KENYA · GUIDE 0555 · EDITION 4.7
Packaging artwork 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 5,600.00 invoice against KSh 3,910.00 of selected cost lines; distinguish the invoice from collected cash.
This is a planning reference for packaging artwork 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 packaging artwork PKG-55 places branding on a printer-supplied tuck-end box dieline for one set of four greeting cards. The example finished cavity is 150×110×20 mm, subject to supplier validation with the real cards/envelopes. Deliverables are one decorated dieline PDF, a separate visual mockup and a folded unprinted fit-check record when performed. Structural engineering, food-contact assessment, die manufacture and production printing are excluded. A barcode is included only if the client supplies an authorised assigned identifier.
Charging basis to confirm: packaging design. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dieline/fit liaison hours | 2 | KSh 500.00 | KSh 1,000.00 |
| Packaging artwork hours | 4 | KSh 500.00 | KSh 2,000.00 |
| Preflight hours | 1.5 | KSh 500.00 | KSh 750.00 |
| A3 paper dummy sheets | 2 | KSh 80.00 | KSh 160.00 |
| Calculation | Teaching result |
|---|---|
| Selected cost total | KSh 3,910.00 |
| Priced/accepted output | 1 example units |
| Assumed selling price | KSh 5,600.00 |
| Assumed invoice | KSh 5,600.00 |
| Difference before excluded costs and tax | KSh 1,690.00 |
Illustrative artwork cost is 1,000+2,000+750+160=3,910. A fictional 5,600 fee gives 1,690 pre-tax planning surplus. Structural design, actual-board samples, tooling, boxes, barcode allocation, tax and delivery are excluded. Printred's small corrugated tuck-end 55/box listing does not establish price for this cavity, board or greeting-card fit; it is a comparison prompt only. Never buy 100 boxes from a generic size description without the supplier confirming the exact finished dimensions.
Check cash timing and a weaker outcome
TRAINING-0555: a fictional order for the scoped offer in section 01, using 1 priced units at KSh 5,600.00 each. Buyer group: Local producers and packaging printers. No buyer was contacted and no order was completed.
Teaching invoice = 1 x KSh 5,600.00 = KSh 5,600.00. The selected input lines in section 06 total KSh 3,910.00; their difference from this assumed invoice is KSh 1,690.00 before excluded costs and tax.
For cash-timing practice only, suppose a buyer pays a 30% advance of KSh 1,680.00. The invoice balance is KSh 3,920.00. If the selected input bill is paid before the balance arrives, additional cash of KSh 2,230.00 is needed after applying the advance. The advance is counted once, not again at final collection.
On full collection, total receipts are KSh 5,600.00. Cash against the selected example bill is KSh 1,690.00 before other payments. If a hypothetical 10% increase in the largest selected line (Packaging artwork hours) adds KSh 200.00, the unchanged invoice leaves KSh 1,490.00 against that revised bill.
If the customer instead leaves 10% of the invoice unpaid, KSh 560.00 is a receivable. Cash collected is KSh 5,040.00 and collected cash less the selected bill is KSh 1,130.00. 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
Custom Packaging Box Printing — Printred
Small corrugated tuck-end listing; not a tested dieline or food-contact certification. Reference check recorded 2026-10-26.
Barcode Image Generation — GS1 Kenya
Uses assigned GS1 numbers to make artwork; designer cannot invent an identifier. Reference check recorded 2026-10-26.
Use margins, bleed, rulers, and crop marks
Print export settings; printer must supply its own production specifications. 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