You have calculated the cost of your products, decided how much profit you want to make, and set your selling prices. What happens next?

What if your supplier increases their prices next month? Or what if you discover you have been spending more on packaging and delivery than you planned?

You may also have several products in your business, each with different costs and profit margins. Keeping track of everything can become difficult, especially when you are recording sales in notebooks or trying to remember how much you spent.

This is why calculating your selling price is only the beginning. You also need a way to track your costs, monitor your profit, and know when your prices need to change.

In Part 1 of this series, we explained how to calculate the selling price of a product in Nigeria, including the expenses you should consider and the difference between markup and profit margin.

In this article, we will look at five tools that can help you manage product pricing, how to check whether your prices are right, and common pricing mistakes to avoid.

Google Sheets is a free spreadsheet tool you can use to record product costs, calculate selling prices, and track expenses.

If you run a small business and are not ready to pay for accounting software, it is a good place to start.

For example, imagine you sell clothes and want to keep track of how much you spend and earn on each item.

You can create a spreadsheet with the following columns:

Once you have entered your figures, you can use simple formulas to calculate your total costs and estimated profit automatically.

How to use Google Sheets for product pricing

Bumpa is a business management and e-commerce platform that helps merchants manage products, sales, inventory, and customer information.

It can be useful if your business has several products and you want to manage your stock and sales records in one place.

For example, imagine you sell shoes through Instagram, WhatsApp, and a physical store.

You need to know which shoes are available, how much you paid for them, how much you sell them for, and how many have been sold.

Rather than managing all of this information in separate notebooks or messages, you can use a business management platform like Bumpa.

How to use Bumpa to manage product prices

Zoho Books is accounting software that helps businesses record income, manage expenses, create invoices, and generate financial reports.

It is particularly useful when you want to understand not just how much you earn from selling products, but how much money your business spends overall.

For example, you may know how much you spend purchasing products, but what about your monthly electricity bills, shop rent, internet subscriptions, and staff payments?

These expenses affect your business's profitability too.

Zoho Books allows you to keep financial records that can help you understand your business expenses more clearly.

How to use Zoho Books to track business costs

Simplebks is a Nigerian business management and accounting platform that offers tools for recording sales, managing expenses, tracking inventory, and reviewing financial performance.

One challenge small businesses face is not knowing exactly how much money they make after covering their expenses.

You may receive payments every day and still struggle to understand why there is little money left at the end of the month.

Keeping accurate sales and expense records can help you investigate this.

For example, imagine you run a provision store.

You sell different products every day, and your suppliers regularly adjust their prices.

If you do not update your records, you may continue selling some items at prices that no longer cover their costs adequately.

How to use Simplebks to monitor your business

Paystack and Flutterwave are payment processors, not complete accounting or inventory management systems.

However, they are relevant to product pricing because payment processing charges affect how much money you receive from online sales.

For example, a customer may pay ₦20,000 for a product, but the amount settled to your business could be lower after applicable transaction fees.

If you receive many payments online, those charges can add up.

How to use your payment records when reviewing prices

Paystack and Flutterwave have different pricing structures. Some fees may also depend on the type of transaction or merchant arrangement.

Always confirm the charges that apply to your account.

We also spoke with five Nigerian fintech developers about their experiences with both payment providers. You can read their insights in Paystack vs Flutterwave: Five Nigerian Developers Compare Both for E-commerce Stores.

Using a pricing or accounting tool can help you organise your numbers, but it does not automatically tell you what customers are willing to pay.

Your selling price still needs to make sense for your business and the market.

Here are four things to consider.

Look at businesses selling products similar to yours.

For example, if you sell handbags, compare prices from sellers offering handbags of similar quality, size, material, and design.

You do not have to copy their prices, but you should understand the range customers are seeing.

If your product is more expensive, consider what makes it different.

Is the material better? Do you offer better packaging, a warranty, or a more convenient shopping experience?

These things may help customers understand why your price is different.

Not everyone buys a product for the same reason.

Some customers want the cheapest available option. Others care more about quality, convenience, durability, or customer service.

For example, two skincare businesses may sell similar products at different prices because they serve different customers or offer different experiences.

Understanding your target customers helps you decide whether your pricing matches what they expect.

You can learn more by speaking with customers, reviewing their feedback, and paying attention to the questions they ask before buying.

A product selling frequently does not always mean it is profitable.

Imagine you sell 100 items in a month and earn ₦500,000 in revenue.

That sounds encouraging, but you still need to deduct what you spent buying or producing the items, transporting them, processing payments, and running the business.

If those expenses are high, your final profit may be much smaller than expected.

This is why you should review both your sales and your expenses.

Use your business records to understand which products contribute the most to your earnings.

The cost of running a business does not always remain the same.

Your supplier may increase prices. Transportation may become more expensive. Your packaging supplier may change their rates.

If you continue selling at the same price without reviewing your costs, your profit margin may reduce.

For example, a product that previously cost ₦7,000 may now cost ₦8,500.

If you have not changed your selling price, you need to check whether the amount you earn is still sufficient.

You do not necessarily need to increase prices every time an expense changes. Sometimes you can reduce costs, negotiate with suppliers, or improve how you manage your operations.

The important thing is to review your figures before making a decision.

Even with the right tools, a few common mistakes can affect how much businesses earn.

Another business may have cheaper suppliers, lower rent, or a different sales volume.

A price that works for them may not work for you.

Before copying a competitor's selling price, calculate your own costs and determine whether the price would be profitable for your business.

Packaging, transportation, electricity, and transaction charges may seem insignificant when considered individually.

However, these expenses can add up over time.

If you do not record them, you may overestimate how much profit your business makes.

Make it a habit to record expenses as they occur, even when the amounts seem small.

Revenue is the money your business earns from sales before deducting expenses.

Profit is what remains after deducting the relevant costs and expenses.

For example, selling ₦500,000 worth of products does not mean you have made ₦500,000 profit.

Your business records should help you understand both figures.

Discounts can encourage customers to buy, but they also reduce the amount you earn per sale.

Before offering a 10%, 15%, or 20% discount, calculate how the reduced selling price affects your profit.

A promotion may increase sales while reducing your overall earnings if you do not manage the costs carefully.

A selling price that worked six months ago may no longer be suitable today.

If your supplier prices, transportation costs, or other expenses have increased, review the amount you charge.

You should also update the cost information in whichever tool you use.

There is no point using accounting or inventory software if the figures in it no longer reflect your business.

Setting a selling price is one thing. Knowing whether that price is still working for your business is another.

As your business grows, you will have more products to manage, more sales to record, and more expenses to keep track of.

You do not have to manage everything in your head.

Whether you choose Google Sheets, Bumpa, Zoho Books, Simplebks, or another tool, what matters is that you understand how much your products cost, how much you earn, and when you need to make changes.

If you have not started keeping records, begin with the products you sell most frequently. Record their costs, selling prices, and related expenses. Then review the figures at the end of the month.

The more you understand your numbers, the easier it becomes to make informed pricing decisions.

It depends on the size of your business and what you need to manage. Google Sheets is a good starting point if you want to calculate prices and organise basic records. For inventory and sales management, you can explore Bumpa. For accounting, expense tracking, and financial reporting, Zoho Books and Simplebks are other options worth considering.

Yes. You can use Google Sheets to record sales, product costs, and business expenses. By keeping accurate records and using simple formulas, you can calculate estimated profit and monitor how your business is performing. However, your calculations will only be as accurate as the information you enter.

Start by checking how much you earn from selling your products. Then deduct the relevant costs of purchasing or producing them, transportation, packaging, payment fees, and other business expenses. The amount remaining helps you understand your profitability.

Review your prices whenever important expenses change, especially supplier prices, transportation, packaging, or payment processing charges. It is also useful to review your costs and profit regularly, such as monthly, so you can identify changes before they become serious problems.

Not necessarily. If your business is still small and you have only a few products or transactions, a spreadsheet may be sufficient. However, as your business grows, accounting or inventory software can make it easier to organise records, monitor expenses, manage stock, and review financial performance.

Till next time,

Team Thrive

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