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5.2 From Canvas to plan: partners, costs and revenue

From Canvas to plan: map partners with quotes, organize fixed and variable costs, set a price with an Incoterms® rule and exchange rate, and calculate how much you must sell to avoid losing money.

Module 5: Your international business model · Reviewed on 20/10/2026 · Español

Goal: Calculate the costs, profit and break-even point of an export business and check how it changes with a weaker dollar.

The Canvas says what business you want to build. The business plan says how much it costs, how much it leaves and what you must do and when. Turn each block into numbers, owners and dates. In an international business, the plan answers four questions: who helps you? How much do you spend per shipment? At what price and in what currency do you sell? And how much must you sell to avoid losing money? This topic works on the three pieces that weigh most: partners, costs and revenue.

Start with the map of key partners. Note each service you will not do yourself, who provides it and how they charge. Ask for at least two quotes (written price offers) and compare what each one includes, not just the total. A freight forwarder usually charges per kilo; a customs broker, fees per operation; a bank, a commission per transfer. If you work with a distributor in the destination country, define its functions and its commission in writing (topic 4-3). The State is also a partner: PROMPERÚ offers commercial support and SUNAT, services for exporting.

Organize costs in three groups. First, the product cost: raw material, production and packaging. Second, the costs of exporting: local transport, customs broker, international freight, bank fees and, if it falls to you, insurance. Third, the company's expenses: staff, premises, marketing and samples. Then separate them into fixed (they do not change with volume, like rent) and variable (they rise with each kilo or each shipment). The Incoterms® rule you offer decides which transport you pay for: with CPT you pay up to the destination; with FOB, only up to loading the goods on the vessel.

The IGV on your local purchases is not a final cost, because the exporter can request a refund. But the refund takes time: treat it as working capital, that is, the cash you need to operate while you wait to get paid. The detail of costs and financing is covered in the Finance, costs and payment methods course.

Your revenue depends on the price and the payment terms. The price must cover your costs, leave a margin (what is left of each sale after costs) and be competitive at the destination, as you will see in topic 3-3. Always quote with the Incoterms® rule and the place, for example “CPT Santiago”. You almost always get paid in dollars and spend in soles: use the exchange rate published by the BCRP and test a scenario with a lower dollar. If you have an extra income such as drawback, which refunds 3% of the FOB value when you meet the requirements, do not put it in the base price: it depends on a rule that may change.

Close with the break-even point: the minimum volume you must sell for revenue to cover all costs. It is calculated by dividing fixed costs by what each unit contributes, that is, the price minus the variable cost. With that figure you decide whether the business is viable, how much capital you need and what you do if the buyer orders less. Put it all together in a one-to-three-page plan with the corrected Canvas, costs, price, volume, shipments and risks.

Key ideas

The plan turns each Canvas block into numbers, owners and dates.
Map your partners by function and ask for at least two quotes per service, comparing what each one includes.
Separate fixed costs from variable ones. The Incoterms® rule you offer defines which transport costs are yours.
The price must cover costs, leave a margin and be competitive at the destination. Quote it with the Incoterms® rule and place.
You get paid in dollars and spend in soles: use the BCRP exchange rate and test a scenario with a lower dollar.
Break-even is the minimum volume to cover all costs: it tells you whether the business is viable.

Partner	What it provides	How it usually charges	What to ask before deciding
Producers or suppliers	Raw material or finished product	Price per kilo or per unit	Samples, available volume and quality in writing
Freight forwarder	Organizes and consolidates the transport	Rate per kilo plus charges	Quote with validity, transit time and what it includes
Customs broker	Processes the export DAM	Fees per operation	List of documents, fees and lead times
Bank	Receives payments from abroad	Commission per transfer	Fees and time to credit your account
Insurer	Covers the cargo in transit	Premium as a percentage of the value	Coverage, exclusions and who arranges it under the Incoterms® rule
Distributor at destination	Sells and serves the end customer	Commission or resale margin	Written contract with functions, term and exclusivity

Worked example

Café Rumi turns its Canvas into a monthly plan

Assumptions. Café Rumi will ship 240 kg of roasted coffee a month (6 coffee shops at 40 kg) in a consolidated air cargo shipment to Santiago, sold CPT Santiago. It uses S/ 3.45 per US$, a rounding of the BCRP interbank selling exchange rate of 09/10/2026 (S/ 3.454).
Partners. It asks for two quotes per service and chooses: a freight forwarder with air freight of US$ 1.60 per kg on 260 kg of gross weight, a customs broker with fees of S/ 350 per shipment and a bank with fees of S/ 90 per shipment. Under CPT it does not take out insurance; the buyer will do so if it wishes.
Variable costs per net kilo. Coffee with roasting loss: S/ 26.00. Roasting: S/ 3.50. Packaging: S/ 2.20. Freight: US$ 1.60 × 260 kg ÷ 240 kg = US$ 1.7333 per kg, which at S/ 3.45 is S/ 5.98. Total: 26.00 + 3.50 + 2.20 + 5.98 = S/ 37.68 per kilo.
Fixed costs for the month. Local transport S/ 180, customs broker S/ 350 and bank S/ 90 add up to S/ 620 per shipment. The company's fixed expenses (workshop, part-time staff, accounting, marketing and samples) are S/ 5,000. Fixed for the month: S/ 5,620. All figures are without IGV, which Café Rumi will ask to have refunded.
Revenue. Price of US$ 21.00 per kg CPT Santiago. Sales for the month: 240 × US$ 21.00 = US$ 5,040, which at S/ 3.45 is S/ 17,388.00. Per kilo, the revenue is 21.00 × 3.45 = S/ 72.45.
Profit. Variable costs: 37.68 × 240 = S/ 9,043.20. Total costs: 9,043.20 + 5,620 = S/ 14,663.20. Profit for the month: 17,388.00 − 14,663.20 = S/ 2,724.80, a margin of 15.7% on sales.
Break-even point. Each kilo contributes 72.45 − 37.68 = S/ 34.77. Break-even: 5,620 ÷ 34.77 = 161.6, that is, 162 kg a month (67.5% of the planned volume). With less than that, Café Rumi loses money.
Low-dollar scenario. With the dollar at S/ 3.34, sales are 5,040 × 3.34 = S/ 16,833.60 and the freight falls to 416 × 3.34 = S/ 1,389.44. Costs: 7,608.00 + 1,389.44 + 5,620 = S/ 14,617.44. Profit: S/ 2,216.16, that is, 18.7% less even though the dollar fell only 3.2%.

Result: The business is viable but tight: it leaves S/ 2,724.80 a month and needs to sell at least 162 kg. Since profit is sensitive to the exchange rate, Café Rumi will ask for a 50% advance, review its dollar price every quarter and look for more customers.

Real cases

SUNAT updates the drawback procedure

26/12/2025

On 26/12/2025 SUNAT published Superintendency Resolution 000381-2025/SUNAT, which changed the procedure for the refund of customs duties (drawback). It applies from 02/02/2026. The rate stays at 3% of the FOB value and the one in force on the date of numbering applies, unless provided otherwise. If the request goes to document review, the beneficiary has 2 business days from numbering to confirm whether it attaches additional documents; otherwise it is cancelled. An exporter who has this income must review the current rules before putting it in its plan.

Drawback is an extra income that depends on requirements and on rules that change: calculate it with the rule in force and do not use it to set your base price.

Source: SUNAT – Procedimiento de restitución de derechos arancelarios (drawback): cambios de la RS 000381-2025/SUNAT

The exchange rate moves your income in soles

09/10/2026

Between 29/12/2025 and 09/10/2026, the interbank selling exchange rate published by the BCRP went from S/ 3.367 to S/ 3.454. In that period it hit a low of S/ 3.342 (28/01/2026) and a high of S/ 3.530 (29/04/2026). A sale of US$ 10,000 is equivalent to S/ 33,420 at the low and to S/ 35,300 at the high: a difference of S/ 1,880 without the business having changed.

Calculate your plan with the BCRP reference exchange rate and add a scenario with a lower dollar, not just today's.

Source: BCRP – Serie diaria: TC Interbancario (S/ por US$) - Venta, 29/12/2025 a 09/10/2026

Incoterms® 2020: who does what and who pays what

01/01/2020

The Incoterms® 2020 rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) entered into force on 01/01/2020. There are eleven rules, each with a three-letter term, and they serve to clarify the tasks, costs and risks of delivery of the goods from seller to buyer. When you offer CPT, FOB or CIF you change which transport costs enter your cost structure and your price.

Calculate your price with the Incoterms® rule you actually offer: it defines which costs are yours and which the buyer pays.

Source: ICC – Incoterms® rules

Common mistakes

Setting the price with the product cost and forgetting the costs of exporting (freight, broker, fees) and fixed expenses. List all the blocks of the Canvas.
Accepting a single freight or broker quote. Ask for two or more, with their validity and what each includes.
Mixing soles and dollars without a reference exchange rate. Use the BCRP's and test a scenario with a lower dollar.
Counting drawback or the IGV refund as sure and immediate income. They are extras that depend on requirements and take time.
Ignoring working capital: you pay for inputs today and get paid weeks later. Calculate how much money you need until the first payment.

Practise with the calculators, the COMEX Simulator and the review questions on the main page.

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