KENYA · GUIDE 0008 · EDITION 4.2
Lettuce growing - Pricing, break-even and cash flow
Price an accepted unit, not an activity title
Start with this sale unit: head or kilogram.
Choose a lettuce format that fits one restaurant's dishes, distinguishing whole heads for portioning from loose leaves intended for assembled salads during busy service.
A quotation needs the accepted quantity or scope, exclusions, completion point, delivery arrangement and payment schedule. Without that specification, two apparently similar prices may pay for different work.
Build the direct-cost sheet
- seed
- water
- discarded outer leaves
Cost outer-leaf removal, head damage during transport and the space occupied by protective crates, rather than treating every harvested head as a full-price sale.
| Calculation | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Variable cost per accepted unit | Direct inputs, labour, delivery and measured losses divided by accepted units. |
| Contribution per unit | Agreed selling price minus variable cost per unit. |
| Period operating surplus | Contribution from units sold minus fixed overhead for the same period. |
| Break-even units | Fixed overhead divided by positive contribution, rounded up. |
Count rejected output, unsold stock and correction time. Keep fixed overhead in a consistent period; a daily contribution cannot be compared directly with a monthly overhead figure. If contribution is zero or negative, extra sales do not establish a workable break-even point.
Reconcile the cash separately
A customer's unpaid balance cannot pay today's supplier bill. List actual collections, advance payments, supplier deadlines, refunds and recurring bills by date. Separate refundable deposits and money held for an uncompleted commitment from funds freely available for expansion.
A restaurant may reject attractive oversized heads when its portions leave excessive remnants, so head appearance alone does not establish the commercial product specification.
Test a weaker outcome
Recalculate with fewer accepted units, a delayed customer collection or a higher input quotation. Change one assumption at a time to see which constraint matters. Use the actual pilot record: Record head weights, usable leaf yield, plating feedback and the number of heads the chef actually uses during a service before scheduling successive plantings.
Do not interpret the invented financial teaching exercise in the complete manuscript as a market price or predicted income. Replace its assumptions before using it for a real decision. The public planning tool can help with arithmetic; it does not validate the inputs.