

You can change a product’s sell unit at any time from the product edit screen. Keep in mind that changing the sell unit does not retroactively update existing orders or invoices. New orders use the updated sell unit going forward. If you want to offer the same product in multiple sell units — say, cookies by the dozen and by the half dozen — use variants. Create one product with a “Dozen” variant and a “Half Dozen” variant, each with its own price.

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Per-Item Pricing for Countable Units

When your sell unit is a countable quantity — like “dozen” or “half dozen” — Knead offers a per-item pricing toggle. This lets you set pricing at the individual item level rather than the batch level. For example, if you sell cookies by the dozen and enable per-item pricing, you can set the price per cookie (say, $2.50) and Knead calculates the dozen price automatically ($30.00). This is useful when you need to price individual items for partial orders, custom quantities, or when your costing is naturally per-item. To enable per-item pricing:
  1. Open the product from your catalog.
  2. Set the sell unit to a countable unit (dozen, half dozen, etc.).
  3. Toggle on Per-item pricing.
  4. Enter the price per individual item.
  5. Tap Save.
Knead multiplies the per-item price by the unit count to display the correct price on The Board and invoices. Customers still order by the sell unit — they see “1 dozen @ $30.00” — but your internal pricing is managed per item.
Pro tip: Per-item pricing makes it easy to adjust prices for products where you naturally think in terms of individual pieces. Set the per-cookie price and let Knead do the math for dozens and half dozens.

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Choosing the Right Sell Unit

Pick the sell unit that matches how your customers think about buying.
  • Cookies and macarons — “Dozen” or “half dozen” is standard. Customers expect to order cookies by the dozen.
  • Cakes and pies — “Each” works best. One cake, one price.
  • Bread — “Loaf” is the natural choice.
  • Gift sets — “Box” communicates a curated assortment.
  • Granola or brittle — “Batch” or a custom unit like “bag” or “jar.”
The right sell unit reduces confusion on The Board and makes your invoices read cleanly.
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