Cost of Doing Business in Türkiye 2026: What Investors Should

“Cost of doing business” is not one number. The investable question is how costs behave by location, scale, currency and utilisation—and how long the project must carry them before reaching stable revenue. Official cost tables are useful inputs, but the investor still needs a project-specific monthly model.

Separate setup CAPEX from recurring OPEX

Setup can include company/legal work, deposits, fit-out, machinery, IT, licences, professional fees, connection charges and pre-opening payroll. Recurring OPEX can include wages, social costs, rent, utilities, maintenance, accounting, insurance, logistics, software, marketing and compliance. Mixing them hides the true cash requirement.

Labour cost is more than gross salary

Model employer costs, benefits, overtime/shift structure, recruitment, turnover, training and productivity. For scarce technical roles, compare effective output per employee rather than only monthly pay. Include the time and cost to reach a fully staffed operating level.

Utilities, rent and logistics are location-sensitive

Industrial projects should model electricity/gas/water demand by production volume, peak load, connection fees and backup. Property and office users should include rent indexation, service charges and deposits. Export/import businesses need freight, customs handling, storage and transit-time inventory.

Currency and working capital can dominate reported margin

Map the currency of revenue, imported inputs, payroll, rent, debt and equipment. Then model receivable days, inventory days and supplier terms. A business can show accounting profit while consuming cash if customers pay late or stock rises faster than sales.

Build a cost dashboard with break-even and sensitivity

Track fixed cost, variable cost per unit, gross margin, contribution margin, monthly cash burn, break-even volume and minimum liquidity. Stress wages, energy, FX, rent and freight separately so management knows which cost deserves hedging, contract protection or operational redesign.