KENYA · GUIDE 0117 · EDITION 4.7
Sorghum flour blending 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 16,000.00 invoice against KSh 12,780.00 of selected cost lines; distinguish the invoice from collected cash.
This is a planning reference for sorghum flour blending. 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 sorghum-led cooking-flour order: eighty 1 kg packs from sixty kg assessed sorghum flour and twenty kg assessed cassava flour, an illustrative 75:25 formulation approved for buyer trials. Cassava flour must already meet qualified cyanide/source controls; blending cannot detoxify it. This product is neither pure sorghum nor gluten-free/medical food by assumption.
Charging basis to confirm: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sorghum flour, kg | 60 | KSh 100.00 | KSh 6,000.00 |
| Assessed cassava flour, kg | 20 | KSh 110.00 | KSh 2,200.00 |
| One-kg bags, each | 80 | KSh 12.00 | KSh 960.00 |
| Labels, each | 80 | KSh 4.00 | KSh 320.00 |
| Blend/pack labour, hours | 8 | KSh 250.00 | KSh 2,000.00 |
| Mixer/scale hire, day | 1 | KSh 700.00 | KSh 700.00 |
| Delivery, trip | 1 | KSh 600.00 | KSh 600.00 |
| Calculation | Teaching result |
|---|---|
| Selected cost total | KSh 12,780.00 |
| Priced/accepted output | 80 example units |
| Assumed selling price | KSh 200.00 |
| Assumed invoice | KSh 16,000.00 |
| Difference before excluded costs and tax | KSh 3,220.00 |
Illustrative selected cost: KSh 12,780.00; cost per accepted sale unit: KSh 159.75; assumed receipts: KSh 16,000.00; difference against selected lines: KSh 3,220.00. All rates and formula illustrative; assumes eighty accepted kg with no loss. Excludes cyanide/mycotoxin and other tests, validation, cleaning, premises/compliance, tax and overhead. Purchased flours are inputs, so fresh-root/grain yields not implied.
Check cash timing and a weaker outcome
TRAINING-0117: a fictional order for the scoped offer in section 01, using 80 priced units at KSh 200.00 each. Buyer group: Households and food businesses using sorghum dishes. No buyer was contacted and no order was completed.
Teaching invoice = 80 x KSh 200.00 = KSh 16,000.00. The selected input lines in section 06 total KSh 12,780.00; their difference from this assumed invoice is KSh 3,220.00 before excluded costs and tax.
For cash-timing practice only, suppose a buyer pays a 30% advance of KSh 4,800.00. The invoice balance is KSh 11,200.00. If the selected input bill is paid before the balance arrives, additional cash of KSh 7,980.00 is needed after applying the advance. The advance is counted once, not again at final collection.
On full collection, total receipts are KSh 16,000.00. Cash against the selected example bill is KSh 3,220.00 before other payments. If a hypothetical 10% increase in the largest selected line (Sorghum flour, kg) adds KSh 600.00, the unchanged invoice leaves KSh 2,620.00 against that revised bill.
If the customer instead leaves 10% of the invoice unpaid, KSh 1,600.00 is a receivable. Cash collected is KSh 14,400.00 and collected cash less the selected bill is KSh 1,620.00. 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
Buhler: Sorghum processing
Manufacturer identifies variety/seed-coat and lipid effects on milling/storage; no treatment settings, nutrient or health claims adopted. Reference check recorded 2026-10-26.
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.
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