Computer Hardware, Networking and CCTV Level 3

Who it is for. Technicians who are Competent at Level 2, and experienced installers who want to lead a team or run their own business. In Ghana's TVET framework, National Proficiency II leads on to National Certificate I. This module works at an advanced level comparable to National Certificate I: you work with little supervision, handle problems that are not routine, supervise others and can run your own enterprise.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

The safety and legal gates do not change: no mains wiring (Energy Commission certified electricians only); never open a PSU or hard drive; ladders by the rules with a partner; customers' data and footage stay private.

Link to other Hub courses. General bookkeeping and venture skills are taught in the Hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2. User ICT skills and business-centre services are in Basic ICT Skills (Levels 1–3); phone and board-level repair in Phone and Electronics Repair. This book goes deeper and stays specific to an IT support and CCTV installation business.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs, and you are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. Units 1–4 are advanced technical and leadership skills; units 5–7 build your business. Every unit has a practical task, homework, exercises with worked answers where there are sums, and Check yourself questions.

Competency standard

Range. At least three intermittent or repeat faults; one month of the training workshop's job cards for quality review. Evidence. Test plans and results; root-cause reports; quality checklists; returns log; supplier register.

Intermittent faults: make the fault show itself

An intermittent fault comes and goes. The customer says "it switches off sometimes"; on your bench it works. You must make it happen while you watch.

1. Get the pattern. When does it happen: after 20 minutes, when it rains, when the generator comes on, when the printer prints, when the laptop is moved?
2. Recreate the conditions. Run a heavy load for an hour (heat), move the cable gently (loose contact), run on the customer's power source, use the customer's charger.
3. Watch and log. Note temperatures, voltages from a PSU tester, Windows event logs, drive SMART counts.
4. Swap one part at a time with a known-good part, and run the same test again for the same time.
5. Prove the fix by running the test at least twice as long as it took the fault to appear.

Root cause: the "5 whys"

Ask "why?" until you reach something you can change.

Problem: The school's lab computers keep losing their files. Why? Students save to the desktop, and the computers are re-imaged each term. Why? Nobody told them to use the shared folder. Why? The shared folder is slow. Why? The lab switch runs at 100 Mbps on a damaged cable to the server room. Why? The cable was crushed under a door when it was laid. Root cause: a crushed cable. Fix: replace and re-route the cable in trunking, retest at gigabit, teach students to use the shared folder.

Keep a fault log for every customer site: date, symptom, cause, fix, who did it. Repeat faults on the same site are a sign the root cause was not found.

Quality control on every job

Returns and warranty log. Record every job that comes back: date, original job, what failed, whose fault (part, workmanship, customer use), cost to fix. Review it monthly with the team. If more than a small share of jobs return, find the root cause.

Buy good parts

• Cable: the copper cable standard requires copper conductors, so copper-clad aluminium (CCA) cable does not comply. Ghana listings in October 2026 offered both CCA and "pure copper" Cat6. Buy copper; scratch-test a sample from every new box.
• Drives: buy surveillance-rated drives for recorders; check the SMART power-on hours of any "new" drive.
• Memory and SSDs: check the exact type and keying.
• Supplier register: name, location, phone, what they sell, warranty terms, how they handled your last return. Use two suppliers for important items.

Check yourself

1. How long should you test after fixing an intermittent fault?
2. What is the difference between fixing a symptom and fixing the root cause?
3. Why does a camera that works by day but drops at night suggest a power problem?

Competency standard

Range. A two-building practice site with office, guest and CCTV networks. Evidence. VLAN and IP plan; configuration screenshots; link plan with height-work method statement; updated network document.

Why separate the network

• Guests should reach the internet, not the office files or printers.
• Cameras should talk to the NVR, not to the internet directly and not to office computers. A camera with old firmware is then less of a door into the office.
• Office computers hold accounts and personal data that the Data Protection Act requires to be protected from unauthorised access.

VLANs in plain words

A VLAN (virtual LAN) lets one switch behave like several separate switches. The IEEE 802.1Q standard adds a small tag to each network frame saying which VLAN it belongs to, and allows up to 4,094 VLANs. A port that carries one VLAN to an ordinary device is often called an access port; a link that carries several tagged VLANs between switches, routers and access points is often called a trunk.

A simple plan:

All four ranges are private addresses.

Set it up, step by step:

1. Draw the plan above for the site, with which switch port goes to which device.
2. On the router or firewall, create the VLANs, give each an address and a DHCP range (CCTV can be all fixed addresses).
3. Add rules: Guest → internet only; CCTV → NVR only, no internet except for the NVR's update or app service if the owner needs phone viewing; Office → internet and printers; Management → only from the admin's computer.
4. On the managed switch, set access ports for each device and a trunk port to the router and to each access point.
5. On the access points, map the office Wi-Fi name to VLAN 10 and the guest Wi-Fi name to VLAN 30.
6. Test from each VLAN: a guest phone cannot open the office printer page; an office computer cannot open a camera's page; the NVR still records all cameras.
7. Update the network document (Level 2) with the VLAN plan and rules.

Secure the edge

The US cyber agency CISA advises changing default usernames and passwords, updating firmware, using the strongest encryption available (WPA3), disabling WPS and remote management, and keeping the firewall on. For a business, add:

Link two buildings

Option A: cable. Up to 90 m of fixed copper cable plus patch cords, 100 m in total. Outdoors, use cable rated for outdoor use, in conduit, buried or on a proper catenary wire. Never tie data cable to electricity poles or power lines.

Option B: point-to-point wireless. Two outdoor bridge units aimed at each other, for longer distances or across a road.

1. Check there is a clear line of sight (no trees or buildings between).
2. Plan the mounting points: walls or poles you are allowed to use, away from power lines.
3. Use outdoor-rated units with a suitable IP rating, and power them with standard PoE.
4. Write a method statement for the height work (below).
5. Align the units using the signal meter in their app; lock the brackets.
6. Secure the link with a strong password and encryption; put the units on the management VLAN.
7. Test speed and stability for at least a day; record it.

Monitor the network

• Set up free monitoring that pings the router, NVR and access points every few minutes and alerts you (by email or app) if one stops answering.
• At each maintenance visit, record: firmware versions, number of DHCP leases in use, Wi-Fi channel and signal at three points, recording days on the NVR.
• A rising number of faults on one switch port or camera is an early warning: find the root cause (Unit 1).

Check yourself

1. Why put cameras on their own VLAN?
2. Name three rules you would set between the guest, CCTV and office VLANs.
3. What five things go in a method statement for height work?

Competency standard

Range. One project of 12 or more cameras, real or simulated (school, hotel, warehouse or church). Evidence. Survey report; proposal with bill of quantities; daily site records; commissioning sheet; handover pack.

The site survey

The proposal or tender

A good proposal answers the customer's questions before they ask.

1. Summary: what the system will do, in one paragraph.
2. Design: site plan, camera list, recorder(s), storage for the agreed days with your calculation, PoE budget, network plan.
3. Bill of quantities (BOQ): every item with quantity, unit price and total.
4. Labour and programme: days, team size, dates.
5. Method statement: how you will work safely and with least disruption.
6. Exclusions: mains wiring by the customer's CEWP electrician; civil works; anything you will not do.
7. Compliance support: privacy plan, signs, retention set-up, handover training.
8. Warranty and maintenance offer.
9. Price, validity, payment terms (deposit, stage payment, final payment after commissioning).
10. Company documents the customer may ask for (Unit 5): registration, tax identification, VAT certificate if registered, SSNIT clearance if you employ staff.

Run the installation

Every morning (toolbox talk, 10 minutes): today's tasks and who does them; the height work and who holds the ladder; weather; where the power lines are; first aid kit and who is trained; keep customers' areas tidy.

Every evening: what was finished; cables tested and labelled; any damage or near miss recorded; materials used; tomorrow's plan; photos of progress (no people's faces, no screens).

Rules for the team: nobody works on a ladder alone; nobody opens a power supply or touches mains wiring; nobody views or copies footage beyond what testing needs; nobody shares photos of the customer's site on social media.

Commissioning

Keep the customer compliant

Ghana's Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) gives people the right to see data held about them and requires data to be protected from loss, damage and unauthorised access. The Data Protection Commission says all data controllers and processors must register with it. A school's published CCTV notice under Act 843 shows a practical model: purpose (safety and security), what is captured (images, location, time), 60 days' retention stored locally, notices on site, no cameras in washrooms or hostels, and viewing only by named officers with passwords. The UK regulator's guidance (a foreign example) adds that surveillance should be lawful, necessary and proportionate.

Your compliance support package (offer it in every proposal):

1. Draft the owner's CCTV privacy plan (Level 2) and a public notice for their notice board or website.
2. Supply signs for each entrance.
3. Set retention in the NVR to match the plan.
4. Create named user accounts; give the owner a user list to keep up to date.
5. Provide a footage request log: date, who asked (person or police), what period, who copied it, how it was handed over, signature.
6. Remind the owner in writing to check their registration with the Data Protection Commission.
7. Review the plan and signs at every maintenance visit.

Maintenance agreements for projects

Offer a service-level agreement (SLA) with: visits per year; response time for faults (for example next working day for a whole system down, 3 working days for one camera); what each visit checks (cleaning lenses, recording days, firmware, user list, signs, UPS test); parts excluded or included; price per year.

Check yourself

1. Name six things a site survey records.
2. Why measure recording days again after 24–48 hours?
3. What goes in a footage request log?

Competency standard

Range. A team of three to five (trainees in role), over two weeks of training-workshop work. Evidence. Weekly job plan; skills matrix; toolbox-talk records; incident log; signed confidentiality agreements (practice); a written statement of terms (practice).

The skills matrix

List the tasks down the side and the people across the top. Mark each box: L = learning, S = can do with supervision, C = competent alone, T = can train others.

(Names are examples.) Give jobs according to the matrix; pair a learner with someone marked C or T. Sign a box up to C only after you have watched the person do the task correctly at least twice.

Apprentices

Ghana's 2026 budget allocated GH¢170 million for the National Apprenticeship Programme; ask your Assembly or the GEA how small workshops can take part. For your own apprentices:

Safety leadership

• Toolbox talk before every site day (Unit 3).
• Incident and near-miss log: what happened, who was involved, what was done, what will change. A near miss (a ladder slipped but nobody fell) is a free lesson: record it.
• Enforce the gates: stop the work if someone tries to do mains wiring, climb alone or open a power supply. The customer's request does not change the rule.
• Equipment: inspect ladders before use and tag damaged ones out of service; keep the first aid kit stocked; check the fire extinguisher's date.
• E-waste: old drives, boards and batteries go into a labelled box for a proper collector; Ghana's Environmental Protection Act, 2025 (Act 1124) now covers e-waste, and the EPA's e-waste project runs a GH-Waste collection app.

Customer data and your staff

Under the Data Protection Act, data must be protected from unauthorised access. A study found repair technicians looked at customers' personal data in about half of repairs. Make it impossible in your shop:

Employing fairly: Labour Act basics

From the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651):

• A worker employed for six months or more must have a written contract (s.12), and you must give a written statement of the main terms within two months of starting (s.13).
• Workers get at least 15 working days of paid leave a year (s.20).
• A woman worker is entitled to at least 12 weeks of maternity leave (s.57).
• Casual workers must be paid the full minimum wage for each day worked (s.74).
• Notice periods for ending employment are set by the Act (s.17).

The national daily minimum wage for 2026 is GH¢21.77, about GH¢587.79 a month at 27 days. Register workers with SSNIT when you hire them. Unit 6 shows the pay sums.

Check yourself

1. When do you mark a person "competent" on the skills matrix?
2. Why record near misses?
3. What must a worker employed for six months or more receive under the Labour Act?

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own planned business. Evidence. Legal-form comparison; registration checklist with fees; start-up budget; one-page plan.

Choose a legal form

Companies file annual returns at GH¢175 a year, with late penalties of GH¢1,000 (1–4 years late) or GH¢2,000 (5 years or more). All ORC fees are from its 2026 fee page.

Registration, step by step

1. Name and form. Check the name is free and register at the ORC (online or at the regional office).
2. Tax identity. Your Ghana Card PIN is your individual Taxpayer Identification Number; companies receive a GRA TIN after ORC registration.
3. VAT: decide early. Under the Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151), the effective VAT rate is 20% (15% VAT + 2.5% NHIL + 2.5% GETFund) and the registration threshold for goods is GH¢750,000. For taxable services there is no turnover threshold: a person making taxable supplies of services must register within 30 days of starting. IT support, installation and maintenance are services, so expect to register for VAT from the start; ask GRA in writing to confirm for your exact services. A VAT-registered business cannot use the Modified Taxation Scheme.
4. Income tax. If you are a sole proprietor and not VAT-registered, the Modified Taxation Scheme may apply: turnover GH¢20,001–750,000 pays 3% of turnover (the ceiling was raised from GH¢500,000 by the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2026, Act 1178). Companies pay corporate income tax, 25% standard rate, with quarterly provisional tax.
5. Withholding tax. Companies and institutions that pay you may withhold 7.5% on services from an individual or entity paid over GH¢2,000 a year, and 3% on goods; ask for the withholding tax certificate. It counts towards your income tax, so keep every certificate.
6. Assembly business operating permit. In Sekondi-Takoradi, apply through the STMA portal; fees are set in the Assembly's fee-fixing resolution. Confirm your category and the 2026 fee; annual permits are due by 31 March.
7. Data Protection Commission. Your business keeps customers' names, numbers, job cards and sometimes their data, so it is a data controller; the Commission says all data controllers and processors must register. L.I. 2512 (2025) lists GH¢156 for a small data controller (turnover of GH¢90,000 or below), GH¢1,170 for medium and GH¢2,340 for large. Confirm your tier with the Commission.
8. Fire certificate. Premises need a fire permit and certificate through the GNFS AFCAS platform. Published fees seen were GH¢250 residential, GH¢500 non-residential and GH¢1,000 commercial, plus processing fees. Check today's fee, and ask the landlord whether the building already has one.
9. Only if they apply: NCA authorisation if you sell internet access; a Ministry of the Interior licence if you offer guarding or security monitoring (Unit 3; not verified for installers); e-waste rules under Act 1124 for your workshop's waste.
10. SSNIT registration as an employer when you hire.

Premises and location settings that give good returns

Start-up budget (example)

(ORC, DPC and fire figures from their sources above: ORC Business Names; DPC Fees L.I. 2512; AFCAS Charges.)

Financing

• Savings and susu or VSLA for the first tools.
• Microfinance or bank loan: bring your one-page plan and 12-month cash-flow forecast (Unit 7). The Bank of Ghana policy rate was 14.00% when last checked; lenders charge more than that.
• Ghana Enterprises Agency: programmes such as SME GO, Business-in-a-Box and Kaizen, and Business Advisory Centres in Takoradi, Shama, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Mpohor and Ahanta West.
• 2026 Budget programmes: GH¢401 million for the Women's Development Bank, GH¢160 million for Adwumawura and GH¢170 million for the National Apprenticeship Programme. Ask how to apply.
• Disability fund: the Assemblies' share of the Common Fund for persons with disabilities rose from 3% to 5% from 2026.
• Supplier credit: once you have a record, ask suppliers for 30 days' credit on stock.

Insurance

Buy only from insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission; check at the NIC website. Ask about: cover for tools and stock (theft, fire), the motorbike, public liability (damage to a customer's property while installing), and personal accident cover for staff working at height. Which covers are compulsory for this business was not verified.

Staff

Employer and employee pay SSNIT together: employee 5.5% and employer 13% of basic salary (18.5%); the employer pays within 14 days after the month ends. PAYE is deducted after SSNIT, using the 2026 monthly bands where the first GH¢588 is tax-free, and is due by the 15th of the next month. Unit 6 has a worked payslip.

Market yourself

• Capability sheet (Level 2) with your registration number, TIN, VAT number and references.
• Google Business Profile, verified, so customers find you on Maps.
• WhatsApp Business catalogue with packages; quick replies with prices.
• Organisation visits: schools, churches, hotels, NGOs and companies; offer a free health check.
• Partners: a CEWP electrician, a solar installer, a printer-supplies dealer and a building contractor who will recommend you.
• Portfolio: photos of neat cabinets and camera mounts, with permission; never screens or footage.

Accessibility

Ghana's Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715) requires anyone who provides a service to the public to provide facilities that make it accessible to persons with disability. As an owner:

• Make your reception reachable without steps, with a bench at seated height.
• Hire on skills: diagnosis, laptop and printer repair, Windows and backup work, configuration of routers, switches and NVRs, documentation and phone support are all workable for staff with many kinds of disability, with screen readers, magnifiers, written job cards and knee-space benches. Ladder and ceiling work goes to team members who can climb safely.
• Offer customers the choice of WhatsApp text, voice notes or phone calls.
• Ask the Assembly's disability desk about support for equipment.

Check yourself

1. What does ORC charge to register a business name, and to renew it?
2. Why must most IT and CCTV businesses think about VAT from day one?
3. Name four bodies you may need to register with.

Competency standard

Range. One month of the example business's records; the trainee's own price list. Evidence. Completed cash book page; job costing; payslip; month-end statements; reconciliation.

General bookkeeping is taught in the Hub's Money Skills Level 2; here it is applied to an IT and CCTV business.

The records you keep

Keep records in Ghana for at least six years from the end of the year they relate to. Free tools such as Wave or the Zoho Books free plan, or a spreadsheet, can hold these records.

Double entry in one paragraph

Every transaction affects two accounts. Assets = Liabilities + Equity. A debit increases assets and expenses; a credit increases liabilities, capital and income. A trial balance checks that debits equal credits, but it does not catch every mistake.

Margin, mark-up and break-even

• Mark-up is profit as a share of cost; margin is profit as a share of price. A memory stick bought at GH¢450 and sold at GH¢600 has a mark-up of 150 ÷ 450 = 33.3% and a margin of 150 ÷ 600 = 25% (example).
• Break-even sales = fixed costs ÷ gross margin ratio.

Depreciation

Straight-line depreciation = (cost − salvage value) ÷ useful life.

• Tools and test equipment: cost GH¢12,000, no salvage, 4 years → GH¢3,000 a year = GH¢250 a month (example).
• Motorbike: cost GH¢18,000, salvage GH¢3,000, 5 years → GH¢3,000 a year = GH¢250 a month (example).

VAT on your invoices

With an effective rate of 20%: a job priced at GH¢5,000 before VAT carries VAT of GH¢1,000; the customer pays GH¢6,000. You pay GRA the VAT you charged (output VAT) minus the VAT on your business purchases (input VAT), by the last working day of the next month. Keep every supplier's VAT invoice.

Withholding tax

When a company or institution withholds tax from your payment, you receive less cash but a credit against your income tax. Example: on a GH¢5,000 service invoice, 7.5% withheld = GH¢375; record cash received, the GH¢375 as "WHT receivable", and file the certificate. Ask GRA and the payer whether WHT is worked out on the amount before or after VAT; the basis was not verified here.

A worked month: "Coastline TechCare" (all figures are examples)

Opening position, 1 October (a sole proprietor, VAT-registered, one technician):

October transactions:

1. Sales (before VAT): CCTV installations GH¢15,000; repairs and upgrades GH¢6,000; maintenance contracts GH¢3,000. Total GH¢24,000; output VAT 20% = GH¢4,800; total invoiced GH¢28,800.
2. One school invoice of GH¢6,000 + VAT GH¢1,200 = GH¢7,200 is unpaid at month end (a debtor). Everything else was received in cash, bank or MoMo: 28,800 − 7,200 = GH¢21,600.
3. Parts and kits bought: GH¢11,000 + input VAT GH¢2,200. Paid GH¢8,000 + VAT 1,600 = GH¢9,600; owed to a supplier GH¢3,000 + VAT 600 = GH¢3,600 (a creditor).
4. Parts used on jobs (cost of sales) GH¢10,000. Closing stock = 6,000 + 11,000 − 10,000 = GH¢7,000.
5. Technician's gross pay GH¢1,800 (payslip below). Employer SSNIT 13% = GH¢234.
6. Rent GH¢800; fuel and transport GH¢900; data and phone GH¢300 (no VAT, for simplicity).
7. Loan repayment GH¢1,000, of which interest GH¢150 and capital GH¢850.
8. Owner's drawings GH¢2,000.
9. Depreciation GH¢500 (tools 250 + motorbike 250).

Payslip (October):

(PAYE bands from GRA PAYE; SSNIT rates from SSNIT FAQ.) SSNIT of 99 + 234 = GH¢333 is due to SSNIT by the 14th of November, and PAYE GH¢177.28 by the 15th.

Profit and loss statement, October:

VAT is not income: it belongs to GRA. Drawings and the loan capital repaid are not expenses.

Cash summary, October:

Balance sheet, 31 October:

It balances: assets GH¢58,176.28 = liabilities GH¢15,860.28 + equity GH¢42,316.00.

What the books tell the owner: a good profit month, but GH¢7,200 is tied up in one school's unpaid invoice, and GH¢6,710.28 (creditor 3,600 + VAT 2,600 + PAYE 177.28 + SSNIT 333) must be paid out in the next few weeks. The real "free" cash is much less than the bank balance.

Break-even for this business: fixed costs (total expenses) GH¢4,684 ÷ gross margin ratio (14,000 ÷ 24,000 = 58.3%) = about GH¢8,030 of sales a month.

Month-end routine

1. Add up the cash book columns; check against the bank statement and the MoMo statement (reconciliation): list any differences (bank charges, a deposit not yet recorded) and correct the book.
2. Count stock (cable metres, plugs, drives, cameras) and compare with the stock record.
3. Update the debtors list; send reminders for anything over 30 days.
4. Update the creditors list; plan payments.
5. Work out VAT for the month: output minus input; file and pay by the last working day of next month.
6. Run payroll; pay SSNIT by the 14th and PAYE by the 15th.
7. Post depreciation from the fixed asset register.
8. Produce the profit and loss statement and balance sheet; check that it balances.
9. Compare actual with the cash-flow forecast; write three lines on what changed.
10. File everything for six years.

From 1 January 2027 the IFRS for SMEs 2025 edition applies to companies that use it; a sole proprietor's simple books are fine, but keep them clean so an accountant can convert them when you grow.

Check yourself

1. Why is VAT not part of your income?
2. What is the difference between margin and mark-up?
3. Name four steps of the month-end routine.

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own business. Evidence. Growth plan; ethics code; 12-month forecast; capstone presentation scored by the panel.

Ways to grow

Customer care and quality

• Answer every enquiry the same day; give a time and keep it.
• Written quotes and job cards for everything; the quality checklist on every job (Unit 1).
• After each job, a short WhatsApp follow-up: "Is everything working?"
• A complaints book: record, reply within two days, fix the cause.
• A yearly review with every contract customer: what went well, what to change, their plans.

Tenders and partnerships

• Keep a tender file ready: registration documents, TIN, VAT certificate, SSNIT clearance (if employing), DPC registration, references, CVs of key staff, photos of past work, insurance certificates.
• Read every tender's requirements twice; answer every point in the same order.
• Price carefully: BOQ, labour, transport, margin, VAT (Unit 3).
• Partnerships: a written agreement with each partner (who does what, who invoices whom, how you split the risk).

Records for loans

Lenders want: six to twelve months of cash book and bank/MoMo statements, monthly profit and loss statements, the latest balance sheet, debtors and creditors lists, tax filings, the forecast and the plan. Unit 6's month-end routine produces all of these.

Ethics code (write your own)

Succession: can the business run without you?

• Network documents, handover packs and SLAs stored where a trusted second person can find them.
• At least one other person trained to "T" on the key tasks (Unit 4).
• Bank and MoMo accounts with a second signatory or clear instructions.
• Customers' credentials not held by the business, so nothing is lost if staff change.

The 12-month cash-flow forecast (example)

Assumptions (all example): start-up money GH¢30,000 (savings 15,000 + loan 15,000); start-up spending GH¢22,000 (Unit 5 budget), so opening cash in January is GH¢8,000. Parts and kits cost 40% of receipts. Fixed costs GH¢1,800 a month while the owner works alone (rent 800, fuel 700, data 300); from April a technician is hired, so fixed costs become GH¢4,034 (rent 800, fuel 900, data 300, wages 1,800 and employer SSNIT 234). Loan repayment GH¢1,000 a month; drawings GH¢1,500 a month. Figures exclude VAT: VAT collected is paid over to GRA and is left out to keep the table simple.

Reading it: cash never goes below GH¢7,900, but April to July are thin after the technician is hired: do not buy big equipment then. September (school term) and December are strong. GH¢3,000 of the GH¢15,000 loan is still owed after 12 months. Year sales of GH¢142,000 are above GH¢90,000, so plan for the DPC medium tier, and VAT is collected and paid every month. Income tax is not in the table; ask GRA or an accountant how much to set aside.

The capstone: pitch to a panel

Prepare and present (about 10 minutes, then questions):

1. One-page business plan: name and legal form; services and packages; target customers; location; team and skills matrix; registration and compliance status (ORC, GRA/VAT, Assembly, DPC, GNFS, others); safety and privacy commitments; marketing; money needed and how you will repay.
2. 12-month cash-flow forecast with your assumptions written out.
3. One month of example books (P&L and a balance sheet that balances).
4. One project proposal (from Unit 3) as proof of your work.
5. Your ethics code.

The panel scores: clarity; realistic prices and costs; legal and safety compliance; privacy; money sense; answers to questions.

Check yourself

1. Name five documents for a tender file.
2. Why should customers' credentials not be held by the business?
3. In the forecast, which months are the thinnest and why?

1. How do you prove an intermittent fault is fixed?
2. What is a VLAN, and how many does 802.1Q allow?
3. Name the four VLANs in the simple business plan and what each is for.
4. What must a method statement for height work include?
5. Name five items in a CCTV proposal.
6. What is in the owner's compliance support package?
7. When may you sign off a team member as competent on a task?
8. What does ORC charge for a business name, a partnership and a company limited by shares?
9. Why does an IT and CCTV business usually register for VAT from the start, and what is the effective rate?
10. Work out net pay for a technician on GH¢1,800 gross in 2026.
11. In the October example, why is the closing bank balance not all "free" cash?
12. What does the panel look for in the capstone pitch?

Best next reads: your Level 1 and Level 2 manuals; the Hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2; the ORC, GRA, SSNIT, DPC, NCA and GEA websites; your switch, router and NVR manuals; CISA's network security guidance.

What this module does not cover: mains electrical wiring (CEWP electricians only); guarding or alarm-monitoring services (licensing not verified); legal advice on data protection (the owner takes their own advice); enterprise-scale data centres and servers.

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