The break-even point is the number of units you must sell to cover all your costs. Below it — you lose. Above it — you profit. This is exactly what your Gr 12 Manufacturing & Cost Accounting questions ask.
Enter a company's figures and instantly get the ratios that carry the most marks in the exam. Then read the interpretation — because that's where learners lose marks.
The two methods side-by-side. This is the exact calculation your Gr 12 paper asks — and where learners confuse "cost price" with "carrying value".
| Year | Cost price method | Diminishing balance method |
|---|
Every invoice in the exam needs VAT calculated correctly. Inclusive vs exclusive. Input vs output. Let's build one.
VAT = Exclusive × rate ÷ 100
Inclusive = Exclusive + VAT
Or: Inclusive = Exclusive × (1 + rate/100)
Exclusive = Inclusive × 100 ÷ (100 + rate)
VAT = Inclusive − Exclusive
Or: VAT = Inclusive × rate ÷ (100 + rate)
The Cash Flow Statement is a 30-mark question that most learners avoid. Here's how the three sections fit together — with the cash reconciliation at the end.
Compare the four market structures side by side. This is the comparison you're asked to table in the exam — memorise the differences.
Number of firms: Many
Product: Homogeneous
Price control: Price taker
Entry: Completely free
Info: Perfect
Long-run profit: Normal only
Examples: Maize, wheat, forex markets
Number of firms: Many, fewer than perfect
Product: Differentiated
Price control: Some — price maker
Entry: Free
Info: Imperfect
Long-run profit: Normal only
Examples: Restaurants, hair salons, clothing
Number of firms: Few large firms
Product: Homogeneous or differentiated
Price control: Interdependent price maker
Entry: Restricted (high barriers)
Info: Imperfect
Long-run profit: Can be economic
Examples: Banks, cell networks, airlines
Number of firms: One
Product: Unique (no substitutes)
Price control: Price maker
Entry: Completely blocked
Info: Controlled by monopolist
Long-run profit: Economic — indefinitely
Examples: Eskom, De Beers (historically)
See what inflation actually does to money. Type in the numbers and watch purchasing power collapse — or wages lag behind prices.
• Debtors (borrowers) — repay loans with cheaper money
• Owners of physical assets (houses, land, gold)
• Businesses that can raise prices faster than costs
• The Government — bracket creep in taxes
• Pensioners on fixed incomes
• Creditors (lenders) — repaid with devalued money
• Savers in bank accounts
• Low-income households — food & transport dominate their budget
A small injection causes a much larger change in income. Watch it happen — then match your answer to the two-, three-, and four-sector formulas.
Enter the numbers from any BoP table and see whether the country is in surplus or deficit — and what it means for the rand.
Six forms of ownership compared across the criteria the exam asks about. Click a criterion to highlight.
| Criterion | Sole Trader | Partnership | Close Corp | Private Co (Pty) | Public Co (Ltd) | State-Owned |
|---|
Every Grade 12 Business Studies paper tests whether you can match a real-world scenario to the correct Act. Let's drill it.
Sets up SETAs, learnerships, and the 1% skills levy. Promotes employee training.
Covers trade unions, strikes, CCMA, workplace forums, unfair dismissal.
Prevents discrimination; mandates affirmative action for designated groups.
Working hours, leave, overtime, termination rules.
Redresses apartheid inequities via ownership, management, skills, procurement points.
Consumer credit protection, affordability assessment, cooling-off period.
Consumer rights — fair marketing, plain language, right to return goods.
Four families of strategies. Click any to see what it means and when a business would use it.
Combining with other businesses to shorten the distribution channel.
Forward: buy a distributor or retailer
Backward: buy your supplier
Horizontal: merge with a direct competitor
Squeezing more out of what you already have.
Market penetration: sell more of same product to same market
Market development: same product, new market
Product development: new product, same market
New products, new markets.
Concentric: related tech/customers
Horizontal: unrelated, same customers
Conglomerate: entirely unrelated
Used when under pressure.
Retrenchment: cut costs, reduce staff
Divestiture: sell off a division
Liquidation: close the business entirely