§1What this business is
Technicians test the machine, find the fault and replace or repair parts such as logic cards, drums, toner heads, lenses and main boards. The profile is sized for 200 machines a year on one shift for 240 days. Most of the bill is the cost of spares, which the centre buys in the open market, so sales are large compared with the investment. The profile was written for fax machines and copiers; today the same centre would mostly handle copiers, printers and multi-function machines.
Capacity: 200 machines repaired and serviced a year, one shift, 240 working days.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
An electronics technician with training on copiers and printers and contacts among local offices.
Who it is not for
Someone who cannot keep up with new machine models every year.
Advantages
- Every office, shop and photocopy centre needs machine servicing
- Annual maintenance contracts give repeat income
- Can start from a 500 sq ft rented shop
Drawbacks
- Fax machines are almost gone; the work has moved to printers and copiers
- Spares tie up most of the working capital
- Brand service centres compete for big clients
Skills you need
- Fault-finding in copiers and printers
- Card-level electronic repair
- Sourcing genuine spares
- Selling maintenance contracts
Why difficulty 3/5: Needs trained technicians and a ready stock of spares.
§3Market
Who buys
- Government and private offices
- Photocopy and DTP centres
- Schools, colleges, banks and shops
How it sells
- Walk-in and on-call repair
- Annual maintenance contracts
Good to know
- Projected sales in the profile: ₹21.38 lakh in year 1 and ₹28.51 lakh from year 3.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Repair equipment | — | ₹45,000 |
| Testing tools (line tester etc.) | — | ₹25,000 |
| 1 kVA online UPS | 1 | ₹37,200 |
| Desktop computer | 1 | ₹60,000 |
| Dot-matrix printer | 1 | ₹20,000 |
- Spares — logic cards, toner heads, drums, lenses, main boards, copier cardsbought in the open local market; ₹26,40,000 a year in the profile
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- Trade licence / Shop and Establishment registration
- GST registration
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
The profile itself is drawn up for a PMEGP loan with 25% subsidy in towns and 35% in villages. A MUDRA Kishore or Tarun loan also fits this size, and CGTMSE covers the bank against collateral.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Equipment, testing tools, UPS, computer and printer ₹1,87,200 + furniture, lighting and interior ₹82,500 + pre-operative ₹4,950 = ₹2,74,650 fixed; plus working capital ₹2,68,316 (spares ₹2,20,000) = ₹5,42,966.
Working capital: Working capital ₹2,68,316: spares ₹2,20,000, wages ₹27,500, administrative ₹13,666, selling ₹3,300, utilities ₹3,880.
Year not printed on the profile; its text cites 2009-10 figures, so the prices are old — check current costs.
§8Export potential
A local service; there is no goods export in this business.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Models changing faster than the spares stock
- Late payment by offices
- Skilled technicians leaving to start their own shop
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working photocopier and office machine repair centre unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, Trade licence / Shop and Establishment registration), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Photocopier and Office Machine Repair Centre?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.