How to Start an Atta Business in India – 3 Easy Steps

Small businesses have been thriving off of this economy, and they might be coming for the corporational dominance! In this article, we discuss a small business idea of how to start an atta business as well as other technicalities.

Smaller businesses are the engine that propels the economy forward. Despite the fact that megacorporations and chains receive a lot more attention and are accorded some significance, small businesses are the primary benefactors of the nation’s progress.

Small enterprises are also a profitable venture for budding entrepreneurs who want to establish their own company but lack the necessary expertise and funding.

They could be the starting point for anyone who seeks to step into the entrepreneurial universe. One lucrative small business idea is the Flour Mill or Atta Chakki business. Here is how to start an atta business of your own.

Types of Atta Businesses

Individuals venturing out in the small business of atta need to know that there are two kinds of Atta Chakki businesses.

Basic Mill

The Basic mill is the type that caters to customers who want to get the grains grounded and milled at the given rates.

This business involves a milling machine as well as a workspace or a facility to house the equipment and operate the milling. The only expenditure incurred for this type of mill is the equipment and a place, but these two can initially be rented.

Flour Mill  

The second type would be where the business owner buys not just the equipment but also the raw materials. They buy grains, ground them in-house and package them for retail selling, or can even sell to customers directly.

This type of business involves purchasing raw materials and equipment, sifting, milling and packaging. All the processes necessitate machinery and significant capital investment, more than the basic mill business. However, it also brings hefty rewards and returns. 

Types Of Atta Chakki Machines

The atta chakki machines are available in different sizes and shapes and depending on one’s need, they can purchase the one that works well for their business.

• For big industries, the atta chakki machines are large that have large capacities. Available in two operating modes – semi-automated and automated machines. They have a capacity that ranges from 199 to 3999 kilograms per hour.
• For commercial purposes, a large atta chakki with a large quantity of wheat generation is required.
• Micro-flour mills which are the smaller ones are used for domestic purposes in the kitchen.

Advantages Of HavIng An Atta Business?

If you want to learn how to launch a business of atta chakki, one should first understand the advantages. This business has various benefits, making it a wonderful small business to run — particularly for budding businessmen.

High Demand

Almost every typical family of India consumes flour in the everyday diet, therefore a singular household will require a considerable quantity of flour.

In addition, with the increased emphasis on health, more households are foregoing store-bought readymade flour in favour of having it milled.

As a result, the need for atta mills will always be strong. Food establishments and cafés also require huge volumes of flour, creating a market for mills.

Low Investment

This is a venture that does not need an upfront investment of capital. The cost of acquiring a machine for a mill is expected to be around Rs 2 lakhs, which may also be reduced if the equipment is borrowed or rented initially. As a result, given the business’s return rate, the investment money is modest.

Easy Loans

As previously mentioned, an atta mill shall never witness a bleak demand and requires a minimal capital investment to enter the market, both of which are favourable factors that encourage banks to lend to business people readily and conveniently in order to start a mill of flour.

A mill may also be operated in a tiny location and is not specific to the gender corporate concept, giving new business owners an opportunity.

How To Start An Atta Business?

Investment

Investment for an atta business relies upon not just the operational aspect but also the land it is run upon. It can mean a lot of things in the atta business.

If the land is owned and not rented, the business owner can save some capital. Most importantly, the amount of investment shall differ for both types of businesses and will require separate investments if necessary.

Basic Mill Investment

• Land Cost: Land cost shall be somewhere between Rs.2 Lakhs and 3 Lakhs if the land is rented or leased
• Machine Cost: Although the cost of machinery depends on what type of mill it is, whether it is manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic. Depending on that, the cost of buying it can be somewhere around Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 50,000 
• Other miscellaneous costs: Rs. 30,000 To Rs. 40,000
• Total Investment: The total investment can be around Rs. 50,000 To 1 Lakh only if the land is not rented and is actually owned by the entrepreneur.

Flour mill setup investment

• Land Cost: If the land is not owned by the entrepreneur, the cost can be around Rs.10 Lakhs To 15 Lakhs
• Machine Cost: The machine shall fall somewhere around Rs.5 Lakhs and 10 Lakhs. However, it largely depends on whether the machine is manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic.
• Registration and License Cost: Rs. 10,000 To Rs. 30,000
• Employee costs: Rs. 30,000 To Rs. 60,000
• Other Miscellaneous Costs: Rs. 50,000 To Rs.1 Lakh

License and Registration

An Atta Chakki business needs some licenses before it starts a full-fledged operation. These are:

Business Entity

Nearly all sorts of businesses in India are legally required to register as an entity, which requires defining the organization’s structure. It can either be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a one-person business, or a limited liability partnership.

The entity, in addition to providing a framework for the organization, has a bearing on the taxation framework and provides several advantages to the company, and hence it must be thoroughly considered before the organization is registered with the Registrar’s office.

Food Safety And Standard Authority of India Registration

The flour mill is, in essence, a food company that processes food or food items, and so needs an FSSAI certification.

The FSSAI is in charge of preserving and improving public health by regulating food safety and monitoring, hence this is a required registration/license for the company.

To make things convenient, the registration process is fully online and simple to go through, once the documents required are available and ready.

Trade License or Shop Act

Atta Chakki businesses in the state of Maharastra are legally required to obtain a Shop Act license from the local municipality before conducting any sort of business activity.

This license seeks to regulate and manage working conditions, which is inclusive of working hours, wages, paid/unpaid leaves, etc.

Udyog Aadhar Registration

A Udyog Aadhar is necessitated upon MSMEs, ie: Micro, Small and Medium enterprises. Since an Atta Chakki business can fall under either of these categories, it needs to be registered for the Udyog Aadhar.

GST Registration

Every business, regardless of its size, needs to have a proper taxation structure in place that should be uniform and handled responsibly. This uniformity means registration under the common national GST scheme, or the Goods and Services Tax.

Other than that, an atta business also needs to obtain and regularly update its BIS certification as well as fulfill any other tax liabilities.

Even though an Atta Chakki business is not required to register under any pollution clearance, it is always advised to check with the State Pollution Control Board of the region where the business shall be.

Obtaining Equipment

If we had to summarise the titular question in one answer, it would be ‘equipment. An Atta Chakki business is essentially nothing without equipment.

Here is a quick list of equipment for starting an atta business that has been prepared by considering both types of flour mills. However, it can be rudimentary in nature if the business needs to be on a scale larger than supposed, or due to any other factor.

• Transportation facilities
• Electricity
• Water
• Semi-skilled workforce
• Drainage facility
• A flour mill setup may need a minimum of 3000 sq ft of area. However, if the business involves a basic mill, a smaller area would suffice.
• Equipment
• Bucket elevator
• Intensive dampener
• Reel machine (3 segments)
• Rotary separator with aspiration channel
• L.P fan for cleaning
• Roll Grooving & spindle cutting
• Rotameter
• Scourer machine with aspiration channel
• De-Stoner
• Screw conveyor
• Indent cylinder
• Weighing scale
• V-Groove, Pulleys, Couplings, V-Belts etc
• Purifier
• Dust cyclone
• Magnate
• Super cyclone
• Silogate

The Pre-Production Phase of The Atta Business

The following phase is the actual manufacturing process, which begins once the registrations are finalized and the space and machinery are available. Some things to think about if you want to manage your production process smoothly have been listed below.

Analyse The Area

It is vital to do a thorough examination of the area where you intend to conduct business. Make observations on how many running flour mills are there, their types, the kinds of products manufactured, their prices and if you can provide the same quality at better prices.

Picking the Right Location

After making careful observations of the area, it is necessary to select the business location by keeping all the market factors in mind.

Think of business expansion as well as customer convenience while choosing a location. It should have connectivity to the main roads, water and power facilities and the ground should be solid enough to sustain a building, if necessary.

Prepare a Business Plan

After deciding on a site, the next comes drafting of a business plan. This plan should be a compilation of everything that needs to be handled within the business.

It should comprise capital investment, sources of startup capital, business and market strategies, types of machinery etc.

License and Registration

After obtaining and putting in the start-up capital, the entrepreneur should apply for licenses and register the business officially.

Buying and Installation

After the registration comes through, the business owner should buy the equipment needed and look to install them as soon as possible to get the operations going.

Now, the business owner can start the business after employing a small workforce.

How Can Lio Help In Starting An Atta Business?

Lio is a data organization app that not only arranges your data as per your preferences but also makes them available over the phone and to various users.

When an entrepreneur would first start their atta business, they will just have a few workers, which means everyone will be working beyond their potential.

The business owner may keep track of time using Lio’s timesheets. Utilizing an app like Lio that can record employee timesheets would benefit not only employees but also management staff.

Lio also enables members and workers of a company to access a variety of data, services, systems, and other resources without having to look for them on a storage device or in multiple cloud storage places.

They have real-time access to and can analyze the data being collected. Any employee may immediately review the data they are keeping in the centralized repository.

Step 1: Select the Language you want to work on. Lio on Android

Step 2: Create your account using your Phone Number or Email Id.

Verify the OTP and you are good to go.

Step 3: Select a template in which you want to add your data.

Add your Data with our Free Cloud Storage.

Step 4: All Done? Share and Collaborate with your contacts.

How Lio Automation Can Help You Business Process

Automation surely does make a difference in running a business whether small or large. It can be tricky and overwhelming at first to switch all the business processes to automation but not with Lio. 

Lio Automation gives you many amazing features that make your work super simple and effective. There are very many features that will help you and your business in various aspects. From connecting and staying in touch with your customers, to working together as a team, and everything in between, Lio Automation will truly make your business run smoothly and make it reach new heights of success.

If you are using Lio Automation for your business processes consider all your data safe and secure all the time. Not only is the data saved in the cloud, but it also offers a data versioning feature in which you can actually see the many changes the document or file has gone through and who has made those changes. You can save the version of the file as required by you. 

Another great feature that Lio Automation offers is colour formatting the sheet. Colour formatting can help bring information and more clarity to the audience. Applying colours to different parts of any data will let you narrate a more effective story that easily catches one’s attention as well.

You can create dashboards for each file which would give you the clear details of your company’s operations, marketing campaigns, sales and other analytics. This is one useful feature that would truly make a difference to your business and help your see all the processes clearly so that you can make well-informed decisions.

Since customers are a big part of any business and staying in touch with them is a crucial job, Lio automation gives you the ability to automate Whatsapp communications. Automating WhatsApp communication is another popular trend that businesses can benefit from. With the help of this, you would be able to save a lot of time, boost your customer retentions and renewals, save a lot of money, have lower operating costs and much more. 

Lio Automation also makes working in teams very easy with their Task feature. you can not just assign tasks to your team efficiently. You can set the priority of each task along with the due date. Your team will get a notification about the task automatically, even on Whatsapp, they can see their assigned tasks in the app, mark them complete, and you will get a notification on Whatsapp! 

Not just this, Team management and work allocation are made super easy with Lio Automation. You can also work with teams in real-time and see all the changes happening.

You can share invoices and receipts with your customers while also sharing the payment links with them to make the whole transaction process smoother and absolutely hassle-free for everyone. 

Lio also makes collecting valuable reviews from customers very easy with its automation process. Along with this, you can also manage leads very easily with the help of automation. Now no lead would be missed and can be responded to the minute you receive them. 

There are several other amazing Lio automation features that are made so that you and your business can benefit from them. Excited to know more about it? Start with your Lio automation process for your brand and start your journey to success. 

Conclusion

The essential procedures of running a flour mill business were outlined in this article. A small business like an Atta Chakki or a flour mill is a great place to launch a small business because it has a strong market and a high return on capital.

If you want to learn further about how to establish an atta business, our website can answer your questions concerning small business, licensing, and registration.

Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)