AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
When prices are rising fast, plan with your own cost index rather than the national figure: weight the inputs you actually buy, track their prices monthly, and review your selling prices on a fixed, shorter cycle. Buying stock ahead only pays when the expected price rise is larger than the cost of tying up cash. For context, the NBS put headline inflation at 14.63% year on year for September 2026, with food at 19.59%.
High inflation hurts small businesses in three places: input costs rise before prices can follow, cash tied up in stock and debtors buys less when it comes back, and customers become more price-sensitive. The method below gives you a routine for each, so pricing and buying decisions rest on your own numbers rather than market talk.
Start with the official picture, then build your own
The National Bureau of Statistics publishes the Consumer Price Index each month. For September 2026, Voice of Nigeria reported the NBS figures as headline inflation of 14.63% year on year (down from 15.39% in August), food inflation of 19.59%, and month-on-month headline inflation of 0.06% (down from 0.71%). Check the latest release on the NBS website, as the figures change every month.
These are averages across a national basket. Your bakery, salon or hardware store buys a very different basket, so your costs may be rising faster or slower. That is why you need your own index.
Step 1: build a simple cost index
- List the five to ten inputs that make up most of your costs.
- Give each a weight equal to its share of total spend.
- Record each input's price on the same day every month.
- Multiply each input's percentage change by its weight and add them up.
Example only. A bakery's main costs over the last quarter:
| Input | Weight | Price change | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flour | 50% | +12% | 6.0 points |
| Packaging | 20% | +5% | 1.0 point |
| Diesel and gas | 30% | +20% | 6.0 points |
| Bakery cost index | 100% | +13.0% |
A loaf that cost ₦900 to make now costs about ₦1,017 (₦900 × 1.13). If it sold for ₦1,300, keeping the same percentage margin means a price of about ₦1,469 (₦1,300 × 1.13). Keeping the same naira profit of ₦400 a loaf needs ₦1,417. You may choose a figure in between, but you now know the range.
Step 2: review prices on a shorter, fixed cycle
Rather than changing prices whenever a supplier phones, set a review date: monthly for fast-moving goods, quarterly for services. On that date, update the cost index, check competitors, and decide. Fixed reviews make increases predictable for customers and stop staff from guessing. See pricing when costs change weekly and how to tell customers about a price increase.
- Smaller, regular increases are usually easier for customers to accept than one large jump.
- Protect key 'price-known' items that customers compare, and recover margin on others.
- Consider pack sizes: a smaller portion at a familiar price, clearly labelled with its size.
- For contracts and long jobs, include a price adjustment clause tied to stated inputs.
Any change must be described accurately. Section 123 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018 bars representations that are misleading in a material respect, including about price and price comparisons, so if a pack shrinks, show the new size clearly and do not imply the price is unchanged for the same quantity.
Step 3: time stock purchases with the numbers
Buying ahead protects you from the next price rise but ties up cash that has its own cost: an overdraft, a loan, or money you could have used elsewhere. Compare the two.
Example only. You normally buy ₦1,500,000 of stock a month. You expect supplier prices to rise 2% a month. Buying two extra months now (₦3,000,000) saves ₦30,000 on next month's order and ₦60,600 on the month after (₦1,500,000 × 1.02 × 1.02 = ₦1,560,600), a total of ₦90,600. If the extra ₦3,000,000 comes from a facility costing 2.5% a month, interest is ₦37,500 for the first month's stock and ₦75,000 for the second (held two months): ₦112,500. Buying ahead loses ₦21,900 here. At a 1% monthly borrowing cost it would gain.
Also count storage space, theft risk and expiry. Buying ahead works best for non-perishable, fast-selling lines whose prices you can see rising. The low month-on-month figure for September 2026 is a reminder that price rises are not always steady.
Step 4: protect quotes, contracts and budgets
Inflation does the most damage to work priced today and delivered months later. A contractor who quotes a fixed price in January for a job finished in June carries every cost rise in between.
- Put a validity period on every quote, for example 7 or 14 days, and say prices may change after it.
- For longer jobs, take a deposit that covers materials and buy them as soon as it clears.
- Tie price adjustments in contracts to named inputs and a stated source, so both sides can check the change.
- Build your annual budget in quarters and re-forecast each quarter with the updated cost index, rather than fixing one figure in January.
Step 5: shorten your cash cycle
- Collect from customers faster; money received in 30 days buys less than money received in 7.
- Ask suppliers for longer terms where you have a good payment record.
- Hold less slow-moving stock (see dead stock).
- Review the monthly cash flow against your cost index.
Where Pryme fits
Naira savings can be kept in Savings Boxes in the Pryme app, with rates shown in the app. A business that earns or pays in USD, GBP or EUR can hold those currencies in a multicurrency Business Account; money stays in the currency it arrived in until you choose to convert, with the rate shown first and the fee on its own line.
Questions people ask
What is the current inflation rate in Nigeria?
For September 2026 the NBS put headline inflation at 14.63% year on year and food inflation at 19.59%. Check the NBS website for the latest monthly release.
How do I adjust my prices for inflation?
Build a simple cost index of your own main inputs, review it on a fixed date each month or quarter, and adjust prices by the change in your costs rather than the national figure.
Should I buy stock in bulk before prices go up?
Only if the expected price rise is bigger than the cost of the cash tied up, plus storage and expiry risk. Work it out in naira first.
How do businesses survive high inflation?
By tracking their own costs, reviewing prices regularly, shortening the cash cycle, and holding less slow-moving stock.
Sources
- Voice of Nigeria: Nigeria's headline inflation drops to 14.63 per cent (NBS CPI, September 2026), 16 Oct 2026 · accessed Oct 2026
- Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, section 123 (LawGlobalHub text) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.