Finance in Plain Language

A blog for entrepreneurs who want to stay in control of their business finances. Here you'll find clear explanations of financial management, real-life case studies, practical insights, relevant news, and step-by-step guides.

Case Studies

Finance

New

Imports: the invoice price is not your cost

Freight is charged by volume, duty by value. So the uplift over the invoice came to 10.7% on power tools and 19.4% on consumables. A flat 50% markup gave a real margin of 20.4-26.2%, not the assumed 33.3%. An importer in Lutsk worked this out after eight years.

Read

FREE

Feed mill: one tonne is not another

The cattle recipe had the worst margin: 2 012 ₴ a tonne. When soy meal rose by 5 300 ₴ it became the best one, because it contains no soy at all. A mill in Mykolaiv region lost 61.6% of net profit in a month without losing a single customer.

FREE

Winery: margin per bottle and margin per year

The reserve earns 515 ₴ a bottle, the most in the range. Per year of tied-up capital it earns 147 ₴, the least. Young wine: 135 ₴ a bottle and 270 ₴ a year. A Transcarpathian winery worked out what time in the cellar really costs.

FREE

Steel fabrication: 14% of tonnage eats 33% of the shop

86 tonnes a month bring 5 848 000 ₴ of revenue and 162 320 ₴ of profit — 2.78%. A tonne costs 68 000 ₴ whatever it is, yet takes 22, 48 or 95 labour hours. Stairs and railings are 14% of tonnage, 33% of shop hours and −14 100 ₴ a tonne.

FREE

Apiary: 38 kg a hive earns less than 24

420 hives yield 11 520 kg of honey and 275 760 ₴ of profit a season. The site with the biggest harvest — 38 kg a hive — brings 1 718 ₴, while the site with 24 kg of acacia honey brings 2 428 ₴. The grade matters more than the kilos.

FREE

Cold storage: an empty slot costs the same

1 800 pallet slots yield 94 000 ₴ of profit a month. One tariff of 40 ₴ per pallet-day across three temperature zones works out at 7.06 ₴ of energy per occupied slot in the chilled room and 48.00 ₴ in deep freeze — above the tariff itself.

FREE

Sorting line: cheap input costs more

1 800 t of input a month, 6 626 250 ₴ of revenue and 417 250 ₴ of profit. Input at 900 ₴ a tonne yields a useful tonne for 6 800 ₴ — against a selling price of 5 700 ₴. Input at 2 100 ₴ yields it for 4 200 ₴. The residue costs 892 500 ₴ a month.

FREE

EV charging: the capacity charge eats the margin

Three sites, seven ports, 27 720 kWh and 54 020 ₴ of profit a month. The same 310 ₴ per kW works out at 2.35 ₴ per kilowatt-hour in a residential yard and 10.76 ₴ on the highway — where it eats 98% of the margin and the site runs at a loss.

FREE

Quarry: 22 ₴ a tonne sits in the spoil heap

36 000 t of rock a month yield 636 000 ₴ of profit. Bench C costs 275 ₴ a tonne against 195 ₴ for bench A — and the whole difference is stripping. Meanwhile 22 ₴ of every tonne never sells: 792 000 ₴ a month, or 125% of the profit.

FREE