KENYA · GUIDE 0113 · EDITION 4.7
Cassava flour milling in Kenya: Pricing, Costing and Cash Flow Example
Editorial update: 28 October 2026 · Business planning reference · Review scope
Use one accepted sale unit throughout
Work through a fictional KSh 12,000.00 invoice against KSh 9,000.00 of selected cost lines; distinguish the invoice from collected cash.
This is a planning reference for cassava flour milling. The order below is an invented teaching case. It is not a completed customer job, an operating approval or a prediction of demand or earnings.
The example offer and its boundary
Fictional cassava-flour milling run: one hundred 500 g bags, fifty kg accepted flour, from sixty kg purchased dried cassava chips already produced under an assessed cyanide-control process. Ten kg hold/bran/residual is invented. Milling is not detoxification. Qualified food support must confirm source variety/process, appropriate cyanide evidence, contamination controls, particle specification and product requirements before release.
Charging basis to confirm: flour pack. The rates and quantities below are teaching assumptions. Even a previously recorded listing is not adopted here as a current quotation or an earnings forecast.
Itemised arithmetic
| Selected input/activity | Quantity | Assumed unit rate | Selected cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessed dried chips, kg | 60 | KSh 80.00 | KSh 4,800.00 |
| Milling service, input kg | 60 | KSh 15.00 | KSh 900.00 |
| Half-kg bags, each | 100 | KSh 8.00 | KSh 800.00 |
| Labels, each | 100 | KSh 3.00 | KSh 300.00 |
| Packing labour, hours | 6 | KSh 200.00 | KSh 1,200.00 |
| Transport, trips | 2 | KSh 500.00 | KSh 1,000.00 |
| Calculation | Teaching result |
|---|---|
| Selected cost total | KSh 9,000.00 |
| Priced/accepted output | 100 example units |
| Assumed selling price | KSh 120.00 |
| Assumed invoice | KSh 12,000.00 |
| Difference before excluded costs and tax | KSh 3,000.00 |
Illustrative selected cost: KSh 9,000.00; cost per accepted sale unit: KSh 90.00; assumed receipts: KSh 12,000.00; difference against selected lines: KSh 3,000.00. All rates and fifty-kg flour output illustrative. Input is assessed dried chips, not fresh roots; no cyanide-reduction or fresh recovery assumed. Excludes analysis/process validation, cleaning/premises, compliance, losses beyond illustrative balance, tax and overhead. Sale unit 500 g bag.
Check cash timing and a weaker outcome
TRAINING-0113: a fictional order for the scoped offer in section 01, using 100 priced units at KSh 120.00 each. Buyer group: Bakers and food makers seeking a specified flour. No buyer was contacted and no order was completed.
Teaching invoice = 100 x KSh 120.00 = KSh 12,000.00. The selected input lines in section 06 total KSh 9,000.00; their difference from this assumed invoice is KSh 3,000.00 before excluded costs and tax.
For cash-timing practice only, suppose a buyer pays a 30% advance of KSh 3,600.00. The invoice balance is KSh 8,400.00. If the selected input bill is paid before the balance arrives, additional cash of KSh 5,400.00 is needed after applying the advance. The advance is counted once, not again at final collection.
On full collection, total receipts are KSh 12,000.00. Cash against the selected example bill is KSh 3,000.00 before other payments. If a hypothetical 10% increase in the largest selected line (Assessed dried chips, kg) adds KSh 480.00, the unchanged invoice leaves KSh 2,520.00 against that revised bill.
If the customer instead leaves 10% of the invoice unpaid, KSh 1,200.00 is a receivable. Cash collected is KSh 10,800.00 and collected cash less the selected bill is KSh 1,800.00. This differs from invoice margin; do not spend the unpaid amount as though it is already cash.
The scenario is complete only as a teaching record of the stated lines. Add actual excluded startup and operating costs using file 12, and replace every assumed rate before relying on a quote. Use measured accepted output for the actual invoice; unaccepted output is not automatically chargeable.
For an actual quote, add all relevant excluded costs, use measured accepted output, and compare amounts from the same period. An unpaid invoice balance is not available cash. A deposit held for an uncompleted obligation is not automatically earned income.
References and their limits
FAO: Roots and tubers in human nutrition, toxic substances
Cassava cyanogenic hazard and unreliability of bitterness as safety indicator; historical detoxification percentages/times are not operating instructions. Reference check recorded 2026-10-26.
FAO/IITA: Cassava Flour Production
Shows variety/process dependence of flour preparation. Historical drying/sieving times and broad suitability statements do not validate local cyanide control or commercial process. Reference check recorded 2026-10-26.
Recorded references support only the scope stated beside them. They do not prove current supplier stock, a local quotation, actual buyer demand, operator competence or the feasibility of this particular business. Later editorial changes do not refresh earlier source-check dates.
Prepared by Business Starter Guides using AI-assisted drafting and desk editorial checks. Independent operator trials and specialist certification are not claimed. See the editorial method for the review scope.
Editorial method and evidence limits