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KENYA · GUIDE 0278 · EDITION 4.7

Fabric repair service 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 3,000.00 invoice against KSh 1,900.00 of selected cost lines; distinguish the invoice from collected cash.

This is a planning reference for fabric repair service. 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 repair booking: three adult cotton articles with photographed isolated tears, each no larger than 4 × 4 cm, receiving an agreed visible patch. Draft three 10 × 10 cm patches with 1 cm turned edges leave 8 × 8 cm faces, subject to sound surrounding cloth. No invisible repair or restored-original-strength promise.

Charging basis to confirm: repair task. 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/activityQuantityAssumed unit rateSelected cost
Patch cloth, square metre0.5KSh 600.00KSh 300.00
Thread use, metre100KSh 0.40KSh 40.00
Article pack/card, each3KSh 20.00KSh 60.00
Assessment repair labour, hour6KSh 250.00KSh 1,500.00
CalculationTeaching result
Selected cost totalKSh 1,900.00
Priced/accepted output3 example units
Assumed selling priceKSh 1,000.00
Assumed invoiceKSh 3,000.00
Difference before excluded costs and taxKSh 1,100.00

Illustrative batch cost KSh 1900; allocated cost per sale unit KSh 633.33; assumed receipts 3 × KSh 1000 = KSh 3000; pre-tax scenario surplus KSh 1100. All unobserved rates are invented planning assumptions, not market quotes. This is not net profit: tax, premises, permits, equipment, returns, unsold stock and other unlisted fixed costs remain unresolved. Replace with actual accepted quantities and delivered quotes before pricing.

Check cash timing and a weaker outcome

TRAINING-0278: a fictional order for the scoped offer in section 01, using 3 priced units at KSh 1,000.00 each. Buyer group: Households and clothing retailers with repairable garments. No buyer was contacted and no order was completed.

Teaching invoice = 3 x KSh 1,000.00 = KSh 3,000.00. The selected input lines in section 06 total KSh 1,900.00; their difference from this assumed invoice is KSh 1,100.00 before excluded costs and tax.

For cash-timing practice only, suppose a buyer pays a 30% advance of KSh 900.00. The invoice balance is KSh 2,100.00. If the selected input bill is paid before the balance arrives, additional cash of KSh 1,000.00 is needed after applying the advance. The advance is counted once, not again at final collection.

On full collection, total receipts are KSh 3,000.00. Cash against the selected example bill is KSh 1,100.00 before other payments. If a hypothetical 10% increase in the largest selected line (Assessment repair labour, hour) adds KSh 150.00, the unchanged invoice leaves KSh 950.00 against that revised bill.

If the customer instead leaves 10% of the invoice unpaid, KSh 300.00 is a receivable. Cash collected is KSh 2,700.00 and collected cash less the selected bill is KSh 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

AMANN seam appearance
Visible seam assessment; not certification of finished articles. Reference check recorded 2026-10-26.

AMANN seam stability
Fabric/thread/construction compatibility; no invented load rating. 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

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