Plumbing Level 3

Who it is for. People who have finished Plumbing Level 2 or can show the same skills. In the national framework, National Proficiency II leads to National Certificate I, whose graduates handle complex and varied tasks under minimum supervision; National Certificate II adds non-routine work with considerable autonomy and guiding others. This module sits around National Certificate I, reaching toward II, in the author's judgement. It is not a CTVET programme. Bench and design work suits wheelchair users, deaf trainees and people with low vision who have good lighting; see the Accessibility notes in Units 5 and 7.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

Level 2 gave you the parts. Level 3 puts them together in a building with many floors, many users and a paying client who expects drawings, a bill of quantities, test records and a warranty. Every Level 2 refusal stands: no gas pipework, no drilling, no mains tapping, no pump wiring, no entering tanks or pits.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, a range and evidence. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. Units 1 to 4 are technical and mostly practical; units 5 to 7 are planning and money work with a real business plan. See the hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2 for the general basics; this manual is specific to plumbing and goes deeper.

Competency standard

Range. A two-floor rig and a paper design for a block of flats. Evidence. Design calculation sheet; rig build; oral questions.

Step 1: demand and storage

The method is the Level 2 method with more people. Daily demand = people × litres per person per day. Storage = daily demand × days of cover. Choose the days of cover from how often the mains fails (ask Ghana Water Limited and the neighbours). In Sekondi-Takoradi in 2023 Ghana Water produced about 7 million gallons a day against a need of about 15 million, so storage of more than one day is normal. Decide where the storage sits. Many buildings use a ground tank (filled from the mains or a licensed borehole), a booster pump, and a roof tank that feeds the floors by gravity. That is a design choice; the split between ground and roof tanks depends on the building's structure and the customer, so write your reason in the design.

Step 2: pressure comes from height

Every foot of height gives about 0.43 psi of pressure. In metric terms that is about 0.097 bar for each metre of water height (author's conversion of the CSE figure; 10 m of water is about 1 bar). A tank on the roof gives little pressure to the top floor. If the low water level in the roof tank is only 4 m above a top-floor shower, the pressure at that shower is about 4 × 0.097 = 0.39 bar. Check the minimum working pressure written on the shower, heater or mixer; if yours needs more, you must lift the tank, add a pressure booster set on the floor, or choose fittings that work at low pressure. Never promise a customer pressure you have not calculated.

Step 3: size a booster pump

A booster pump moves water from the ground tank to the roof tank. You need two numbers: flow and total head.

1. Flow Q. Choose how long you want to take to fill the roof tank. Q = tank volume ÷ time. (Example: 3,000 L in 30 minutes = 3,000 ÷ 1,800 s = 1.67 L/s = 0.00167 m³/s.)
2. Pipe speed. Pick a pipe, find its inside diameter from the maker's table, and use Q = V × A from Level 2 to find V. Keep V at or below about 1.8 m/s, with 1.2 to 1.8 m/s a comfortable range.
3. Total head H (in metres of water) = static lift (the height from the water level in the ground tank to the inlet of the roof tank) + friction loss in the pipes and fittings + any pressure needed at the end. Friction losses depend on pipe length, diameter, fittings and flow: read them from the pipe and pump makers' tables, not from memory. This is standard hydraulic practice; no Ghana rule for it was found.
4. Read the pump curve. A pump maker's curve plots head against flow. The pump you buy must deliver your flow at your head, near the middle of its curve. Do not choose a pump by its horsepower label alone.
5. Check the power. Hydraulic power in watts = 1,000 × 9.81 × Q (m³/s) × H (m). A pump is not 100% efficient, so divide by the efficiency from the maker's data.

Put a tank between the mains and the pump (Level 2); an inline pump on the mains is an illegal connection. The pump's electrical supply, the starter and the earthing are the electrician's job.

Step 4: hot water for a building

Level 2 covered one heater. A building raises three new problems.

• Legionella and storage temperature. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says where temperature is used to control legionella risk, hot water should be stored at 60 °C or above, and hot water should reach 50 °C within a minute at the outlets; cold water should be kept below 20 °C where possible. Ghana's own rule was not found. The conflict is plain: water hot enough to control bacteria is hot enough to scald (60 °C scalds an adult in about 5 seconds). The answer is a thermostatic mixing valve (TMV) close to the outlet, so that stored water stays hot and the tap water is safe. Do not run a very hot loop to a place where children bathe without a mixing valve.
• Long pipe runs. Hot water takes a long time to reach a far tap and wastes water while you wait. Keep hot pipes short and insulated, and keep hot and cold apart (Level 2). A circulating loop with a small pump is a design a plumber with an electrician can add; the pump wiring is the electrician's job.
• Solar water heaters. A solar heater is sized by the hot water used per day. Heating 200 litres of water by 28 °C (for example from 27 °C to 55 °C) needs 200 kg × 4.18 kJ/kg·°C × 28 °C = 23,408 kJ, which is 23,408 ÷ 3,600 = 6.5 kWh (author's calculation; 4.18 kJ per kg per °C is the specific heat of water). Listed prices in October 2026: an 80 L tube heater GH¢4,500; a 150 L pressurised heater with electric backup GH¢9,500; a 300 L non-pressurised heater GH¢11,500. Follow the maker's manual for the roof mounting, the pressure and temperature relief valve, and the discharge pipe; run the relief discharge pipe to a safe visible place and never fit a valve that can shut it off.

Step 5: expansion and water hammer

Heating water makes it expand. In a closed hot-water circuit the water cannot be compressed, so the extra volume must go somewhere: an expansion vessel takes it. Mount the vessel on the cold feed close to the cylinder, upright with the air chamber at the top, and do not put an isolating valve between the vessel and the cylinder. The vessel's size and pre-charge pressure come from the maker's instructions for your cylinder: do not guess them. A water hammer arrestor absorbs the pressure surge when a fast-closing valve stops moving water; fit it as close as you can to the valve or machine causing the shock. If the pressure at the arrestor is above 60 psi (about 4.1 bar), one maker requires a pressure-reducing valve upstream. A vessel or arrestor will not cure noise from excessive pressure, loose pipe clips or bore restrictions.

Competency standard

Range. A drainage board, a paper design for a restaurant and a small hostel, one water-treatment bench exercise. Evidence. Drainage plan; calculations; treatment sheet; oral questions.

Drainage design: fall, traps and vents

Drains must slope so liquid carries solids with it. UK rules (Approved Document H) set the flattest falls for a 100 mm drain at 1 in 40 at low flow, 1 in 80 where the drain carries at least one WC, and 1 in 150 for a 150 mm drain serving at least five WCs. Ghana's own gradients were not found, so these are a reference only; follow the drawing and the Assembly. Notation: 1 in 40 means a drop of 25 mm in every metre; a larger second number is a flatter pipe. For vents, North American practice sizes the vent from the drain it serves and from its developed length; again the local rule governs. Every fixture needs its trap; every run needs rodding access at changes of direction and at the head of the drain; and every vent must end in open air at a place shown on the drawing (UK practice puts the vent terminal above the roof; follow your drawing).

Septic tank and soakaway design

A common design method (used in IS 2470-based guides) splits the tank volume into two parts. Volume = detention volume + sludge storage volume = (P × C × T) + (P × N × S), where P is the number of people, C is the water flow per person per day (litres), T is the detention time in days (about 1 day), N is the years between emptying and S is the sludge per person per year (about 30 litres is quoted; guides from warm climates quote 25 litres for WC waste only and 40 litres for WC plus sullage). Small tanks need a longer detention time, and one guide gives a minimum tank volume of 1.3 m³. Treat all of this as a method and check the numbers with the Assembly's works department: no Ghana design standard for septic tanks was found.

Before you site a soakaway, check: the distance to any borehole or well, which the Water Resources Commission siting standard sets (the exact WRC distance was not verified in Level 2). As a guide, Ghana's CSIR Water Research Institute has warned that a borehole less than 30 to 50 metres from a septic tank is likely to be polluted. UK building control guidance puts a drainage field at least 50 m from a well or borehole, 10 m from a stream and 4.5 m from a building or boundary, with the water table at least 1.5 m below the pipes. Check also the soil, because an engineer should do a soil absorption (percolation) test on site; the water table; the slope and neighbours; and a vehicle route for the tanker. The tank typically needs emptying every 2 to 5 years at about GH¢800 to 2,500 a time. Warning signs are slow drains, a constant smell and pooling water near the soakaway. You never enter the tank. A hand-dug soakaway pit is also a trench and a confined space: apply Unit 4.

Sewer connection

Ghana Water Limited has a separate procedure page for sewerage connections. Whether a public sewer exists near your site in Takoradi was not verified: ask Ghana Water Limited and the Assembly before you design. If there is no sewer, the building needs its own treatment (septic tank and soakaway, or a bio-digester) as in Level 2. If there is a sewer, the connection to it is done by the utility; you plan the private drain up to the boundary.

Commercial kitchens: grease traps

Kitchen wastewater carries fats, oils and grease. In pipes they cool and clog; a grease trap (grease interceptor) holds the water long enough for the grease to cool, rise and separate. One common sizing method multiplies the flow from the fixtures by about 24 minutes of retention time; US guides use 20 to 30 minutes. No Ghana sizing rule was found. A trap must be cleaned regularly; one widely used benchmark is to empty it when the floating grease and settled solids reach a quarter of the liquid depth. Keep the trap outside the kitchen where possible, with a cover that a person can open, and never pour hot water to push grease through: it only moves the problem down the pipe.

Washrooms: how many fixtures

Ghana's rule for the number of toilets in a workplace or commercial building was not found. For reference, UK guidance for a workplace with mixed users lists one toilet and one washbasin for up to 5 people, two for 6 to 25, three for 26 to 50, four for 51 to 75 and five for 76 to 100. Always ask the client and the Assembly. Plan an accessible washroom for wheelchair users: Ghana's Persons with Disability Act 2006 covers access and work; the architect sets door width, turning space and rails, and you set pipework so that the basin and WC suit them.

Boreholes: your part and the licence

You do not drill and you do not wire. A licensed driller with a Water Resources Commission (WRC) permit drills; drilling without a licence can bring a fine of up to 200 penalty units or up to 12 months in prison, or both, under Regulation 23 of L.I. 1827. The WRC has fined firms GH¢60,000 and seized rigs. Your work starts after the driller: the pump, tank and treatment pipework. Before you design, ask for the driller's report (depth, yield and test results) and a laboratory test of the water.

Water treatment for a borehole supply

Level 2 gave the drinking-water targets from the draft Ghana Standard DGS 175:2021: turbidity not above 5 units, pH 6.5 to 8.5, iron not above 0.3 mg/L, and no E. coli or coliform in 100 ml. Treatment follows what the lab report shows.

• Iron. The usual order is: aerate (add oxygen) to turn dissolved iron into solid particles, give it time to settle, then filter. Aeration and filtration alone often remove only part of the iron. Filters need regular washing or backwashing (a scheme in Zambia washes its sand filter 2 to 4 times a month, depending on iron).
• Germs. Chlorine kills germs. The minimum dose is the chlorine demand (what the water uses up) plus the free residual you want left over, with contact time of at least 15 minutes and preferably longer. The residual target for Ghana comes from the final standard, which was not verified. As a guide, WHO advises at least 30 minutes' contact time at 18 °C and above (longer if the water is colder), and a free chlorine residual of 0.2 to 0.5 mg/l at the point where people collect the water. Confirm the Ghana figure with your lab or the final DGS 175. Do not use the high shock-disinfection doses meant for well cleaning as a drinking-water dose.
• Tanks. Sanitise a stored-water tank using the Level 2 bleach method.

A simple dose calculation: grams of chlorine needed = dose (mg/L) × volume (L) ÷ 1,000. Household bleach at 5% is about 50 g of chlorine per litre (check the label; strengths differ).

Gas: the licensed-only gate

Gas pipework stays licensed-only. The National Petroleum Authority warns against keeping LPG cylinders indoors. After a series of gas explosions the government called for mandatory training and certification of staff in the LPG business. A specific licence for an LPG installer was not found in searches, so ask the NPA, the Ghana National Fire Service and the EPA who may fit gas in a commercial kitchen. In a commercial kitchen your part is to leave a safe route, a ventilated space and a clear plan on the drawing for the gas technician; never connect or test a gas line yourself.

Competency standard

Range. One building drawing set; one bill of quantities; one commissioning of the rig. Evidence. Riser diagram; bill of quantities; test and commissioning records; handover pack.

Drawings you must read and make

• Plan: where fixtures, pipes and tanks sit on each floor.
• Riser diagram (a vertical line diagram): shows the tanks, pumps, valves and vertical pipes floor by floor, with pipe sizes. It is the main drawing for a multi-floor system.
• Isometric: a 3D-looking line sketch of one bathroom's pipework; useful to take off pipe and fittings.
• Schedule: a table of fixtures, valves and pumps with sizes and makes.
• Specification: the written rules for materials, tests and workmanship.
• As-built drawing: your marked-up drawing of what was actually installed. Give a copy to the customer. It saves hours when someone must find a buried pipe or an isolation valve in five years.

Ask the architect or engineer in writing before you change a drawing, and keep the reply. If the drawing and the site disagree, stop and ask; do not guess. Level 3 plumbers are not the registered professionals for the building: building plans submitted for a permit must be prepared by registered professionals, and who may sign the plumbing design was not verified: ask the Assembly's building inspectorate.

The bill of quantities (BoQ)

A bill of quantities lists every item of work with its unit, quantity, rate and amount. You measure quantities from the drawings (take-off), add an allowance for waste (offcuts and breakage), then price each line. Group the items: pipework by size, valves, tanks and pumps, sanitary fittings, labour, testing and handover. Write provisional sums for things you cannot price yet (for example the electrician's pump connection) and exclusions for what you are not doing (electrical work, a licensed borehole, gas). Keep the unit rates from your own purchase records (Unit 6), not guesses. For larger work the bill is the basis of tender and valuations; Unit 6 shows how progress payments and retention follow it.

The standards and the approvals

Inspect and test

1. Visual inspection before covering: pipe supports, falls, slopes, valve positions, labels, insulation, no kinks, no mixing of hot and cold.
2. Pressure test the supply. UK water rules test new pipework at 1.5 times the working pressure with no visible leaks for about an hour, with the pipe filled and air removed first. An Irish Water guide for mains also tests at 1.5 times the design pressure and logs the pressure for at least an hour. Ghana's own test pressure and time were not found, and a PPR maker's manual may specify different values: read the manual for the pipe you are using and write the pressure and hold time you used on the test sheet. Example: working pressure 4 bar means 6 bar test pressure.
3. Test the drains. Fill and check for leaks and levels, and run water through traps to check the seals hold. A Ghana rule was not found. UK practice, as a guide: in an air test, plug the ends, pump air in, set the water gauge (manometer) to exactly 100 mm, and the reading must not fall below 75 mm in 5 minutes. In a water test of drains up to 300 mm, fill to a 1.5 m head at the high end (no more than 4 m at the low end), leave it at least 2 hours to settle, top up, then measure how much water is lost in 30 minutes; for a 100 mm pipe the loss must be less than 0.05 litres per metre of pipe. Follow the specification and ask the supervising engineer which test applies.
4. Test every pump control and float. Check that the pump stops at full and starts at low, and that the overflow works.
5. Record: date, system part, gauge reading at start and after the hold, temperature, who tested, and who witnessed.

Commission and hand over

Commissioning means proving the system works as designed, not only that it does not leak.

Competency standard

Range. The rig; real supervised jobs. Evidence. Fault-find record; toolbox talk plan; safety checks; incident drill.

A method for finding faults

1. Listen to the customer and write the symptom exactly. When did it start? What changed (new tank, new pump, power cut, repair)?
2. Look and measure before touching: gauges, temperatures, water levels, valve positions, power supply status (ask an electrician).
3. Make a list of possible causes from simplest to most complex.
4. Test one thing at a time and write the result. If you change two things you will not know which fixed it.
5. Fix the cause, not the symptom. A new float valve that does not cure a low tank is not the fix if the problem is a blocked inlet.
6. Prove it fixed, run the system and ask the customer to see it.
7. Write the job record (symptom, tests, cause, fix, parts, time, customer signature).

Nearly half of the water Ghana Water produces is lost as non-revenue water through leaks, illegal connections and faulty meters, so a leak found is always worth finding.

Supervising a crew and apprentices

You become responsible for other people's safety, quality and pay.

• Plan. Before the day: drawings, materials list, who does what, tools, safety kit, when the customer or electrician is there.
• Brief (toolbox talk). Five minutes at the start: the job, the hazards, who does what, what to do in an emergency, and who to call. Ask a question to check each person understood.
• Give the right job. Match the task to the person's skill. Never send an apprentice alone into a pit, trench or onto a roof.
• Check the work at agreed steps, such as before burying or covering. Fix problems straight away and show the apprentice how.
• Teach. Show, let them try, correct, and let them do it again. Write what each apprentice has learned (Level 2 apprentice note).
• Pay and contract. A written contract for work of six months or more and a written statement of terms within two months (Labour Act ss. 12 and 13); 15 working days' paid leave (s. 20). Casual workers must be paid the full minimum for each day worked (s. 74). The 2026 minimum wage is GH¢21.77 a day.
• Respect. Correct in private, praise in public, and report unsafe behaviour at once.

CTVET's competency-based approach assesses a worker against a standard, and recognition of prior learning exists for those who learned on the job. Whether your apprentice can be assessed against a plumbing standard was not verified: ask CTVET.

Site safety at advanced level

Confined spaces. The Level 2 rule stands. Tanks, pits, sewers and deep manholes are confined spaces where waste can use up the oxygen or produce poisonous gases, and more than 60% of confined-space deaths happen to would-be rescuers. Plumbers do not enter. Where entry cannot be avoided a trained team tests the air before entry, keeps ventilating and monitoring, and has a rescue plan ready. You plan the work so entry is not needed: install access from outside, use pump-out and jetting from the top, and put any new chamber where it can be cleaned from the surface.

Trenches. A trench of 1.5 m or more needs sloped sides or support, and spoil kept at least 0.6 m from the edge. Drain runs of 18 m at depth (Unit 2) are trenches: plan where the spoil goes, how people get in and out, and who watches.

Hot work. Brazing, cutting or welding metal pipe (for example galvanised or copper) throws sparks. A fire watch is needed when combustible material is within about 11 m (35 feet) of the work, and under one standard the watch stays for at least 30 minutes after the work ends. Some codes call for longer; ask the client or the GNFS. Keep a fire extinguisher close and never do hot work in a place that stores solvent cement or fuel. Solvent cement vapour is flammable (Level 1).

Working at height. Ladders: one out for every four up, and three points of contact (Level 1). A roof tank on a slab or a solar heater on a roof is a fall hazard: ask for a safe access route and edge protection; do not work on a wet or loose roof.

Electricity. An RCD with a tripping current of not more than 30 mA lowers the risk but is only a second line of defence; prefer battery or low-voltage tools in wet places. Pumps and heaters are wired by electricians.

Hot water. Scalds happen in seconds; test every hot tap before you leave.

Chemicals. Never mix drain cleaners or bleach with other cleaners. Wear gloves and glasses when dosing a tank.

Incident response. Stop work, make safe (water, power, gas off if you can do it safely from outside the danger), call 112 for help, do not enter to rescue, give first aid you are trained for, and write what happened as soon as possible. A formal duty to report workplace accidents in Ghana was not verified in this module; ask the Labour Department.

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own planned plumbing business. Evidence. Registration checklist; start-up budget; one-page plan and pitch.

See the hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2 for the general basics of money and ventures. This unit applies them to plumbing.

Legal form

Company annual returns cost GH¢175 a year; late filing costs GH¢1,000 (one to four years late) or GH¢2,000 (five or more years). How to choose. Start as a sole proprietor if you work alone. Choose a partnership if you and a licensed electrician or a mason pool kit and work: write down who puts in what, who decides, how profit is split, who is liable and how a partner leaves. Choose a company when you need clients (hotels, institutions) who want a registered company, or when you want your own home protected from business debts; companies carry more filing and tax work. A cooperative suits a group of plumbers who buy pipe together and share a workshop.

Contractor registration for larger public works. Some public and large private clients ask contractors to be registered in a class with a ministry or authority. This was not verified in this module; ask the Ministry of Works and Housing, the Public Procurement Authority and the Assembly.

Registration steps

1. Tax identity. Your Ghana Card number is your individual TIN since 1 April 2021; a company gets a TIN from the Ghana Revenue Authority after ORC registration.
2. Register the business name or company at the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC). A business name can be renewed by USSD *222#.
3. Assembly Business Operating Permit. Apply on the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly portal. In the 2025 fee list, plumbers are in the artisans category at GH¢100 a year, and plumbing shops pay GH¢350 (retail). Which category a registered plumbing contractor falls in was not verified: ask the Assembly.
4. Fire certificate for your premises. Commercial premises need a fire permit before construction and a fire certificate on completion under L.I. 1724, applied for through GNFS AFCAS. If you rent a workshop, ask the landlord who holds it.
5. Trade licences. No state plumber licence was found (see the caution at the start). Licences that do not usually apply to a plumbing contractor: FDA, Energy Commission wiring licence (unless an electrician in your team does the wiring), and an NPA gas licence (you do not fit gas). Septic or sewage desludging work would involve the Environmental Protection Authority (not verified).
6. Data Protection Commission. If you keep customers' names and phone numbers in a list, ask the Commission whether you must register: this was not verified in this module.
7. Keep your papers together: registration, TIN, permit, receipts, contracts. Records must be kept in Ghana for at least six years.

Accessibility

Under Ghana's Persons with Disability Act 2006, access and work for disabled people are covered. Plan a workshop with a wide door, level floor, a bench at wheelchair height, bright light, and written or visual job instructions for deaf staff. The District Assembly Common Fund share for persons with disabilities was announced to rise from 3% to 5% from 2026, and in November 2025 the Sekondi-Takoradi Assembly gave equipment and cash worth about GH¢265,000 to 60 persons with disabilities from the 3% share. Ask the Assembly how to apply; a plumber who is a wheelchair user can do bench work, drawings, pricing and customer work and can lead a crew who do the field work. Deaf youth say lack of skills is a barrier to work, so a deaf apprentice with clear visual instructions is a real opening.

Premises and equipment

Choose a lockable store near a plumbing supplier and the estates where work is, with room for pipe, a bench, and a safe place for solvent cement away from flames. Location choices from Level 2 still apply: new estates in Anaji, the Nkroful Road corridor and New Takoradi; near suppliers and block makers who refer jobs; near places with unreliable water. Transport and a phone matter more than a shop.

Example start-up budget (example numbers; compare local prices).

Financing

• Savings and susu or a village savings group (VSLA) first: no interest.
• Microfinance or a bank loan: ask for the rate, fees and repayment table in writing. The Bank of Ghana policy rate was 14.00% with inflation at 5.2%; what a small borrower is charged was not verified.
• Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA): programmes include SME GO, Business-in-a-Box (BizBox), SME High Growth and Kaizen; business advisory centres serve Takoradi, Shama, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Mpohor and Ahanta West. The financial-support page was out of date.
• 2026 Budget: GH¢170 million for the National Apprenticeship Programme and GH¢160 million for Adwumawura. How a plumber applies was not verified.
• GIRSAL guarantees loans for agriculture, not plumbing; Ghana EXIM has SME and export facilities and a Takoradi office.
• Assemblies' disability fund: see Accessibility above.
• Customer deposits (40% to 60% of materials, Level 2) are the cheapest finance of all.

One-page plan and pitch

Write on one page: who you serve (landlords, schools, hotels, builders); what you do (supply design, installation, repairs, maintenance); your site and area; your prices; your start-up budget; where the money comes from; your first-year sales, costs and profit; the risks and your answers. Pitch it in two minutes: the problem, your service, your numbers, what you need.

Hiring, insurance, safety and marketing

• Staff and apprentices. A written contract for work of six months or more; a written statement of terms within two months; 15 working days' paid leave; 12 weeks' maternity leave (Labour Act ss. 12, 13, 20 and 57). The 2026 minimum wage is GH¢21.77 a day. Register employees with SSNIT and deduct PAYE (Unit 6).
• Insurance. Use only a licensed insurer; check at the National Insurance Commission. Compulsory covers were not verified. Ask about cover for your tools, for damage to a customer's property, and for injury to workers.
• Safety and compliance. A site safety plan for every job (Unit 4), PPE for every worker, a first-aid kit and a toolbox talk each morning.
• Marketing. A Google Business Profile as a service-area business; a WhatsApp Business catalogue; a portfolio of before-and-after photos with permission; a sign on your vehicle; referrals from suppliers; written warranties; contacts with estate managers, schools and clinics. Lines to sell: supply and pump systems, solar hot water, rainwater kits, drainage and septic planning with the licensed partners, leak-finding, and maintenance contracts.
• Licensed partners. Agree referral terms in writing with a licensed driller, an electrician and a gas technician (Level 2), so you can say yes to the whole job without doing work you are not licensed for.

Competency standard

Range. A model month and a model year for a plumbing contractor. Evidence. Cash book; stock card; job cost sheets; income statement; balance sheet; cash forecast.

See the hub's Money Skills Level 2 for the general basics. This unit applies them to plumbing, using example numbers.

Daily records

• Cash book: one line for each money in and out, with a running balance. MoMo is cash: record it too.
• Quote, invoice and receipt: a numbered quote; an invoice when you ask for payment; a numbered receipt when you are paid. E-VAT invoices are verified by QR code for VAT-registered businesses.
• Job file: one folder or page per job: quote, drawings, bill of quantities, materials issued, hours worked, test record, handover sheet, payments received.
• Petty cash: a small float (example GH¢150) for transport, data and small fittings, with a voucher for each spend.
• Stock card: one card for each main item (for example 25 mm PPR pipe): opening quantity, quantity in, quantity out (with the job number), balance.
• Debtors: customers who owe you. Creditors: suppliers you owe.
• Never mix owner and business money: pay yourself a set drawing, and keep personal MoMo separate from business MoMo.

The double-entry idea behind all this: every transaction touches two accounts; assets equal liabilities plus equity; and a trial balance is a partial check. A spreadsheet, the free Zoho Books plan (1 user, 1,000 invoices a year, revenue under US$50,000) or Wave's free plan can hold your books.

Stock cards and materials control

Materials are the largest cost of most plumbing jobs and the easiest to lose. Issue stock to a job against a written note; count the stock monthly; compare the count with the card.

(Counted closing stock: 8 lengths.)

A sample cash book page (example numbers)

Kojo Plumbing Works, November (example).

Month-end routine

1. Count cash and match it to the cash book.
2. Reconcile MoMo and bank: match each statement line to the cash book; list differences.
3. List debtors (including retention due) and creditors.
4. Count materials stock and compare with the cards.
5. Trial check: total in minus total out equals the change in cash. Here: 10,748 − 10,065 = 683, and the cash grew from 4,000 to 4,683 = 683. ✓.
6. Prepare the income statement and the balance sheet.
7. Pay the filing deadlines: SSNIT by the 14th, PAYE and withholding tax by the 15th, VAT by the last working day if registered.
8. Save copies; keep records for at least six years.

Income statement and balance sheet (example)

Compare cash with profit. Revenue earned is work done, not only cash received. Job 203 is a GH¢9,000 contract and one third was done in November (progress payment GH¢3,000). Of the GH¢2,100 of materials bought for it, GH¢1,400 was used and GH¢700 is still in stock.

Owner's drawings (GH¢800) are not an expense: they come out of the owner's equity.

(Opening position on 1 November: cash 4,000 plus tools 3,600 = 7,600, which is the owner's capital. Assets = liabilities + equity. ✓.)

Costing, pricing and depreciation

Margin = profit ÷ price. Mark-up = profit ÷ cost. A cost of GH¢200 sold at GH¢280 is a 40% mark-up but a 28.6% margin.

• Job price = materials (with waste) + labour + transport + power or fuel + overhead share + profit (Level 2 formula plus overheads).
• Day rate that recovers your overhead. You cannot bill every day: some days go on travel, quotes and rain. Example: monthly fixed costs GH¢2,400 (store, phone data, depreciation, insurance, motorbike running) plus your own wage target GH¢3,000 = GH¢5,400. If you can bill 18 days a month, each billed day must carry GH¢5,400 ÷ 18 = GH¢300 before materials and any helper's wage.
• Depreciation (straight line) = (cost − salvage) ÷ useful life. Example: a PPR welding machine at GH¢900, salvage GH¢100, life 4 years: GH¢200 a year, GH¢16.67 a month. Depreciation spreads the cost of a tool over the years it earns money; it is not cash leaving.
• Break-even jobs = fixed costs ÷ profit per job (after materials and direct labour). Example: fixed costs GH¢2,400 and average profit per job GH¢480 means 5 jobs a month.
• Check the average: big jobs cover your costs; small repair jobs must still pay for your time to get there. Add a call-out fee to small jobs.

Debtors, creditors, progress payments and retention

Plumbing contractors often wait for money. Track it.

• Debtors list: customer, job, amount, invoice date, due date, days late. Phone before the due date. Do not hand over the key, the as-built drawings or the warranty paper until the final payment is due.
• Progress payments. On bigger jobs the client pays in stages against valuations of work done, certified by the architect or quantity surveyor.
• Retention. The client holds back a share of each certified payment as security until defects are fixed. In a 1964 Ghana case the contract paid 90% of the certified value and held 10% as retention, released after the defects period (six months from practical completion in that contract). A sample Ghana building contract leaves the percentage blank, and splits release into half at practical completion and half at the end of the defects period. The rate and release dates are set by your contract, and no Ghana statute fixing the percentage was found. Record retention as a debtor with a due date, and finish snags quickly to get it released.
• Withholding tax (WHT). When some businesses and public bodies pay you, they deduct tax and pay it to GRA: 3% on goods, 5% on works, 7.5% on services. Ask the client how they class your work, and keep the withholding certificate: it counts as tax you have already paid.
• Creditors: note what you owe suppliers and when. Pay on time to keep credit.

Tax and payroll records

• Modified Taxation Scheme: for residents with business income only who are not VAT-registered: fixed instalments up to GH¢20,000 turnover, and 3% of turnover for GH¢20,001 to 750,000, or a modified cash basis. Excluded: professionals, owners of several businesses or outlets, and partners. Pay with *880# or the MTS app. Example: turnover of GH¢150,000 means GH¢4,500 a year at 3%.
• Companies pay 25% standard income tax; 18.5% applies to manufacturers in regional capitals other than Accra and Tema (a plumbing contractor is not a manufacturer); 12.5% outside regional capitals; provisional tax is paid quarterly and the annual return is due within four months after year-end.
• VAT. From January 2026 VAT is 15% plus 2.5% NHIL and 2.5% GETFund (20% effective), under the Value Added Tax Act 2025 (Act 1151). The registration threshold for goods was raised from GH¢200,000 to GH¢750,000. For services there is no turnover threshold: a business supplying taxable services must register within 30 days of starting. A plumbing contractor sells both goods and services, so show parts and labour separately on invoices and ask GRA how your work is classed.
• Employee SSNIT: employee 5.5% plus employer 13% of basic pay (18.5% in all); the employer pays 13.5% to SSNIT within 14 days after month-end and 5% to a private Tier 2 trustee.
• PAYE is due on the 15th of the next month. 2026 monthly bands: first GH¢588 at 0%; next 80 at 5%; next 100 at 10%; next 2,900 at 17.5%; next 16,000 at 25%; next 30,332 at 30%; above 50,000 at 35%. Deduct the employee's SSNIT 5.5% first. Casual workers are taxed at 5%. The GRA page says the annual table took effect on 1 September 2026: confirm with GRA.
• PAYE example: basic pay GH¢1,500. SSNIT 5.5% = GH¢82.50. Taxable GH¢1,417.50. First 588 at 0%; next 80 at 5% = 4.00; next 100 at 10% = 10.00; the remaining 649.50 at 17.5% = 113.66. PAYE = GH¢127.66. Employer SSNIT 13% = GH¢195.
• Filing days: SSNIT 14th; PAYE and WHT 15th; VAT last working day; provisional tax at the end of March, June, September and December; STMA permit by 31 March.
• IFRS for SMEs. The 2025 edition of IFRS for SMEs applies from 1 January 2027 for companies that use it; ask your accountant.

12-month cash-flow forecast

List expected cash in (jobs, deposits, progress payments, retention released) and cash out (materials, wages, rent, tax, loan repayment) for each month, then show the closing cash. If closing cash falls below zero in any month, you need a loan, a deposit, supplier credit, a delay in spending or higher prices. Lenders ask for it and for twelve months of records.

(All GH¢ and example numbers; use your own season. Totals: cash in 129,000; cash out 109,500; net 19,500; 6,000 + 19,500 = 25,500.)

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own planned business. Evidence. Plan; forecast; panel assessment.

Quality systems and customer care

• Inspection points. Write checks for each job type: before covering a pipe, before burying a drain, after the pressure test, after commissioning. No pipe is covered until someone has checked and signed.
• Standard documents: quote template, bill of quantities template, test sheet, handover pack, warranty slip.
• Promises: a price before work, a time to be ready, a written warranty on labour, and a number to call.
• Complaints in three steps: listen and write it down, fix or explain, follow up. Visit the same week. Track the number of call-backs: a rising number tells you something is wrong with a crew or a supplier.
• Reviews: ask for a Google review or a WhatsApp reference after a good job.
• Training: each month teach one skill to the crew (a test, a drawing, a safety rule). The Ghana Plumbers Association president advised plumbers to maintain standards, add value and keep up with new technology.
• Accessibility. Make it easy for customers with disabilities to reach you: a phone number that accepts text messages, a WhatsApp number, and a home visit for quotes.

Pricing strategy and scaling

Review your price list every quarter against supplier prices. Charge a call-out fee and a minimum job price. Offer a maintenance contract (a fixed yearly fee for quarterly visits) to landlords, schools and hotels: it smooths your income. Grow in steps: add a second crew; add a service (solar heaters, rainwater kits, drain planning with a partner); add a second area; add a small shop for pipes and fittings (retail permit GH¢350 a year in the 2025 fee list). Each step needs working cash, a supervisor you trust and extra insurance. A second outlet changes your tax position: the Modified Taxation Scheme excludes owners of several businesses or outlets.

Partnerships, contracts and tenders

• Trade partners: a written agreement with a licensed driller, an electrician and a gas technician: who does what, who is responsible for damage, how referral fees (if any) work.
• Supply credit: build a record of buying from one or two suppliers and paying on time; ask for 30 days' credit.
• Sub-contracting: a contractor may hire you for part of a job. Agree in writing the scope, price, payment dates, retention, who supplies materials, who is responsible for safety and the defects period. Sample Ghana forms exist for building contracts and sub-contracts, and their retention percentages are left blank for the parties to fill in. Have a lawyer read any contract of real size.
• Tenders. Public bodies buy works by tender. Tender rules were not researched in this module: ask the Public Procurement Authority and the Assembly. A tender response is built on a priced bill of quantities, your registration papers, your tax records and your references. Keep your bill templates ready.
• Withholding tax and the certificate (Unit 6): when you supply works to a business or public body, keep their certificates.

Records for loans, succession and ethics

A lender wants: registration papers; twelve months of cash books and statements; MoMo and bank statements; a forecast; a list of tools and stock; contracts in hand; and a clear use for the money. Write a succession note: who can run the business if you are ill, where the keys, passwords, records and contracts are, who the bank signatories are, and who owns the tools. Ethics: honest diagnosis; no illegal connections, no meter bypass; no work you are not licensed to do; no cutting corners behind a wall; no fake receipts; no padding a bill with parts not fitted; fair pay for staff; no bribes. Nearly half of Ghana Water's output is lost through leaks, illegal connections and faulty meters: a plumber who refuses illegal work protects the whole city's supply.

Capstone: present your plan

You present a one-page business plan and a 12-month cash-flow forecast to a panel of at least two people. The page covers: customers; services; site; start-up budget and funding; legal form and registration; staff and supervision; licensed partners; quality system and warranty; first-year sales, costs and profit; risks and answers. The panel asks two questions on the numbers, two on the law and two on quality and safety.

1. How do you work out the storage a building needs?
2. About how much pressure does each metre of water height give?
3. What three things make up the total head of a booster pump?
4. Why use a thermostatic mixing valve if hot water is stored at 60 °C?
5. Why must you never enter a septic tank, even to rescue someone?
6. What is a bill of quantities, and what is a provisional sum?
7. Why is no pipe covered until a check is signed?
8. Name three tasks on a commissioning checklist.
9. What is the difference between margin and mark-up?
10. What is retention, and who sets the rate?
11. Which kinds of work does this module still say you must not claim to do?
12. What goes into a 12-month cash-flow forecast, and what does it warn you about?

Best next reads: your Level 2 manual; the pump, heater and pipe makers' manuals; the Ghana Plumbers Association; the hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2.

What this module does not cover: gas fitting, borehole drilling, pump and heater wiring, septic tank construction details, a verified Ghana rule for drainage gradients, vent sizes, septic design, grease trap sizing, washroom counts or test pressures, the plumbing parts of the Building Regulations 2022 and GS 1207:2018, an individual plumber licence, tender rules, and Takoradi plumbing prices (online ads only; check locally).

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.