IPS and battery sales and servicing
A shop that installs IPS units and replaces batteries. The machine sells once, the battery every 18-30 months - and the battery is most of the price of the set.
- Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
- Version 1
- Starting capital
- ৳2,00,000 – ৳6,00,000 Editorial estimate
- Manpower
- 1 – 4 people
- First sale
- 15 – 45 days Editorial estimate
- Break-even
- 8 – 15 months Editorial estimate
- Kind of work
- Shop · Medium difficulty
What the business is
Selling an IPS pays once; selling batteries pays again and again. That is the whole point of this trade. The inverter itself can run for a decade, but the battery carries a warranty of only 18 to 30 months - 18 months on flat-plate, two years on tubular, 30 months on tall tubular. Whoever buys a set from you today comes back to you for a battery in two years or so, so every installation is a future customer. The battery is also the bigger half of the money. On 16 September 2026 the Daraz seller JB ENTERPRISE listed a complete Rahimafrooz 600VA IPS with a 135Ah battery at Tk 33,440, while the same seller's 135Ah battery on its own ran Tk 22,000 to 27,927 - roughly two-thirds to five-sixths of the whole set. The same day 100Ah batteries were Tk 14,728-21,000, 150Ah Tk 20,266-35,000 and 200Ah Tk 26,498-43,000. Sales rise with load shedding in the hot months and nearly stop in winter, so money sits in battery stock, and a battery left standing in the shop weakens by itself. Balancing those two is the job.
Unit economics
| Item | Range | Evidence | Suggest a correction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly working capital | ৳1,70,000 – ৳2,90,000 | Editorial estimate | |
| Selling price | ৳14,728 – ৳43,000 / unit | Market quote | |
| Variable cost | ৳12,100 – ৳38,700 / unit | Editorial estimate | |
| Gross margin | 10% – 18% | Editorial estimate | |
| Time to first revenue | 15 – 45 days | Editorial estimate | |
| Break-even time | 8 – 15 months | Editorial estimate | |
| Cash cycle | 15 – 60 days | Editorial estimate | |
| Waste / loss | 1% – 4% | Editorial estimate | |
| Daily capacity | 2 – 6 | Editorial estimate |
What you need to start
- Hydrometer, multimeter, battery load tester, charger, distilled water, wiring tools and a trolley for moving batteries.Equipment
- Battery and inverter stock. Retail prices on 16 September 2026: 100Ah Tk 14,728-21,000, 135Ah Tk 22,000-27,927, 150Ah Tk 20,266-35,000, 200Ah Tk 26,498-43,000; 600VA inverters Tk 10,500-16,000, 2000VA Tk 16,082-25,500.Starting stock
- Trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300, licence fee Tk 100-60,000 by trade type, issued in 3-5 working days.Licence
- Installation skill: wiring, earthing, load calculation and testing battery charging. A wrong load calculation finishes a battery before its warranty does.Skill
- A brand distributor or dealer: Rahimafrooz, Hamko, Saif Power, Eastern, Luminous, Microtek. Warranty claims go through the brand's own process; Rahimafrooz requires online warranty registration by SMS.Supplier
- A roadside shop with a floor strong enough for heavy batteries and real ventilation. Lead-acid batteries give off gas while charging, so charging in a closed room is dangerous.Workspace
How the work runs
- 1Pick the shop by how bad load shedding is locally - that is where the trade is. Take a roadside spot, because batteries are heavy and go in and out constantly.
- 2Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality: form Tk 10, book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300 and the licence fee by trade type.
- 3Choose your brands and talk to a dealer or distributor. Rahimafrooz, Hamko, Saif Power, Eastern, Luminous - each has its own warranty and replacement process, and you must understand it before you stock it.
- 4Keep stock shallow but wide. Hold 100, 135 and 200Ah, because customers ask how many hours it will run, not which brand it is.
- 5Give a warranty card with every sale and keep your own register: whose house, which battery, installed when, warranty ending when. That register is your future sales list.
- 6Call the customer two or three months before the warranty ends - 18 months on flat-plate, two years on tubular, 30 months on tall tubular is exactly when a battery starts to fade.
- 7Learn installation yourself or keep one skilled hand. Bad wiring, bad earthing or a wrong load calculation kills the battery early and the blame lands on you.
- 8Make servicing a separate line - topping up water, cleaning terminals, checking charging. It keeps you in touch with the customer and you learn first when the battery needs replacing.
- 9Take old batteries back and pass them to a registered lead buyer. Roadside lead smelting is dangerous and carries legal risk.
- 10Fill stock in February and March before the heat, and run it down in winter. A battery standing unsold in winter loses charge and weakens by itself.
Seasons
- JanNormal
- FebNormal
- MarHigh
- AprHigh
- MayHigh
- JunHigh
- JulHigh
- AugHigh
- SepHigh
- OctNormal
- NovLow
- DecLow
Where it fits
- Strong fitBogura · The machinery trading centre of the north; retail shops in surrounding districts lift their stock here.
- Strong fitChattogram · A large city and the main base of importers and distributors, so stock is easy and cheap to lift.
- Strong fitDhaka · Dense settlement, countless small shops and offices, and the Nawabpur-Patuatuli wholesale parts market close at hand.
- Strong fitGazipur · Factories, messes and rented housing are dense, so one bout of load shedding moves many customers at once.
- Strong fitNarayanganj · Many small factories and shops, with Dhaka's wholesale market right next door.
- PossibleCox's Bazar · Hotels and resorts cannot tolerate an outage, so there is work in large sets and regular servicing.
- PossibleCumilla · Highway-side markets and remittance households mean relatively more demand for the larger batteries.
- PossibleJashore · Border trade and small industry give steady shop-based demand.
- PossibleRangpur · Load shedding is worse in the irrigation season and the heat, but lower purchasing power means smaller batteries sell.
- PossibleSylhet · Remittance households install larger sets and haggle less over price.
Risks and cautions
- HighWorking capital: Money sits in stock and the stock spoils itself. One 200Ah battery is Tk 26,498-43,000, so six batteries lock up two to three lakh taka. Winter sales fall, and an unsold lead-acid battery loses charge and sulphates just by standing. Too much stock kills the cash; too little sends the customer next door.
- HighDependency: The warranty is the shop's problem but the brand's decision. Batteries sell on 18, 24 or 30-month warranties and a failure inside that window walks straight back to your counter. If the company rejects the claim or drags the replacement, the customer blames you and takes everyone he knows with him.
- HighDemand: Demand rides entirely on load shedding. A good power year kills sales; a hot month spikes them. Three or four winter months are almost servicing only, and matching stock and staff cost to that swing is hard.
- MediumOther: Cheap machines undercut you. The same day, imported 1000-3000W inverter-chargers were listed at Tk 2,550 to 6,499 against Tk 10,500-16,000 for a branded 600VA IPS. Customers buy on price, then bring the broken unit to you for repair - without you having had the sale.
- MediumOther: Old battery lead. Every sale leaves an old battery behind, and because the lead is valuable it gets smelted in uncontrolled ways. Handing batteries to an unregistered buyer can tie your name to where they end up.
Sources
সিটি কর্পোরেশন থেকে ট্রেড লাইসেন্স প্রাপ্তির ধাপ সমূহ
Collected: 16 Sept 2026Supports: Starting capital, Time to first revenue · বাংলাদেশ
What changed
No corrections have been published yet.
Questions and answers
No questions yet. Be the first to ask.
Similar businesses
Wedding and event decoration
Decorating gates, stages, lighting and rooms for weddings and events. Bookings come with 50-70 percent in advance, so the money arrives before the work.
- Capital
- ৳1.5 lakh – ৳10 lakh
- People
- 3 – 15
- First income
- 15 – 60 days
Veterinary medicine and service
Selling animal medicines and giving treatment. Treatment needs Veterinary Council registration, the establishment needs Council recognition, and the licence to sell medicine comes from DGDA.
- Capital
- ৳1.5 lakh – ৳8 lakh
- People
- 1 – 4
- First income
- 60 – 150 days
Gym and fitness centre
Renting a floor, installing machines and taking members on a monthly or yearly fee. The money comes up front while the costs run all year, and retention decides everything.
- Capital
- ৳2.5 lakh – ৳15 lakh
- People
- 2 – 8
- First income
- 30 – 90 days
Daycare centre
A centre caring for working parents' children through the day. Registration is compulsory under the 2021 Act: running one without it risks two years in jail or a Tk 5-10 lakh fine.
- Capital
- ৳3 lakh – ৳12 lakh
- People
- 3 – 12
- First income
- 30 – 180 days