आमदनी, लागत और प्रति किलो लागत

01Receipts are not profit

Money reaching your hand is a receipt. Profit compares recognised revenue with the applicable costs; the timing of payment is a separate cash-flow question.

For sales, record kilograms accepted by the buyer and the agreed price for each grade. Unsold and rejected kilograms do not become sales merely because they were harvested. Record buyer deductions separately. For cash flow, record what has actually been collected and what remains owed.

To compare net realisation per kilogram, state which selling expenses you deduct, such as commission, packing or transport, then divide the resulting amount by the corresponding sold kilograms. Do not deduct those same expenses again when calculating profit. Compare your asked price, invoiced value, selling expenses and receipts without treating them as the same figure.

02The three cost layers

Costs behave differently in time, so group them before adding them. Some are consumed in every cycle. Some are spent every cycle but do not rise and fall with substrate. Some run all year whether or not a crop is inside.

Put every bill from one finished cycle into one of the three layers below. A cost you cannot place is usually one you forgot to plan for.

• Consumed each cycle: compost or straw, spawn, casing soil, bags, treatment materials.
• Spent each cycle: labour, power, fuel, water, packing, transport, market commission.
• Running all year: rent, depreciation on rooms and racks, loan interest, your own salary.

03Cost per kilogram and its denominator

Label both the cost boundary and denominator. Cost per harvested kilogram measures production; cost per sold kilogram also reflects unsold and rejected product. Payment collection is a separate cash-flow measure.

Keep harvested, saleable, sold and rejected quantities distinct, and record invoices and collections separately. A buyer paying late changes working-capital needs, not the number of kilograms that were grown.

04A published model figure is not your figure

ICAR-DMR's Hindi farmer folders print a cost of production of about Rs 20 to 25 per kg for seasonal white button and Rs 10 to 15 per kg for oyster. Those folders are undated and carry early 2010s prices.

Historical figures do not establish current costs or the relative profitability of different crops. Use current quotations and measured local performance; do not submit historical prices as a current bank estimate.

Your own figure comes from one completed cycle with every bill kept. Until that cycle is finished, label the number plainly: assumed, not measured.