KENYA · GUIDE 0873 · EDITION 4.7
Pressed flower art 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 10,500.00 invoice against KSh 8,525.00 of selected cost lines; distinguish the invoice from collected cash.
This is a planning reference for pressed flower art. 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 botanical-art order: assemble five A5 pressed-flower pictures, each in a frame accepting a 148 × 210 mm backing. Use a 100 × 150 mm visible composition window centred on that backing, leaving 24 mm side margins and 30 mm top/bottom margins. Plan approximately twenty-five small pressed petals/leaves per composition, with spares. This is decorative artwork with natural colour variation, not a promise of permanent colour, a scientific specimen or a service that preserves any supplied bouquet unchanged.
Charging basis to confirm: framed work. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A5 insert-size frames | 5 | KSh 700.00 | KSh 3,500.00 |
| Backing boards | 5 | KSh 100.00 | KSh 500.00 |
| Prepared botanical elements including spares | 150 | KSh 5.00 | KSh 750.00 |
| Mounting adhesive millilitres provisional | 25 | KSh 15.00 | KSh 375.00 |
| Protective boxes | 5 | KSh 120.00 | KSh 600.00 |
| Press handling and assembly hours | 8 | KSh 350.00 | KSh 2,800.00 |
| Calculation | Teaching result |
|---|---|
| Selected cost total | KSh 8,525.00 |
| Priced/accepted output | 5 example units |
| Assumed selling price | KSh 2,100.00 |
| Assumed invoice | KSh 10,500.00 |
| Difference before excluded costs and tax | KSh 1,975.00 |
Batch cost = KSh 8525; allocated cost per sale unit = KSh 1,705.00; assumed revenue = 5 × KSh 2100 = KSh 10500; pre-tax scenario surplus = KSh 1975. Five framed works are sale units. Passive drying time is not charged as eight full days of labour; the eight hours are actual planned handling/design time. Rates and quantities are hypothetical. Press purchase, rejected flowers, delivery and tax are extra. A customer’s unique bouquet needs a separately scoped trial and loss policy.
Check cash timing and a weaker outcome
TRAINING-0873: a fictional order for the scoped offer in section 01, using 5 priced units at KSh 2,100.00 each. Buyer group: art and gift buyers. No buyer was contacted and no order was completed.
Teaching invoice = 5 x KSh 2,100.00 = KSh 10,500.00. The selected input lines in section 06 total KSh 8,525.00; their difference from this assumed invoice is KSh 1,975.00 before excluded costs and tax.
For cash-timing practice only, suppose a buyer pays a 30% advance of KSh 3,150.00. The invoice balance is KSh 7,350.00. If the selected input bill is paid before the balance arrives, additional cash of KSh 5,375.00 is needed after applying the advance. The advance is counted once, not again at final collection.
On full collection, total receipts are KSh 10,500.00. Cash against the selected example bill is KSh 1,975.00 before other payments. If a hypothetical 10% increase in the largest selected line (A5 insert-size frames) adds KSh 350.00, the unchanged invoice leaves KSh 1,625.00 against that revised bill.
If the customer instead leaves 10% of the invoice unpaid, KSh 1,050.00 is a receivable. Cash collected is KSh 9,450.00 and collected cash less the selected bill is KSh 925.00. 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
RHS: How to press plants and make herbarium collections
Plant pressing and recording reference; decorative work below is not a scientific herbarium specimen. Reference check recorded 2026-10-26.
Kew: How to press flowers
Plant selection and pressing reference; no guarantee against fading or mould in unknown framing conditions. 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