Guides · 6 min read
POS business in Nigeria: how to record each day and know your real profit
In a POS business, the money that passes through your hands is not yours. Only the charges you add are your sales. Count your cash and your wallet balance when you open and when you close: together they should grow by your charges for the day, less the fees your provider took. Then take away your running costs to find your profit.
Step by step
Know what is yours and what is not
When a customer withdraws ₦20,000, you give ₦20,000 of your cash and the bank pays ₦20,000 into your wallet. That money only changed form. The ₦200 you charged is the only part that is yours. If you count the ₦20,000 as sales, your business looks big and your profit is a guess.
Count your float when you open
Before the first customer, count the cash in your box and check the balance in your POS app. Write both, with the date. Cash plus wallet is your float: the money that keeps the stand running. It is the business’s money, not money for the house.
Write every transaction with its charge
For each one, write the kind (withdrawal, transfer, deposit, airtime or bills), the amount and your charge. If the day is too busy, write only the charges, but write every one. Your provider also takes a small fee on many transactions: check your app’s history at closing and write the day’s total fees.
Count again at closing and check
Count your cash and check your wallet again. Take away the morning’s float. What is left should equal the day’s charges, less your provider’s fees. If it is short, find out today: wrong change, a transfer that failed and was not reversed, or a transaction you did not write. A week later, it is hard to prove.
Take away your running costs
Write what it costs to keep the stand open: the shop or umbrella fee, data, transport to the bank or market to rebalance your cash, the terminal’s fees, the levy, and anyone who sits in for you. Your charges minus the provider’s fees minus these costs is your profit.
Never give cash before you see success
Give the cash only after your terminal or app shows the transaction as successful. A customer’s screen or a screenshot is not proof. Most POS losses come from fake alerts and failed transactions that were paid out anyway.
Plan your float for busy days, and keep to the rules
Month end, salary days and market days bring more cash-outs. Look back at your records to see how much cash you used on those days, and have it ready, so you never turn a customer away. In October 2025 the CBN issued new rules for POS agents, with daily limits on cash-out and a terminal that works only at your registered location. Ask your provider for the limits on your own terminal.
An example: one day at a POS stand
Tunde did 73 transactions today, and more than ₦1 million passed through his hands. Here is what he really made:
- Charges he collected today₦14,600
- Fees his provider took from his wallet− ₦3,200
- Transport to the bank to get cash− ₦1,500
- Data and the stall fee for the day− ₦1,000
His profit today₦8,900
His sales today were ₦14,600, not the million that passed through. His profit was ₦8,900. Over 26 working days that is about ₦231,400 a month, before anything he takes home.
Do this today: Before your first customer, count your cash and write your wallet balance. At closing, do it again and check that the difference matches your charges for the day.
Questions owners ask
How much profit does a POS business make in Nigeria?
It depends on how many transactions you do and what you charge. Your profit is your charges, minus your provider’s fees, minus your running costs. Write a week of charges and costs, and you will know your own figure.
Is the money customers withdraw part of my sales?
No. You give your cash and the bank pays the same amount into your wallet. Only the charge you add is yours, so only the charge is a sale.
How much float do I need to start a POS business?
Enough cash and wallet balance for your busiest day. Watch your first two weeks: the most cash you paid out in one day is roughly the float you need, plus a little extra for month end.
Clara can do all of this for you
Tell Clara each charge, or the day’s total, and she keeps your charges as sales and the money passing through apart, so your profit is right. Ask "How much did I make this week?" and she answers from your own records.
Withdrawal 20k, I charged 200
ClaraYour ₦200 charge is your sale. The ₦20,000 only passed through, so it is not counted as sales.