Business with Rs 50,000 in Pakistan: an honest budget

How to split Rs 50,000

With Rs 50,000 you can run a real online store selling on cash on delivery. The mistake is spending all of it on stock on the first day. Split it into six parts before you go to the market:

• First stock. A small batch of one product line, enough to fill your store with a few designs or colours.
• Packing. Flyer bags, boxes for anything that breaks, tape, and a printed or handwritten slip. See packaging for an online business for what each product needs.
• Photos. Your phone, daylight and a plain background. A white sheet costs less than a studio. The mobile photography guide and the free white background tool cover the rest.
• Courier account. Budget it as Rs 0 here and ask the courier about any fee when you apply. Have your CNIC and bank details ready. How to open a courier COD account walks through each courier. Leopards also offers Retail COD, where you book at an express centre without a corporate or COD account and the money goes to your bank account.
• Cash buffer. Money you do not spend, so you can restock before the courier pays you for the first parcels.
• Returns buffer. Money set aside for parcels that come back, because you pay the courier both ways and get no sale.

The store itself is Rs 0. Storelala is free to start, with no card needed, so that line stays empty.

An example budget

These are example numbers for your own plan, not market prices. Say you spend it like this:

Change the numbers to fit your product. A product that breaks needs more for packing. A product with sizes needs more for stock. What should not change is that a real part of the money stays as cash.

If you have no money at all to start, read how to start an online business without investment first. This guide is the next step, for when you have Rs 50,000 to put in.

Why you keep cash back

On cash on delivery, the buyer pays the rider, and the courier pays you later. Leopards says its Retail COD pays weekly and within a week of a successful delivery (checked October 2026). Add the days it takes to pack, book and deliver, and money from your first orders can take more than a week to reach you.

In that time, the colours that sold are running out. If every rupee went into the first batch, you wait with an empty shelf while buyers ask for the thing that sold. The cash buffer lets you restock the best seller now and pay yourself back when the courier pays. The COD payment cycle guide shows how to count your own cycle and how much money is out at any time.

The returns buffer covers the other gap. A returned parcel costs you delivery both ways and sometimes the packing. Call or message every buyer to confirm before you book, and read how to reduce COD returns before your first parcel goes out.

Six products that fit the budget

Each of these can start with a small first batch and be sent by courier. Each has its own guide with sourcing, packing and pricing. Pick one.

• Dupattas. One size, light, easy to pack in a flyer bag. The catch: colour on a phone screen is not colour in hand, so buyers return for shade.
• Cosmetics. Small and light, and a buyer who likes a product can order it again. The catch: buy only from a supplier you trust and check expiry dates, because fakes and old stock end your name fast.
• Mobile accessories. Covers, chargers and cables cost little per piece. The catch: covers are per phone model, so a wide range of models eats the stock budget. Our mobile accessories guide works through the COD maths on a Rs 399 order.
• Stationery. Low cost per item and easy bundles for school and office. The catch: single items are cheap, so you need bundles to make the delivery charge worth it.
• Handmade products. Material is cheap and you can make to order. The catch: your time is the limit, so price your hours, not only the material.
• Achar. Made at home in batches. The catch: glass jars break and oil leaks, so packing costs more and food has rules to follow.

Not sure which? What to sell online helps you pick from what you already know.

What not to spend on first

• Paid ads before you have photos and a few orders. An ad sends people to your products. If the photos are weak, you pay for visits that do not buy. Get the store right and sell to people you can reach for free first.
• Big stock in many sizes. Five sizes in four colours is twenty pieces before you sell one design. Start with one size or few sizes, and buy more of what sells.
• Printed boxes and branded tape. Nice later. At the start, a clean flyer bag and a neat slip do the job.
• A paid logo. The free logo maker and shop name generator are enough to open.

When to put money into ads

Put money into ads when you have three things: good photos, a product that has sold to real buyers, and stock to fill the orders an ad brings. Then set a small, fixed test amount from your profit, not from the cash buffer, and see what each order costs you.

How to run Facebook ads covers setting up the first campaign, and Instagram ads cost in Pakistan covers what you pay. Before you spend, the ad break-even calculator tells you the most you can pay for one order and still make money.

Pricing so the money comes back

Rs 50,000 only grows if every sale brings back more than it cost. Your price has to cover the product, packing, delivery, the parcels that come back and any ad money. Put your numbers into the profit margin calculator and the COD profit calculator before you set a price. If the profit only works when nothing is returned, the price is too low.

Keep a simple sheet: money in, money out, stock left, money still with the courier. When the first batch has sold and the courier has paid, you will see whether Rs 50,000 became more, and which product to buy again.

Questions sellers ask

What business can I start with 50,000 rupees in Pakistan?

An online store that sells by cash on delivery is one of the few businesses where Rs 50,000 covers everything: a first batch of stock, packing, phone photos and a cash buffer. Pick one product you understand, such as dupattas, cosmetics, mobile accessories, stationery, handmade items or home-made achar, and buy a small first batch rather than a wide range.

How much of Rs 50,000 should go into stock?

Less than you think. If you put all of it into stock, you have nothing to restock with while the courier still holds the money from your first deliveries, and nothing to cover returned parcels. Keep a part back as cash, and decide the split before you go to the market.

Is Rs 50,000 enough to start an online clothing business?

Enough for a small, focused start, such as dupattas or one type of suit in a few colours, not a full range in every size. Sizes multiply your stock, so start with items that are one size or few sizes, and add more once you know what sells.

Do I need a website for a Rs 50,000 business?

You need a store buyers can order from, but it does not need to cost anything. Storelala is free to start, with no card needed, so the whole Rs 50,000 can go into stock, packing and cash.

Should I spend part of Rs 50,000 on Facebook ads?

Not on day one. Get your photos right, put the products in your store and get a few orders from people you can reach for free first. Then spend a small, fixed test amount and check what each order costs you before spending more.

Storelala is the Shopify alternative in Pakistan: your own store at yourbrand.storelala.com, cash on delivery built in, the courier and tracking number on every order, and no marketplace commission. It runs from your phone and is free to start with no card needed, so all of your Rs 50,000 goes into the business. Start your store.