KENYA · GUIDE 0423 · EDITION 4.2
Steel door making in Kenya: Pricing and Break-Even
Price an accepted unit, not an activity title
Start with this sale unit: door set.
Specify the door, frame and hardware as one compatible assembly, checking handing and intended access before fabricating a steel leaf from a customer's rough dimensions.
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
- sheet gauge
- lock set
- frame preparation
Include frame correction, handling assistance, hardware matching and installation finishing, because a heavy door can be uneconomic if workshop quotes exclude the real site work.
| 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.
The fabricated leaf is sound but the frame distorts during fitting, producing difficult locking and repeat visits because installation sequencing received less attention than welding appearance.
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 opening measurements, hardware references, frame alignment and closing adjustments, building a repeatable handover checklist before accepting multiple doors for a landlord or small development.
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.
Work through this business's example
Test the listed example when things change
These calculations are invented teaching cases derived from this guide's example, "Fictional worked budget, all input prices illustrative". They are not observed customer results, local quotations or forecasts. They hold the listed input bill constant unless the row explicitly changes it. Excluded expenses and tax still need to be added.
| Case | Accepted / priced output | Example revenue | Listed cost | Difference before excluded costs / tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original example | 1 | KSh 48,500.00 | KSh 38,250.00 | KSh 10,250.00 |
| 20% fewer accepted units, rounded down | 0 | KSh 0.00 | KSh 38,250.00 | KSh -38,250.00 |
| 10% reduction in the assumed selling price | 1 | KSh 43,650.00 | KSh 38,250.00 | KSh 5,400.00 |
| 10% increase in every listed cost | 1 | KSh 48,500.00 | KSh 42,075.00 | KSh 6,425.00 |
The lower-acceptance case represents the loss of priced output, not a prediction of the actual reject rate. At this small example scale, rounding leaves no accepted unit. The entire listed bill remains to be funded; a cost per accepted unit cannot be calculated. A whole-job price needs its own agreed acceptance and partial-payment treatment.
Inspect the cost that can change the decision
The largest listed line is Fabrication hours: 20 at KSh 650.00, giving KSh 13,000.00. A 10% increase in this line alone adds KSh 1,300.00 to the example bill. Check its exact unit, scope, quotation validity and whether it is a one-off resource or a repeat input before changing the quote.
Keep every input quantity separate from priced output. A fall in accepted output does not automatically reduce already-purchased inputs. Use the itemised costing tool to change the real quantities, rather than scaling the whole bill by a sales percentage.
Connect the commercial check to quality
For steel door making, investigate this concrete failure: Leaf twists after fabrication. The guide's diagnostic check is: Compare flatness and heat-control inspection before coating.. Proposed response: Have the fabricator correct or remake to the approved criteria..
Record what was actually found and rechecked; do not mark a corrected item accepted until the agreed buyer checkpoint has passed. Any rework materials, transport, labour or credit must be added to the actual cost/result record.
A cash-timing exercise using the same example
Assume solely for arithmetic practice that opening cash is zero and the entire listed input bill of KSh 38,250.00 must be paid before handover. With no advance, that amount must be funded before any sale is collected. This deliberately simplified case does not establish when your actual suppliers need payment.
If a buyer hypothetically pays a 30% advance on the example revenue of KSh 48,500.00, cash received would be KSh 14,550.00. Paying the listed bill then leaves KSh -23,700.00. The additional cash needed to avoid a negative balance at that point is KSh 23,700.00. The unpaid remainder is KSh 33,950.00; it is a receivable, not cash already in the business.
The 30% figure is an invented teaching assumption, not a recommended or agreed customer term. Check whether deposits are refundable and which commitments they can actually fund. Do not count the advance again when entering the final collection. Add equipment payments, tax, owner drawings and unlisted operating bills to the dated cash plan as appropriate. The 13-week planner in file 10 shows week-end funding gaps; inspect intra-week dates for a large payment.