Pottery and Ceramics Level 3

About this module

Level 2 made you a steady producer. Level 3 makes you the person who runs the workshop, signs the contract and answers for every pot that leaves the yard.

Who it is for. People who have finished Pottery and Ceramics Level 2, or who already run a pottery and can show the same skills, and who want to manage a workshop, supply larger buyers or start their own business. Ghana's TVET framework places National Proficiency II below National Certificate I. This module is written at an advanced level, comparable to National Certificate I; that comparison is the author's judgement, not a CTVET ruling. CTVET lists Ceramics at National Certificate I, National Certificate II and HND; ask CTVET whether this course could count toward it.

CTVET status. This module is not a CTVET curriculum, and the CTVET Ceramics standard was not read for it (not verified).

Safety gates from Levels 1 and 2 stay. Wet methods for dust; no one fires alone; no lead in any glaze or colour; two people for heavy loads. Level 3 adds kiln safety and your duties as an employer.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

Clay bodies by weight; shrinkage and absorption tests; grog and reclaim
Wheel throwing: centre, open, pull, shape, cut off, trim
Making to a size with gauges, templates and moulds; water pots, grinding bowls, coal-pot liners, coolers
Building and firing a Better Bonfire kiln, firing logs and loss records
Slips, sgraffito, burnishing to a standard; the six glaze rules; test tiles
Grading A, B and C; fault logs; packing; honest product descriptions
Costing per good piece; wholesale and retail prices; order forms; marketing

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 60% of the time is practical. Every unit has a practical task, a homework task and a Check yourself; units with numbers have an exercise with worked answers for your trainer.

Money is in Ghana cedis (GH¢). Every price, quantity and wage marked "example" is invented for practice. It is not a market price. Collect your own local prices before you rely on any figure.

Unit 1 · Kiln firing to a schedule, and lead-free glazes

A kiln is a tool for controlling time and heat. Write the schedule, follow it, and write down what happened.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
1.1 Plan a firing	writes a bisque and a glaze schedule with ramp rates, top temperature and soak
1.2 Load a kiln	loads bisque and glaze ware correctly, with glaze-free feet and clean shelves
1.3 Fire and cool	fires to schedule, logs temperatures and cools without opening early
1.4 Glaze safely	applies lead-free glaze with PPE and dust control
1.5 Check glaze ware	checks for glaze faults and runs a lead screen on food-contact ware before sale

Range. At least one bisque and one glaze firing in a kiln that holds earthenware temperatures. Evidence. Firing schedules and logs; loading plan; glazed ware; glaze test board; observation.

Two firings for glazed ware

Firing	Purpose	Typical top temperature
Bisque (biscuit)	Turns greenware into strong, porous ware that soaks up glaze	About 960 to 1,000 °C
Earthenware glaze	Melts the glaze into a glassy coat	About 1,020 to 1,180 °C

A glaze must match the clay: follow the glaze maker's firing temperature, and test your body at that temperature before a full load.

Write the schedule

One supplier's bisque schedule (for an electric kiln): 80 °C an hour up to 200 °C, then 120 °C an hour up to 950 °C, with a 10-minute soak. The same source says the start of any firing should rise no faster than 100 °C an hour, and that natural cooling to room temperature can take 2 or 3 days.

Why slow early? Water left in the clay turns to steam at about 100 °C, and quartz in the clay expands at about 580 °C; if either happens too fast, pots crack.

A schedule sheet (fill one in for every firing):

Segment	Rate (°C per hour)	From	To	Hold
1 Water smoking	80	Room	200	—
2 Main climb	120	200	950 (bisque) or glaze top	—
3 Soak	—	Top	Top	10 minutes or as the glaze maker says
4 Cool	Natural	Top	Room	Do not open until it is below about 100 °C and the ware can be touched with gloves

Measuring heat. Use the kiln's thermocouple and pyrometer if it has one. Many potters also put small pyrometric cones in the kiln where they can be seen through a spy-hole; a cone bends when it has had enough heat. Use the cone maker's chart (author's description; no source was read for cone numbers in this book).

Fuel kilns. In a wood or gas kiln you control the climb by how fast you feed fuel and how open the dampers and ports are. Keep a log every 30 minutes: time, temperature, fuel added, damper setting, notes. Tanoso potters fire with firewood and want cleaner fuels such as gas.

Loading the kiln

Check shelves (batts) are clean and sound before loading, and clean debris off them after use by vacuum or wet methods, not by brushing.
Bisque: pots may touch and may be stacked rim-to-rim or nested (small inside large) if they are bone-dry.
Glaze: pieces must not touch each other. Keep the foot and the bottom 5 mm of every pot free of glaze so it does not stick to the shelf.
Leave space for heat to move. Put test tiles in the hot and cool parts of the kiln.
Draw a loading plan and number each shelf.

Glazing safely

Glazes and colours may contain lead, cobalt, cadmium and other hazards; get the safety data sheet; choose glazes with less crystalline silica where you can.
Carrying, opening, tipping and scooping glaze powders makes high dust: buy granular, liquid or paste glazes where possible, and use a ventilated enclosure for powder work.
Wear nitrile gloves and goggles when applying glaze. Wear a rated mask for any powder.
Application: dip for a few seconds for an even coat, pour for insides, brush in several coats, or spray only in a booth.

Step by step (dipping a bowl):

Bisque-fired bowl, clean and dust-free (wipe with a damp sponge).
Wax the foot, or plan to sponge glaze off it.
Stir the glaze from the bottom until smooth.
Pour glaze into the bowl, swirl, pour out (inside done). Let it dry a minute.
Hold by the foot, dip upside down to just above the foot for 2 to 3 seconds.
Lift, shake gently, turn upright.
Touch up finger marks with a brush.
Sponge the foot clean.
Label the glaze on the job card.

Glaze faults

Fault	Looks like	Common cause	Common fix
Crawling	Bare patches	Dusty or greasy bisque; glaze too thick	Clean bisque; thinner coat
Pinholes	Tiny holes	Gases from the clay; fast firing	Slower climb; soak; good bisque
Running	Glaze stuck to shelf	Too thick; over-fired	Thinner coat; correct temperature; clean foot
Crazing	Fine crack lines	Glaze and body do not fit	Test another glaze or body; do not sell crazed ware for food
Dull or rough	Not glossy	Under-fired	Fire to the glaze maker's temperature

(General potters' practice; the fixes are the author's teaching advice. Test on tiles first.)

Lead and food-contact ware

Lead in a glaze can leach into food; if not properly fired the lead may contaminate food; and old kilns once used for lead glazes can contaminate "lead-free" ware.
No washing or boiling can remove lead from a pot.
Lead test kits use a swab that changes colour if lead comes off the surface. Decorative-only ware can be stamped "Not for Food Use—May Poison Food".
Acid foods can leach lead and cadmium from poorly made or poorly fired glazes; ISO sets limits on metal release.
In Ghana, the EPA said it would work with the Ghana Standards Authority and the FDA on lead limits for traditional aluminium cookware. A Ghana standard for lead release from ceramic tableware was not verified.

Your food-ware rule. Sell glazed cups, plates, bowls or cooking pots for food only if: (1) the glaze is sold as lead-free with a safety data sheet; (2) your kiln has never fired lead glaze; (3) it was fired to the maker's temperature; (4) the batch passed a lead screen; and (5) you keep the record. If you cannot meet all five, stamp it "Decorative — not for food" and sell it as decorative.

Bisque and glaze

Write a bisque schedule and a glaze schedule for your clay and glaze.
Load a bisque firing with a loading plan; fire with your trainer and log every 30 minutes.
Glaze ten pieces with PPE in the glaze area; clean the area wet.
Load and fire the glaze kiln; unload only when cool.
Inspect, name faults, and screen food-contact pieces with a lead test if available; record results.

Schedule time

Using the schedule 80 °C an hour from 30 °C to 200 °C, then 120 °C an hour to 950 °C, then a 10-minute soak: (1) How long is the first segment? (2) The second? (3) The total firing time to the end of the soak?

Supplier hunt

Find two possible sources of lead-free glaze (in Ghana or by import) and a kiln you could hire time in. Write prices, contacts and whether a safety data sheet is supplied.

Check yourself: Unit 1

Why is the start of a firing kept slow?
Why must glaze ware not touch in the kiln?
Name the five conditions before you sell glazed food ware.

Unit 2 · Batch production, moulds and standard products

One good pot is skill. Three hundred good pots on time is a system.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
2.1 Plan production	plans an order backward from the delivery date, including drying, firing and losses
2.2 Use moulds and jigs	makes and uses press moulds, templates and gauges for repeat work
2.3 Track work in progress	runs a job card and a production board for each order
2.4 Control quality in batches	samples and checks at each stage and records losses
2.5 Work with partners	explains contract making for stove makers and filter makers

Range. One production order of at least 100 pieces. Evidence. Production plan; job cards; board; loss record; finished order.

Plan backward from the delivery date

Order: what, how many, what size, what grade, delivery date.
Add losses: pieces to make = pieces ordered ÷ (1 − expected loss). Use your own loss records.
Count back: delivery ← packing (1 day) ← grading (1 day) ← firing and cooling (2 to 3 days) ← final sun-drying (1 day) ← slow drying (5 to 10 days, more for thick pieces) ← making (days needed at your daily output).
Book the kiln and fuel.
Check clay stock: kg per piece × pieces to make, plus reclaim.

Moulds and jigs

Press moulds make identical pieces quickly. Make one from a perfect sample piece: cast plaster round it, or make a fired-clay hump mould. Sudanese potters make bowl-shaped moulds in a hole in the ground, smoothed with a stone and dried in the sun.
Templates and profile ribs cut from plywood or metal give the same outline every time.
Weight control: weigh every ball of clay.
Gauges: a height-and-width pointer on the wheel; a go/no-go ring for liners.

Vume potters asked for blowers, pug mills, potter's wheels and slab rollers to modernise, and Tanoso potters want pug mills and improved kilns. Buy equipment only when your order book shows you need it (Unit 7).

Job card and production board

Job card (one per order): customer; product; size; number ordered; number to make; clay body; glaze or finish; dates for making, drying, bisque, glaze, delivery; names; losses at each stage; sign-off.

Production board: columns Clay → Making → Drying → Bisque → Glaze → Glaze fire → Grade → Pack → Delivered. Move the card along. Anyone can see what is late.

Quality in batches

First piece check: the supervisor measures and approves the first piece of each batch before the rest are made.
Sample checks: check 1 in 10 at each stage (size, wall, joins, dryness).
100% final check: every fired piece is graded (Level 2 grade standard).
Loss record per stage: making, drying, bisque, glaze, handling. The biggest number shows where to fix first.

Partner products: liners and filters

Stove liners. Improved charcoal stoves in Ghana use a ceramic liner that saves up to 50% of the fuel. Thick liners need long firing: in Kenya, 600 to 700 °C held for two to three hours. Supply only to the stove maker's drawing and quality check, with a written contract.
Water filters. Filters remove bacteria and protozoa by pore size but not viruses or chemicals, and must be handled so the clean side is not contaminated. Pure Home Water's factory in northern Ghana fired filters and bricks in one kiln and sold bricks to help pay for filters. A small workshop should partner with a tested filter maker (making the receptacles, stands or covers, or reselling), not make filters without a tested recipe and water-quality testing.

Run an order

Take a real or practice order of at least 100 pieces.
Write the backward plan and the job card.
Make a press mould or template and use it.
Run the production board; do first-piece and sample checks.
Record losses at each stage and write one improvement.

Plan an order

A nursery orders 300 flower pots in four weeks. Your loss record is 10% (making to grading). (1) How many must you make? (2) One thrower makes 40 a day. How many throwing days? (3) Each pot uses 1.2 kg of clay; how much clay do you need?

Loss hunt

From your last three firings, list losses by stage. Which stage loses most? Write one change you will try.

Check yourself: Unit 2

How do you work out how many pieces to make for an order?
What is a first-piece check?
Why should a small workshop partner with a filter maker rather than make filters alone?

Unit 3 · A safe workshop and supervising staff and apprentices

When you employ people, their safety is your legal duty. Their skill is your business.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
3.1 Lay out a safe workshop	draws a layout with wet and dry zones, kiln area, glaze area and clean area
3.2 Control health risks	writes dust, fire, burn, lifting and glaze controls and checks them
3.3 Meet employer duties	explains Labour Act duties for safety, PPE, contracts and accident reporting
3.4 Supervise	runs a daily briefing, a skills matrix and fair correction
3.5 Train apprentices	plans an apprentice's first three months with written terms

Range. A workshop of 3 to 10 people. Evidence. Layout drawing; risk controls sheet; skills matrix; briefing record; apprentice plan.

Layout: one-way and wet

Zones: clay store and preparation (wet) → making → drying racks (shaded, airy) → kiln area (separate, safe distance, roofed) → glaze area (ventilated, with its own sink) → finished store → office and clean area (food, phones, records).
Floors sloping gently to drains help wash dust away; drains must not flow through clean areas, where slurry can dry to dust.
Access: only trained people in the kiln and glaze areas.
Fans for fresh air; switch them on before work.

Health and safety controls

Hazard	Controls
Silica dust	Keep clay wet; clean through the day with water and sponge; vacuum (dust class M or better) or wet methods; damp waste before shovelling; work clothes washed separately; health checks for workers regularly exposed
Glaze materials	Safety data sheets; less dusty forms; enclosure or outdoor wet mixing; gloves, goggles, mask
Kiln and fire	Fire only with a trained person present; sand, water and extinguisher at the kiln; kiln away from houses and fuel; heat-resistant gloves and long sticks
Burns	Cool 20 minutes under running water; cover with cling film; clinic for large or face burns
Lifting	Plan, keep close, no twisting, help for heavy loads
Cuts and slips	Wipe clay off floors at once; tools stored; first-aid kit

The Labour Act 2003 requires employers to keep the workplace safe, supply protective equipment and report occupational accidents within seven days.

Supervising: a plain method

Daily briefing (10 minutes): today's jobs from the production board, who does what, one safety point, one quality point.
Skills matrix: names down the side, skills across the top (wedging, throwing, moulding, trimming, glazing, kiln loading, grading). Mark: learning / can do with help / can do alone / can teach. Plan training from the gaps.
Show, do, check: demonstrate, let them do it, check the first piece, sign it off.
Fair correction: find out why before you blame; retrain first; written warning before a serious step; keep a record. Notice rules are in the Labour Act (s.17).
Praise good work in front of the team.

Employment terms

A written contract for work of six months or more (s.12); a written statement of terms within two months (s.13); 15 working days' paid leave (s.20); 12 weeks' maternity leave (s.57); casual workers paid the full minimum for each day (s.74). The 2026 daily minimum wage is GH¢21.77. Register workers with SSNIT when you hire them.

Apprentices

A written agreement: length, hours, allowance, what will be taught, safety rules, how it ends.
Month 1: safety, clay preparation, wedging, reclaim, cleaning. Month 2: hand-building and moulding to size. Month 3: wheel basics, drying, kiln loading under supervision.
An apprentice never fires a kiln or mixes glaze alone.
The 2026 Budget set aside GH¢170 million for the National Apprenticeship Programme; ask your Assembly or GEA office how a workshop can take part.

Run the workshop for a day

Draw your workshop layout with zones and flows.
Write a one-page safety controls sheet and check it on the floor.
Run a 10-minute briefing and record it.
Fill in a skills matrix for your group and plan two training sessions.
Write an apprentice agreement outline.

Accident book

Make an accident and near-miss book with columns: date, what happened, who, injury, first aid, cause, action. Record one near-miss you have seen.

Check yourself: Unit 3

Why must drains not run through clean areas?
Name three duties of an employer under the Labour Act.
What are the four levels in a skills matrix?

Unit 4 · Product development, standards and big buyers

Make what buyers will pay for, describe it honestly, and deliver it the same way every time.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
4.1 Develop a product	takes a product idea through six gates to a sample and a specification sheet
4.2 Price a contract	prices a contract with deposit, delivery and rejection terms
4.3 Meet buyer standards	writes honest product descriptions and knows which claims need proof
4.4 Find big buyers	identifies hotels, landscapers, stove makers, traders and exporters
4.5 Protect the environment	plans fuel, clay pits and waste responsibly

Range. One new product and one buyer proposal. Evidence. Gate record; sample; spec sheet; priced proposal.

Six gates from idea to product

Idea: who buys it, why, and at what price?
Sketch and size: drawing with dimensions and shrinkage allowance.
Body and finish: which clay, burnished, slip or lead-free glaze?
Sample: make five; fire; grade.
Buyer test: show the buyer; note changes.
Specification sheet and cost: final.

Specification sheet: product name and code; photo; dimensions and tolerance; weight; body recipe; finish; firing; grade standard; packing; use and care instructions; claims (and proof for each).

Claims that need proof

Claim	Proof needed
"Food safe" / "lead-free"	Lead-free glaze data sheet, correct firing, lead screen result (Unit 1)
"Water filter"	Maker's test results; you resell or partner only (Unit 2)
"Saves charcoal"	Stove maker's test; liner made to their drawing
"Keeps vegetables fresh"	Your own test record; Sudan tests are a guide only
"Made in Ghana" mark	GSA Made-in-Ghana application and licence

The Ghana Standards Authority's Made-in-Ghana application, annual licence and marking cost about GH¢3,000 to 4,900 for a micro business and GH¢5,000 to 9,900 for a small one. It is optional; weigh the cost against the buyers it opens.

Big buyers

Bulk traders: Tanoso's buyers include traders from Côte d'Ivoire buying in bulk.
City markets: Vume pots sell in Accra, Tema, Koforidua and Aburi.
Tourism: Sirigu's women's group runs a visitor centre, gallery and guesthouse where visitors buy pottery. Hotels and guesthouses on the Western Region coast are worth visiting (no market data found; check).
Stove makers for liners; landscapers and nurseries for planters; chop bars and caterers for serving and grinding bowls; events for decorative pieces.

Pricing a contract

Cost per good piece (Level 2) including losses.
Add overheads and profit (mark-up).
Add packing and delivery.
Terms: deposit (for example 50% before work starts), balance on delivery, delivery date, rejection rule (which grade is accepted, how many spares), and what happens if either side is late.

Environment

Fuel: Tanoso potters depend on firewood, which they say is not sustainable. Use dry wood (wet wood wastes fuel), a kiln that holds heat, full loads, and offcuts and sawdust from sawmills.
Clay pits: dig with the landowner's permission, keep pits shallow, and fill or fence them. Clay is an "industrial mineral" under a restricted mineral right; ask the Minerals Commission whether your digging needs a permit.
Smoke: whether a pottery kiln needs an EPA permit was not verified; ask the EPA Western Regional office before you build a large kiln near homes.
Waste: fired waste becomes grog; unfired waste is reclaimed; glaze waste is collected wet, never washed into streams.

New product and proposal

Take one new product through the six gates; make five samples.
Write a specification sheet.
Price a 50-piece contract with terms.
Present the proposal to a real or practice buyer.

Hotel planters (example numbers)

A hotel wants 50 large burnished planters. Your cost per good planter is GH¢60. (1) What is the price per planter with a 40% mark-up? (2) What is the contract value? (3) What deposit do you ask at 50%? (4) What is your gross profit if all are accepted?

Buyer list

List ten possible big buyers within 50 km, with type, contact person and what they might buy.

Check yourself: Unit 4

Name three things on a specification sheet.
What proof do you need before saying "food safe"?
Name two terms every contract should include.

Unit 5 · Establish a pottery business

A good potter has a skill. A pottery business has a name, a permit, a place, a budget and a plan.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
5.1 Choose a legal form	compares sole proprietor, partnership, company, guarantee company and cooperative
5.2 Register in the right order	lists each body, step, fee and renewal for a pottery workshop
5.3 Plan premises, equipment and start-up cost	draws up a start-up budget and a finance plan
5.4 Hire and protect	explains Labour Act basics, SSNIT, PAYE and insurance
5.5 Market and include	markets honestly and makes the business accessible

Range. A pottery workshop of one owner, partners or a group, in Sekondi-Takoradi or nearby. Evidence. Registration checklist; start-up budget; finance plan; one-page plan.

Choose a legal form

Form	ORC registration	Key point
Sole proprietor (business name)	GH¢130; renewal GH¢70 a year	Easy; you carry unlimited liability
Partnership	GH¢270; renewal GH¢100 a year; 2 to 20 partners; Form B	Needs a partnership agreement stamped by the Lands Commission
Company limited by shares	GH¢585 plus 1% capital duty on stated capital (check the rate)	At least 2 directors and a secretary; consent letter from an ICAG chartered accountant; first annual return 18 months after incorporation
Company limited by guarantee	GH¢490	For NGOs and social enterprises; no profit to members
Cooperative	Not registered at ORC; organisational TIN from GRA	Route with the Department of Co-operatives not verified

Annual returns cost GH¢175 a year, with late fees of GH¢1,000 (1 to 4 years) or GH¢2,000 (5 years or more). A women's pottery group can start as a partnership, or a cooperative once the route is confirmed; Sirigu's women potters work as an organisation.

The cost of a legal form

(Example stated capital.) (1) What does a sole proprietor pay on day one and each year? (2) A partnership? (3) A company with stated capital of GH¢30,000 at 1% capital duty? (4) Over three years, how much more in renewals does the company pay than the sole proprietor?

Registration, step by step

Register the name at the ORC, online or by USSD *222#.
Tax identity. Your Ghana Card PIN is your TIN; a company gets a GRA TIN after ORC registration.
Business operating permit from your Assembly; in Sekondi-Takoradi the portal is tcc.stma.gov.gh. Ask what category a pottery workshop with a kiln falls in.
Fire safety. Ask the Ghana National Fire Service about a fire certificate for a workshop with a kiln (requirement for a small workshop not verified).
Clay digging and kiln smoke. Ask the Minerals Commission and the EPA (Unit 4).
GSA Made-in-Ghana mark: optional (Unit 4).
SSNIT: register workers when you hire.
Business bank or MoMo account, separate from your own.

Tax. A resident with only business income who is not VAT-registered may use the Modified Taxation Scheme: fixed amounts up to GH¢20,000 turnover, and 3% of turnover from GH¢20,001 to GH¢750,000 (raised from GH¢500,000 by Act 1178 in 2026; the GRA page still showed the old figure on 8 Oct 2026). Partners and owners of several outlets are excluded. Companies pay 25% standard, 18.5% for manufacturers in regional capitals other than Accra and Tema, and 12.5% outside regional capitals; ask GRA which applies. VAT (Act 1151) from 1 January 2026: the registration threshold for goods is GH¢750,000 a year, and a VAT-registered business cannot use the Modified Taxation Scheme. If you also sell taxable services (for example paid workshop classes), note that services have no threshold and must register within 30 days of starting; ask GRA how this applies to you.

Premises and location

Choose: a clay source within a short trip; water; a dry, well-drained kiln site a safe distance from houses, thatch and fuel; shaded drying space for the rainy season; road access for clay in and pots out; a place buyers can see. Get a written tenancy with rent, term and who repairs. Tell neighbours about firing days; smoke causes complaints.

Equipment and start-up budget

Example start-up budget (all numbers are examples; get three quotes):

Item	GH¢
Business name GH¢130 and Assembly permit (example GH¢300)	430
Kiln build: bricks, mortar, roof, labour (example)	12,000
Two potter's wheels (example)	6,000
Moulds, tools, shelves, boards (example)	2,000
Shed roof, drying racks, water point, drains (example)	5,000
Dust and safety kit: masks, gloves, goggles, extinguisher, first aid (example)	800
First lead-free glazes with data sheets (example)	1,500
Working cash: clay, fuel and wages for the first month (example)	8,000
Total	35,730

Start-up and finance gap

(1) Check the total. (2) You have savings of GH¢15,000. How much must you find? (3) A susu or VSLA group lends GH¢10,000. What is still missing? (4) What would you delay first, and what must you never cut?

Financing

Own savings; susu or VSLA; microfinance; banks. The Ghana Enterprises Agency offers SME GO, Business-in-a-Box, SME High Growth and Kaizen, with Business Advisory Centres in Takoradi, Shama, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Mpohor and Ahanta West. The 2026 Budget set aside GH¢401 million for a Women's Development Bank, GH¢170 million for the National Apprenticeship Programme and GH¢160 million for Adwumawura. The Assemblies' disability fund can help persons with disabilities; ask your Assembly for the current rules. Tanoso potters say lack of capital stops them buying machines: show a lender your cash book (Unit 6) and borrow only for equipment your orders need.

Hire and protect

Pay at least GH¢21.77 a day. SSNIT: employee 5.5% and employer 13% of basic pay; the employer pays within 14 days after month-end. PAYE is due by the 15th of the next month. Use the Labour Act points in Unit 3. Insurance: use only insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission; ask about fire, stock and equipment cover. Which covers are compulsory for a small workshop was not verified.

Market yourself

WhatsApp Business profile and catalogue; a Google Business Profile with photos of your yard and products; a sign; your stamp on every pot; samples to buyers; referrals; a portfolio with spec sheets; workshop visits for schools and tourists.

Accessibility

The Persons with Disability Act 2006 (Act 715) bans discrimination in employment and requires accessible public places. In a pottery, many jobs are workable with the right set-up: seated wedging of small lumps, hand-building, moulding, an electric wheel at the right height, trimming, decorating, burnishing, glazing at a table, grading, packing, record-keeping and selling by phone. Clay digging, kiln building and kiln loading are heavier: share them. Add a ramp, wide aisles, tools within reach, good light, picture and large-print instructions, and visual signals (a light) for kiln and fire alarms for deaf workers. Ask each worker what helps. (Author's advice; no Ghana source found.)

One-page plan and pitch

Customers and products; prices and costs; location and layout; equipment and start-up cost; finance; licences and dates; people; monthly break-even; 12-month cash forecast (Unit 7); risks and actions.

Register on paper

Choose a legal form and justify it in three sentences.
Fill in a registration checklist: body, step, fee, date, renewal.
Build your own start-up budget and a finance plan with at least two sources.
Write a one-page plan and pitch it in three minutes.

Phone the Assembly

Ask your Assembly what permit a pottery workshop with a kiln needs, the fee, the renewal date, and whether they require a fire or EPA step. Write what you were told, with the date and the officer's role.

Check yourself: Unit 5

What is the 2026 fee to register a sole-proprietor business name?
Up to what turnover can a sole trader use the Modified Taxation Scheme, and at what rate above GH¢20,000?
Why keep business money separate from your own?

Unit 6 · Accounting and bookkeeping for a pottery workshop

If you cannot show your numbers, you cannot get a loan, win a contract or know if you earn. See the hub's Money Skills Level 2 for the basics.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
6.1 Keep daily records	writes a cash book, receipts, invoices, petty cash and stock cards
6.2 Cost production	works out cost per good piece, COGS, margin, mark-up and break-even
6.3 Pay people	calculates wages, SSNIT and PAYE and keeps payroll records
6.4 Close the month	reconciles, does a trial-style check and writes an income statement and balance sheet
6.5 Meet tax records	lists what to keep and file and explains the main taxes

Range. A pottery workshop with casual workers, one permanent supervisor and credit customers. Evidence. Cash book; stock cards; costing sheet; month-end pack; payroll.

The core rule

Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Debits increase assets and expenses; credits increase liabilities, capital and income; a trial balance checks that debits equal credits but cannot catch every error. Pay yourself a fixed drawing and write it down.

Daily and weekly records

Cash book: every receipt and payment in date order with a running balance.
Receipts and invoices: numbered; copies kept. An invoice shows date, buyer, product, number, price, total and payment term.
Petty cash: a float with a voucher for each spend; top up to the same amount.
Stock cards: clay (kg), fuel (bundles), glaze (kg), finished pots by product (pieces).
Debtors and creditors list with due dates.
Ledger: cash-book entries sorted by account (clay, fuel, labour, sales...).
Job cards (Unit 2) link costs to orders.

Costing a month of production

Production cost = clay, sand and grog + fuel + glaze + packing + production labour. Divide by good pieces. Firing and grading losses are already inside this number, which is why cutting losses is the cheapest way to lower cost.

Depreciation (straight line) = (cost − salvage) ÷ useful life.

Wages, SSNIT and PAYE (example)

Supervisor on GH¢1,500 gross (example): employee SSNIT 5.5% = 82.50; taxable pay 1,417.50; PAYE: first 588 at 0%; next 80 at 5% = 4; next 100 at 10% = 10; remaining 649.50 at 17.5% = 113.66; total 127.66; net pay 1,289.84; employer SSNIT 13% = 195; cost to the business 1,695; owed to SSNIT 277.50 and GRA 127.66, total 405.16, due by the 14th and 15th. Casual workers are paid the full day's minimum for each day worked.

Month-end routine

Total the cash book; agree cash in hand and the MoMo or bank balance.
Reconcile statements to the book; list differences.
Count stock (clay, fuel, glaze, finished pots); update cards; list debtors and creditors.
Trial-style check: debits equal credits.
Income statement: sales − cost of goods sold − overheads = profit.
Balance sheet: what you own and what you owe.
Forecast next month; pay the 14th and 15th obligations; file records.

Example month: the full pack (all figures are examples)

Opening position: cash GH¢15,000; equipment at cost GH¢20,000 (kiln 12,000; two wheels 6,000; moulds and tools 2,000); owner's capital GH¢35,000.

Production: materials (clay transport 1,200, sand and grog 200, firewood 2,400, lead-free glaze 900, packing 300) = 5,000; casual labour 2 workers × 22 days × GH¢30 = 1,320. Production cost 6,320 for 800 good pieces, so GH¢7.90 per good piece.

Sales: 400 flower pots on credit to a nursery at GH¢15 = 6,000 (30 days); 300 pieces retail for cash at an average of GH¢25 = 7,500. Total sales 13,500 (700 pieces). Closing stock 100 pieces.

Cash book summary.

Details	Receipts GH¢	Payments GH¢	Balance GH¢
Opening cash	15,000.00		15,000.00
Cash sales	7,500.00		22,500.00
Materials		5,000.00	17,500.00
Casual labour		1,320.00	16,180.00
Rent		500.00	15,680.00
Supervisor net pay		1,289.84	14,390.16
Transport		400.00	13,990.16
Phone and data		100.00	13,890.16
Permit and fees for the year		600.00	13,290.16
Owner's drawing		2,000.00	11,290.16

Income statement.

Item	GH¢
Sales	13,500.00
Cost of goods sold (700 × 7.90)	5,530.00
Gross profit	7,970.00
Rent	500.00
Supervisor pay and employer SSNIT (1,500 + 195)	1,695.00
Transport	400.00
Phone and data	100.00
Depreciation: kiln 180 + wheels 90 + moulds and tools 50	320.00
Permit and fees, one month's share (600 ÷ 12)	50.00
Net profit before tax	4,905.00

Depreciation (examples): kiln (12,000 − 1,200) ÷ 5 years = 2,160 a year = 180 a month; wheels (6,000 − 600) ÷ 5 = 1,080 a year = 90 a month; moulds and tools (2,000 − 200) ÷ 3 = 600 a year = 50 a month.

Balance sheet at month end.

Assets	GH¢	Liabilities and equity	GH¢
Cash	11,290.16	Owed to GRA and SSNIT	405.16
Debtors (nursery)	6,000.00	Owner's capital	35,000.00
Finished stock (100 × 7.90)	790.00	Profit for the month	4,905.00
Prepaid permit and fees (600 − 50)	550.00	Less drawing	(2,000.00)
Equipment 20,000 less depreciation 320	19,680.00
Total assets	38,310.16	Total liabilities and equity	38,310.16

Trial-style check. Debits: cash 11,290.16 + debtors 6,000 + stock 790 + prepaid 550 + equipment 20,000 + drawing 2,000 + COGS 5,530 + rent 500 + salary 1,500 + employer SSNIT 195 + transport 400 + phone 100 + depreciation 320 + fees 50 = 49,225.16. Credits: capital 35,000 + sales 13,500 + accumulated depreciation 320 + owed to GRA and SSNIT 405.16 = 49,225.16. They agree.

Profit is not cash. Profit was GH¢4,905 but cash fell from 15,000 to 11,290.16 (−3,709.84): 4,905 + 320 depreciation + 405.16 owed − 6,000 not yet collected − 790 stock − 550 prepaid − 2,000 drawing = −3,709.84.

Break-even. Fixed costs = 500 + 1,695 + 400 + 100 + 320 + 50 = 3,065. Average price = 13,500 ÷ 700 = 19.29; variable cost 7.90; contribution 11.39 per piece. Break-even = 3,065 ÷ 11.39 = about 269 pieces a month, against 700 sold. Net margin = 4,905 ÷ 13,500 = 36.3%. Mark-up = profit ÷ cost; margin = profit ÷ price: a pot costing 20 sold at 25 has a mark-up of 25% and a margin of 20%.

Tax in the example

On the Modified Taxation Scheme, a year at this level is 13,500 × 12 = GH¢162,000, inside the GH¢20,001 to 750,000 band, so tax is 3% of turnover: GH¢405 for this month's sales. It is below the GH¢750,000 VAT threshold for goods. Keep records in Ghana for at least six years from the end of the year of assessment or VAT period.

Free tools: Excel or Google Sheets; Zoho Books free plan (one user plus an accountant, 1,000 invoices a year, revenue under US$50,000) and Wave. From 1 January 2027, the 2025 edition of IFRS for SMEs applies to companies that use it.

Month-end for a small pottery (example numbers)

Opening cash GH¢2,000. Materials GH¢900; casual labour GH¢600. You make 200 good pieces and sell 180 for cash at GH¢12. Rent GH¢200; phone GH¢50; depreciation GH¢60. (1) Cost per good piece? (2) COGS and closing stock? (3) Gross and net profit? (4) Closing cash? (5) Why is the change in cash different from net profit?

Payroll, reconciliation, depreciation

(1) A kiln supervisor earns GH¢2,000 gross. Work out employee SSNIT 5.5%, taxable pay, PAYE (588 at 0%, next 80 at 5%, next 100 at 10%, next 2,900 at 17.5%), net pay, employer SSNIT 13% and employer cost. (2) The cash book shows MoMo GH¢3,150; the statement shows GH¢3,480. A MoMo fee of GH¢30 is missing from the book; a customer's GH¢160 is not in the book; a supplier transfer of GH¢200 in the book has not left yet. Reconcile. (3) A wheel costs GH¢3,000, salvage GH¢300, life 5 years. Depreciation a year and a month?

Check yourself

Write the accounting equation.
Why do firing losses belong in the cost per good piece?
How long must records be kept?

Close a month

Complete a cash book from 20 pottery transactions.
Keep stock cards for clay, fuel, glaze and two products; a debtors list; a petty cash page.
Cost a firing: materials, labour, fuel, losses, cost per good piece.
Reconcile a MoMo statement.
Prepare the income statement, balance sheet and trial-style check, and next month's forecast.

Your own book

Start a real cash book now. Record every spend for one week, including MoMo fees. Cost one real firing per good piece.

Unit 7 · Grow, partner, tender and present your capstone

Quality and honesty grow a pottery. Cracked pots and false claims end it.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
7.1 Run quality and customer care	uses audits, complaint logs and feedback
7.2 Price and scale	sets a pricing strategy and plans the next step of growth
7.3 Partner, contract and tender	explains group models, contracts and tenders
7.4 Present a capstone	presents a plan with a 12-month cash-flow forecast to a panel

Range. A pottery business plan. Evidence. One-page plan; 12-month forecast; panel score sheet.

Quality systems and customer care

Monthly audit: walk the workshop with your safety and quality sheets; write three findings and actions.
Complaint log: date, product, batch, problem, action, reply within two days (good practice).
Loss review: losses by stage every month; fix the biggest.
Customer care: deliver on time, keep sizes the same, tell buyers early about delays, replace a faulty piece without argument.

Pricing strategy

Three views: cost-plus (cost per good piece plus mark-up), competitor (what buyers pay now: Tanoso bowls GH¢4 to GH¢30, Source: GhTimes Tanoso 2026), and value (what a well-made, burnished or safely glazed, matching set is worth to a hotel or gift shop). Sales rise at festive seasons and weekends in Tanoso: plan stock for those peaks and for the rainy season, when drying and firing are slow.

Scaling: what to do next

Cut losses (Units 1 and 2) before buying anything.
A second kiln load per week, or a bigger kiln.
A pug mill or a second wheel when orders prove the need.
A new product line (glazed decorative ware, liners for a stove maker, coolers).
A second sales point only when the first runs without you.

Partnerships, contracts and tenders

Group models: a shared kiln and clay pit; one brand for several potters; a women's organisation like SWOPA in Sirigu.
Supply contracts: product spec, price, quantity, delivery dates, payment terms, rejection rule, who pays transport, how to end.
Liner contracts: follow the stove maker's drawing and QC (Unit 2).
Public tenders: public buyers use procurement rules; the exact rules were not verified, so ask the Public Procurement Authority and the buyer. Prepare a company profile, TIN, ORC certificate, permits, product spec sheets and three references.

Records for a loan

Registration documents, TIN, six to twelve months of cash book and MoMo statements, costing sheets, the 12-month forecast, an equipment list and signed orders.

Succession and ethics

Write procedures down (body recipes, firing schedules, glaze records) so the workshop runs when you are away; name a deputy; keep key documents where two people can find them. Ethics: never use lead; never sell untested ware as food-safe or as a water filter; never sell cracked water pots; pay workers on time and at least the minimum; dig clay with permission and fill your pits.

Capstone: the 12-month cash-flow forecast

Worked example (example numbers). Opening cash GH¢10,000. Receipts: 60% of a month's sales in cash, 40% collected the next month; a loan of GH¢8,000 received in month 5. Payments: variable costs 47% of sales (rounded to the cedi), fixed cash costs GH¢2,745 (the example month's fixed costs without depreciation), owner drawing GH¢2,000; a second kiln for GH¢8,000 in month 5; loan repayments GH¢750 a month from month 6. Month 6 is a rainy-season dip.

Month	Sales	Opening	Receipts	Payments	Closing
1	12,000	10,000	7,200	10,385	6,815
2	12,000	6,815	12,000	10,385	8,430
3	13,500	8,430	12,900	11,090	10,240
4	15,000	10,240	14,400	11,795	12,845
5	15,000	12,845	23,000	19,795	16,050
6	10,000	16,050	12,000	10,195	17,855
7	11,000	17,855	10,600	10,665	17,790
8	13,500	17,790	12,500	11,840	18,450
9	15,000	18,450	14,400	12,545	20,305
10	16,500	20,305	15,900	13,250	22,955
11	18,000	22,955	17,400	13,955	26,400
12	16,000	26,400	16,800	13,015	30,185

Month 1 receipts are only the 60% cash part, so cash dips. Month 5 shows the loan in and the kiln out. Check every month where cash could fall below zero and plan a fix: collect debts, delay a purchase, ask suppliers for credit. This is an example, not a promise.

Complete the first three months

(Same rules.) Sales 12,000, 12,000 and 13,500; opening cash 10,000. Receipts = 60% of this month's sales + 40% of last month's. Payments = 47% of sales + 2,745 + 2,000. Find closing cash for months 1 to 3. Which month is lowest, and what would you do?

Panel scoring (20 marks each): customer and product; legal route and compliance (permits, tax, safety, lead-free rule); money (start-up, costing, break-even, forecast); safety and ethics; clarity and answers. Competent: at least 60 of 100 with no zero in safety and ethics (author's rule).

Check yourself

Give one reason a profitable pottery can run out of cash.
Name two things a supply contract should say.
Name one ethical rule that protects buyers' health.

Present to a panel

Build a one-page plan with a 12-month forecast and a break-even figure.
Present for five minutes to a panel of three.
Answer three questions, including one on what you will never do.
Write two things the panel asked and your plan for each.

Feedback fix

Write two improvements from the panel and dates to finish them. Update your forecast with real local prices.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Batt (kiln shelf)	A fired shelf that ware sits on in the kiln
Bisque	The first firing, before glaze
Break-even	Sales at which profit is zero
COGS	Cost of goods sold: the cost of the pieces actually sold
Crazing	Fine cracks in a glaze
Depreciation	Spreading the cost of equipment over its useful life
Job card	A record that follows an order through every stage
Lead screen	A test, such as a swab, for lead coming off a glaze
Mark-up / margin	Profit ÷ cost / profit ÷ price
Pyrometer	An instrument that shows the kiln temperature
Ramp	The rate a kiln heats, in °C per hour
Skills matrix	A table of who can do which job
Soak	Holding the kiln at a temperature for a set time
Specification sheet	The written standard for a product

Logbook

Unit 1: firing schedules and logs; loading plans; glaze records; lead screens
Unit 2: production plan; job cards; loss record by stage
Unit 3: layout; safety controls sheet; briefing record; skills matrix; apprentice plan; accident book
Unit 4: gate record; spec sheet; priced proposal; buyer list
Unit 5: registration checklist; start-up budget; finance plan; one-page plan; Assembly call notes
Unit 6: cash book; stock cards; month-end pack; payroll
Unit 7: audit; complaint log; 12-month forecast; panel feedback
Every homework, dated

Self-check quiz

Give the typical bisque and earthenware glaze temperatures.
Why should a kiln rise slowly at the start?
Why must glaze ware not touch?
Name two things the FDA says about lead in pottery.
How many pieces must you make for 300 good ones if losses are 10%?
Name three zones in a pottery workshop layout.
Name two Labour Act duties of an employer.
Name two claims that need proof before you print them.
What does a sole proprietor pay the ORC to register and renew?
What is the MTS rate between GH¢20,001 and GH¢750,000?
Write the formula for straight-line depreciation.
Why can a profitable month end with less cash?