Accountability. But with cake.

Own your f*ck-ups.

People you love will occasionally f*ck your day up. So will people you work with. So will you, for them (you know it, don't pretend).

Frustration, stress and regret come with the territory, but without somewhere to go, they settle into grudges and arguments that are somehow still about last Tuesday.

But hope is not lost! Enter cake. A gloriously ridiculous reason to have a serious conversation.

The Cake Tick Board (CTB for short) is a shared board that helps keep the peace (but also keep track who owes the next cake).

Make a board See how it works

Ticks are taken. They cannot be given.

How it works

Screw up. Own it. Bring cake.

They want retribution (cake). You want to keep your money (cake's not free, is it?)

Silly cake is the licence to argue about something real: someone thinks you screwed up enough to raise it. Now, in the CTB spirit, a cake nudge could just be a shot at free cake, but often if there's smoke, there's a fire. So you talk. Maybe you own it and take a tick. Maybe they're wrong or playing idiot for the day. Either way, you argue your case, settle it, and move on.

Let's get serious for just a second. The cake abstraction is an extremely effective conflict-resolution tool. Arguing about ticks owed is easier than arguing about the real issues directly. Semantics, but it works. The extra kicker is that there's an actual cost, albeit small (treats aren't free after all), which is enough incentive to engage in the conversation and not just capitulate, and also enough to be acceptable as "penance" if you did mess up.

Try it. It works.

Mess up.
Well, sh*t.
Own it.
Take a tick and tell everyone what you did.
Move on.
Sort it out and get on with it. You’ve still got stuff to do.
Bring cake.
Hit your team's tick limit? You’re buying.

3 ticks to cake.

Three ticks to cake is the default, but you can change the number and what’s on the menu (kale salads, anyone?).

Funny how easy it is for some people to forget who owes cake. Fortunately the board remembers.

There's only one hard rule.

Ticks are taken. They cannot be given.

Your crew can tease, hint, and make a very convincing case for cake. They can’t give you a tick or force you to take one. Ever.

This is what keeps the whole thing from being a power play. Force is punishment. CTB is about personal accountability.

You take a tick only if you are fairly convinced of your responsibility.

It's the same old story

We all mess up
... and we all get frustrated.

A missed detail. A dodgy excuse. Yeah, you know what we're talking about. We've all been there (adding side-eye for effect)

Meet the board

Your people. Your ticks. Your cake.

Your board brings the gang together. Your own tally shows where you’re at. Treats owed stay on the board until you’ve delivered.

Board snapshotA pretend board. Real app design. Nothing here gets recorded.

Bring your crew. Get some cake.

Australian dollars $7per person, per month.

Charged in Australian dollars.

Pay for yourself, or offer to cover your crew. One subscription covers a person across their boards.

Although technically you could tick yourself and bring yourself cake, we recommend at least 2 people per board, but there's no minimum team size enforced, so you do you.

Three-month money-back guarantee. If The Cake Tick Board doesn’t meet your expectations, ask within three months of your first payment for a full refund. Available once per payer. Don't be an ass and abuse this, though.

Make a board

Before you rope everyone in

Questions? Fair. Let's go.

What is The Cake Tick Board?

A shared accountability board for you and your gang. When you own a mistake, you take a Cake Tick yourself. The board keeps your tally and records the treats you owe until you reach your board’s tick limit and have to bring treats. The ritual gives everyday friction somewhere to go: a conversation, some ownership, with something nice to share afterwards.

Can someone else give me a tick?

No. Ticks are taken, never given. Your crew can tease, hint or make a very convincing case for cake, but nobody can assign you a tick or force you to take one.

What if I disagree that I messed up?

Make your case. Talk about what happened and the impact it had. Maybe you own your part; maybe they’ve got it wrong. A conversation doesn’t have to end in a tick. Cake gives you a way into the awkward bit, but you still have to work through it together.

Is it always three ticks to cake?

Three ticks and cake are the starting settings. You can change your board’s tick limit and treat (coffee, beer, broccoli...whatever floats your boat). Reaching the limit records a treat owed; bringing it is still your job. Once you’ve delivered, mark it fulfilled on the board.

What does it cost?

A$7 per person, per month. Pay for yourself, or offer to cover your crew. One subscription covers a person across their boards. The subscription pays for the app; your crew sorts out the actual cake. See the pricing and three-month money-back guarantee.

What happens when I make a board?

First, create your account. If asked, confirm your email, then name your board and invite your people. If someone has already invited you, open Invitations after signing in to join their board. You don’t need to invent a mistake to get started. The first tick can wait until there’s something worth owning.

Who’s bringing
cake, then?

Make a board and get your people in. For optimal cake, invite the most useless ones first.

Make a board

Own your f*ck-ups.

Screw up. Own it. Bring cake.

Mess up.

Own it.

Move on.

Bring cake.

3 ticks to cake.

Ticks are taken. They cannot be given.

We all mess up
... and we all get frustrated.

Your people. Your ticks. Your cake.

The Usual Suspects

The crew

Still on the cake hook

Who owes what

Crew tick history

Australian dollars $7per person, per month.

Questions? Fair. Let's go.

Who’s bringing
cake, then?