Retail and wholesale prices: working out your margins in GH₵

Ask most shop owners how much they make on a tin of Milo and you will hear a number in cedis. Ask what margin that is, and many are not sure. That matters most when you sell both retail and wholesale, because a small mistake on a wholesale price is repeated on every carton.

This guide works through the sums with example figures in GH₵.

What is the difference between markup and margin?

Markup is your profit as a share of what the item cost you. Margin is your profit as a share of the selling price. They describe the same profit but give different percentages, and mixing them up is how prices end up too low.

Example: a tin costs you GH₵50 and you sell it for GH₵60. Profit is GH₵10.

• Markup = 10 ÷ 50 = 20%
• Margin = 10 ÷ 60 = 16.7%

If you want a 20% margin and add 20% to cost, you only get 16.7%. Over a year of sales, that gap is real money.

How do you price from cost?

To hit a margin, divide your cost by one minus the margin. For a 20% margin on an item costing GH₵50:

Price = 50 ÷ (1 − 0.20) = 50 ÷ 0.80 = GH₵62.50

Then round to a price that works at the counter. GH₵62.50 is fine for a tin of Milo. For a sachet, round to a coin customers carry.

Your cost should include what it took to get the goods onto your shelf: transport from Makola or the depot, loading, and any packaging if you repack.

How should wholesale prices differ from retail?

Wholesale prices should earn a smaller margin per item, because the buyer takes a carton or a bag at once and you handle the stock less. The lower margin only pays off if the volume is high and the money comes in quickly.

Here is an example for a carton of 24 tins of evaporated milk that costs you GH₵228, or GH₵9.50 a tin.

These are example figures.

• Sold retail, tin by tinGH₵60.00
• Sold wholesale, as a cartonGH₵24.00

Source: Example figures

Retail earns more per carton, but it may take a week to sell 24 tins one at a time. A wholesale customer takes the carton today. If you sell 10 cartons a week wholesale on top of your retail trade, that is GH₵240 more profit, with your money back in days.

Rules worth keeping

• Set a minimum for wholesale. A carton, a half carton or a fixed number of pieces. Otherwise everyone asks for the wholesale price.
• Keep wholesale above your full cost. Include transport and handling, not only the invoice price.
• Be careful with wholesale on credit. A thin margin disappears fast if the buyer pays late. See selling to customers on credit.
• Write the prices down. Cashiers should not decide the wholesale rate from memory.

How does VAT change your prices?

If your shop is registered for VAT, your shelf price includes VAT, NHIL and GETFund, and part of every sale is not yours. Under the Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151), from 1 January 2026, VAT is 15%, NHIL 2.5% and GETFund 2.5%, all charged on the same value, according to the Ghana Revenue Authority. Together they add 20% to the price before tax.

So the price before tax is the tax-inclusive price divided by 1.20, and the tax inside the price is one sixth of it.

GH₵60.00

• Price before taxGH₵50.00 (83.3%)
• VAT 15%GH₵7.50 (12.5%)
• NHIL 2.5%GH₵1.25 (2.1%)
• GETFund 2.5%GH₵1.25 (2.1%)

Source: Ghana Revenue Authority rates; example price

In this example, a tin sold for GH₵60 brings in GH₵50 before tax. If it cost you GH₵45 before tax, your profit is GH₵5, not GH₵15. Work your margins on the before-tax figures.

Do you need to register?

The GRA raised the VAT registration threshold for businesses dealing in goods from GH₵200,000 to GH₵750,000 under the new law. The VAT Flat Rate Scheme was abolished, and NHIL and GETFund can now be claimed as input tax. Check with the GRA whether your shop must register, as of October 2026. Our article on Ghana VAT in 2026 explains what changed on receipts.

Some goods are exempt from VAT. If you sell them, mark them as exempt so no tax is added, and confirm the list with the GRA.

Keep your margins from drifting

Margins drift when costs rise and prices stay the same. A supplier puts up the carton price by GH₵12 and nobody changes the shelf price for a month.

1. 1Record each delivery at its real cost
2. 2Compare the new cost with the last one
3. 3Reprice items whose cost went up
4. 4Reprint shelf tags for changed prices
5. 5Read the profit report each month

How MPOS helps with pricing

MPOS lets each item carry a retail and a wholesale price, and cartons and packs can have their own prices. Purchases from suppliers record what each delivery cost, and the last cost fills in on the next order, so a rise is easy to spot. Keep each item's cost price up to date, and the profit and loss and item reports show what you earn for any period. Prices include tax by default, items can be marked VAT-exempt, and receipts show the VAT, NHIL and GETFund breakdown. Every price change is in the activity log, with the person who made it.

To try it with your own prices, start a free trial. For the rest of the setup, read the complete guide to running a shop in Ghana, and for pack prices, selling by carton, pack and single piece.