Owner earnings for MSMEs and small businesses
The cash an owner can actually claim
An owner opens the mobile banking app and sees KSh 1.2 million. How much of it can they take home?
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Measure the cash a business earns, protect its operating capacity and make practical decisions about owner pay, borrowing, growth and succession.
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Owner earnings for MSMEs and small businesses
Maintenance capital and working capital
A business can look cash-rich because it has stopped replacing equipment. It can also look cash-poor because it is building the next stage of capacity. If we call all capital spending “maintenance,” we can understate what a growing business might earn. If we call all spending “growth,” we can…
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The daily MSME operating toolkit
A cash forecast is most useful before there is a crisis. For a small business, the working version does not need to predict the whole year with false confidence. It needs to answer a simpler question: if the expected customers pay when promised, and the bills on the calendar are paid when due,…
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Owner pay, reserves, growth and debt
Owners often fund two very different things from one bank account: the work they do and the capital they put at risk. If the owner manages staff every day, their pay for that job is an operating cost. A dividend or draw is a return on ownership. Mixing the two can make a business appear more…
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Buying, selling and succession
A buyer asks, “What does the business earn?” The seller replies with what is left in the bank at the end of a good month. Both sides are asking the wrong version of the question.
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