Small Business Starter
by Ablove. Free. No sign-up.
Price your goods, know your profit, and learn the basics. Made for market traders and shop owners.
Calculator
Everything here stays on your phone. Nothing is sent to a server. Results are only as good as the numbers you enter.
Simple guides
Tap a guide to open it. Rules change, so each guide shows its sources and date checked.
1. Pricing your goods
Do not copy the neighbour's price. Work from your own cost.
- Add what one piece cost you to buy.
- Add small costs per piece: transport, bag, ice, phone credit, market levy.
- Add the profit you want. Many traders start with 20% to 30% on cost. Your trade may be different.
- Check the price against what buyers around you pay. If you cannot sell at that price, look for a cheaper supplier. Do not sell below cost.
Use the calculator above for the sum.
General business practice, not legal or tax advice.
Last checked: 6 Oct 2026
2. Keep shop money and house money apart
- Pick one box, wallet or bank account for the business only.
- Pay yourself a fixed amount each week, and write it down.
- Never take from the shop to spend and forget. Write every collection as "my pay" or "loan from shop".
- Buy new stock only from money that is the business's.
A trader who mixes the two cannot tell if she is making profit.
General business practice, not legal or tax advice.
Last checked: 6 Oct 2026
3. Write down every day
- Every evening, write what you sold and what you spent.
- Count the cash and compare it with your book. Small gaps are a warning sign.
- At the end of the week, add up sales, subtract costs, and see your real profit.
Use the Daily book above, or a plain exercise book. Both work. The app's book stays on your phone only.
General business practice, not legal or tax advice.
Last checked: 6 Oct 2026
4. Selling on credit safely
- Sell on credit only to people you know and who live or work nearby.
- Write the name, phone number, amount and date. Ask the buyer to confirm it.
- Agree the payment day before the goods leave your hands.
- Keep credit small compared with your whole stock. If three buyers fail to pay, can you still buy stock?
- Count unpaid credit as money you might not get back.
General business practice, not legal or tax advice.
Last checked: 6 Oct 2026
5. Registering your business name: what to check
Registration is optional for many small traders, but a registered business name can help with a business bank account and some grants or loans. Do not pay an agent without checking.
- Open the CAC website. It is the official place and lists the steps and fees. Fees and rules change, so read the current page.
- Check the name is not already taken.
- Be wary of anyone who asks for much more than the fee CAC lists.
This app does not state fees, because they change and third-party sites disagree.
Sources:
Last checked: 6 Oct 2026
6. Tax: what to check
A new Nigeria Tax Act came into effect in 2026. Reports of its small-business limits disagree, so this app does not give any figure. Please check these:
- Get a Tax Identification Number (TIN). The tax body says to request it on the official site.
- Ask the tax office, or read the Act itself, which rules apply to your business size and kind of business.
- Keep your daily book. It helps if you are ever asked for records.
Sources:
Last checked: 6 Oct 2026
7. Is my business nano, micro or small?
SMEDAN, the government agency for small business, sorts businesses by yearly sales and number of staff. Programmes and loans often ask which group you are in. See SMEDAN's page for the current table.
Sources:
Last checked: 6 Oct 2026
The guides give general information and are not legal, tax or financial advice. Check official sources for your own case. Nothing you enter is stored anywhere except on your own phone.
