Is a car wash business profitable in Kenya?
A car wash in Kenya can be profitable, and four numbers decide it: cars per day, the average price, what you pay washers and the rent. Work them out before you sign a lease. This page shows the sum with example figures, how to find your break-even point and where the money usually leaks.
Do not trust a headline figure
Articles about car wash profit often quote one big number. Biznakenya's guide, for example, says a well run car wash can make KSh 130,000 a month at a 40 percent margin. The same guide assumes 15 cars a day at KSh 200 each, which is KSh 3,000 a day, or about KSh 90,000 in a 30 day month before any costs.
The two figures do not match, and that is the lesson: do the sum with your own numbers for your own site.
The sum
Takings are cars per day, times the average price, times the days you open. From that, take the washers' share, rent, water and power, supplies and permits. What is left is yours.
The table below works this through for an example wash. The figures are an example only, chosen to show the sum. Replace each one with your own.
Find your break-even point
Add up the costs that do not change with the number of cars: rent, water and power, supplies, permits. In the example that is KSh 58,000 a month. Then work out what one car leaves after the washer's share: KSh 300 less 30 percent is KSh 210.
Divide one by the other: 58,000 divided by 210 is about 276 cars a month, or 11 cars a day over 26 days. Below that the example wash loses money, above it every car adds KSh 210.
What moves profit most
Cars per day matters most, and it changes with the weather, the day of the week and the season. Rainy weeks are slow. Weekends and the days after rain are busy. Plan your staff around that pattern.
The average price is next. A customer who adds a vacuum or an engine wash can double what one car brings in, with little extra cost. See car wash prices in Kenya.
Where the money leaks
Many car washes are busy and still make little, because money leaks before it reaches the owner. The usual leaks are cars washed and never written down, discounts nobody approved, a cash drawer that is short at the end of the shift, and cars released unpaid that are never followed up.
Each leak is small on its own. Two unrecorded cars a day at KSh 300 is about KSh 15,600 over 26 days, a fifth of the profit in the example.
How Suds protects the profit
Suds records every car at the counter by its plate, with the washer and the payment, so a car cannot be washed off the books. The drawer is counted every shift against what was taken. Discounts have a limit you set, and every change, refund and cancellation is saved with who did it.
You see takings, costs, wages and what is left on your phone each day. See the car wash management system and how to run a car wash day to day.
Bring customers back
A regular customer costs nothing to win again. Know each customer by plate, reward repeat visits and message the ones who have stopped coming. Company fleets bring steady work every week: see fleet and corporate accounts.
Starting from nothing? Read how to start a car wash business in Kenya.
A worked example (replace with your own figures)
| Line | How to work it out | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Cars per day | Count them for a week | 25 |
| Average price | Takings divided by cars | KSh 300 |
| Takings per month | 25 cars x KSh 300 x 26 days | KSh 195,000 |
| Washers' share | 30 percent of takings | KSh 58,500 |
| Rent | Your lease | KSh 30,000 |
| Water and power | Your bills | KSh 15,000 |
| Soap, polish, cloths | What you buy in a month | KSh 8,000 |
| Permit and other costs | Yearly costs divided by 12 | KSh 5,000 |
| Left for the owner | Takings less every cost above | KSh 78,500 |
Questions
Is a car wash business profitable in Kenya?
It can be. Profit depends on cars per day, the average price, washer pay and rent. In the worked example on this page, 25 cars a day at KSh 300 leaves about KSh 78,500 a month after costs. Do the sum with your own figures.
How much does a car wash make per day in Kenya?
Takings per day are the cars washed times the average price. At 25 cars and KSh 300 that is KSh 7,500 a day before costs. Your own site may do more or fewer cars.
How many cars does a car wash need to break even?
Divide your fixed monthly costs by what one car leaves after the washer's share. In the example, KSh 58,000 divided by KSh 210 is about 276 cars a month, or 11 a day.
Why is my car wash busy but not making money?
Usually because of leaks: cars not recorded, discounts nobody approved, a short cash drawer and unpaid cars. Recording every car and counting the drawer each shift closes them.
How do I see my profit every day?
Suds shows takings, expenses, wages and what is left on your phone, by day and by month. Your first month is free.
Get Suds at your business
Your first month is on us, so you can test Suds before you commit. Leave your details: we reply the same day and set it up with you. Every feature on this page is in the app today.
More from Suds
- Suds: car wash software, on your phone
- Car wash management system for Kenyan car washes
- M-Pesa POS for car washes: every payment matched to its car
- LPG gas shop software for Kenyan gas dealers
- How to run a car wash business in Kenya, day to day
- eTIMS for car washes in Kenya
- Car wash attendant commission and payroll in Kenya
- Fleet and corporate accounts for car washes
- Choosing the best car wash software in Kenya
- How to start a car wash business in Kenya
- Car wash prices in Kenya, and how to set yours
- A monthly performance report for your car wash