Custom Processing & What Does Toll Milling Earn?
Mill flour
For a flour, dal or oil mill or a rice huller run as a toll service, enter the charge per quintal, your own cost and the quantity to get revenue, net margin and utilisation against capacity.
Custom processing charge
Next: you are running at 66.7% of capacity — chase more custom-hire volume to spread fixed costs and lift the margin.
Net margin here is revenue minus your variable own-cost per quintal; it does not subtract fixed overheads (machinery, rent, depreciation). Utilization above 100% means you took on more than the stated capacity.
Custom processing — key facts
- Model
- toll service, charge per quintal
- Revenue
- charge × quantity
- Net margin
- (charge − own cost) × quantity
- Utilisation
- quantity ÷ capacity
- Fits
- flour / dal / oil mill, rice huller
- No price risk
- you never own the commodity
- Higher use
- thinner fixed cost per quintal
- Privacy
- Runs in your browser; nothing uploaded
Earn from the mill, not the market
Running a mill as a toll service is one of the lowest-risk ways to earn from agriculture: you never buy the grain or carry its price risk — the customer brings their own wheat, paddy or oilseed and pays you a charge per quintal to process it. Your profit is simply that charge minus your own cost of milling, multiplied by how much you put through. The catch is the machine's fixed cost: it eats your margin when the unit sits idle, so utilisation against capacity is the number that decides whether the business hums or struggles.
This tool computes your revenue, net margin, utilisation and capacity in 8 currencies, so you can set the right charge per quintal and see how busy your unit needs to be to make money. Use it to price a toll-milling service, to judge whether to chase more custom work, and to build a financing case. Pair it with the Custom Hiring Rate, Value Addition Profit and milling recovery tools to plan the whole operation.
Price your service
Set a per-quintal charge that earns a real margin.
See the net margin
What's left after your own milling cost.
Track utilisation
How busy the unit is against its capacity.
Build a loan case
Show a financier the unit services its debt.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is custom (toll) processing?+
Toll or custom processing is when a mill processes a customer's own grain or oilseed for a fee, rather than buying and reselling it. A farmer brings wheat, paddy or oilseed; you mill it and return the flour, rice or oil and keep a charge per quintal. It's a low-risk service model because you never own the commodity or carry its price risk.
How is the net margin calculated?+
Net margin = (charge per quintal − your own cost per quintal) × quantity processed. The charge is what the customer pays you per quintal; your own cost covers power, labour, wear and overhead per quintal. Multiply the per-quintal margin by the total quantity to get the period's net margin. This tool does it instantly.
What does utilisation mean here?+
Utilisation is the quantity you actually process as a percentage of your capacity over the same period. If your mill can handle 1,000 quintals a month and you process 600, utilisation is 60%. It tells you how busy the unit is — low utilisation means idle capacity and fixed costs spread over fewer quintals, which squeezes margin.
Why does utilisation matter for profit?+
Milling has high fixed costs — the machine, the shed, the connection charges — that you pay whether the mill runs or sits idle. The more quintals you push through, the thinner those fixed costs spread per quintal, so a higher utilisation usually means a healthier real margin. Watching utilisation tells you whether to chase more custom work or raise your charge.
What types of mills does this fit?+
Any toll-service unit charging per quintal: a flour (atta/maida) mill, a dal mill, an oil expeller or ghani, or a rice huller/sheller. Enter the per-quintal charge customers pay, your own per-quintal cost and the quantity, and the tool returns revenue, net margin and utilisation regardless of the commodity.
What should I include in my own cost?+
Include the variable cost of processing one quintal — electricity or diesel, labour, packing, maintenance and a share of overheads. For a sharper figure, also factor in machinery wear and any rejected or wasted material. The closer your own cost reflects reality, the more accurate the net margin the tool reports.
How do I set the right charge per quintal?+
Look at what nearby mills charge, your own cost per quintal, and the margin you need at a realistic utilisation. The charge must cover your variable cost and contribute to fixed costs and profit. The tool lets you test different charges quickly to see how each affects net margin at your expected quantity.
Can a custom-processing unit be financed?+
Yes — mills and processing units are common candidates for agri term loans and custom-hiring or agri-business schemes. Knowing your revenue, net margin and utilisation helps you build a viable repayment case. Use this tool's figures alongside a loan EMI estimate to check whether the unit services its debt comfortably.
Can I use this outside India?+
Yes. Toll/custom milling exists worldwide; only the unit names differ. Pick your currency and use your local per-unit charge, cost and quantity — the revenue, margin and utilisation maths is the same anywhere.
Is this an exact financial statement?+
No — it's a planning estimate. It gives revenue, net margin and utilisation from the figures you enter, but actual profit depends on real throughput, costs and downtime. Use it to size a toll-processing opportunity and set your charge, then confirm with detailed records.