Use cash movement
Runway depends on money collected and paid, which can differ from accounting revenue and expenses.
Startup finance tool
Startup runway calculator
Estimate how many months your current cash can support the company at today’s revenue and expense levels.
- Free to use
- Runs in your browser
- No details saved
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Enter your assumptions
Use monthly averages and update the model whenever hiring, revenue, financing, or major expenses change.
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Use monthly averages and update the model whenever hiring, revenue, financing, or major expenses change.
How to use this tool
Use the output as a decision prompt
Runway is the number of months before usable cash reaches the minimum buffer if net monthly burn remains unchanged. Net burn equals monthly cash expenses minus monthly cash revenue.
A runway estimate is a planning baseline, not a forecast. Collections may arrive late, taxes and annual payments may be lumpy, hiring changes expenses, and growth can increase revenue or support costs. Maintain a monthly cash forecast alongside this quick calculation.
Method and interpretation
What the calculation is designed to show
Protect a minimum buffer
Reserve cash for statutory obligations, notice periods, refunds, wind-down costs, and unexpected events.
Model scenarios
Recalculate for planned hires, delayed fundraising, lower revenue, and cost reductions before committing to decisions.
Useful applications
When this tool can help
Revisit the calculation when assumptions or evidence change. Keep the inputs with the result so another founder or adviser can understand the reasoning.
- Review monthly burn
- Plan hiring timing
- Set a fundraising window
- Model cost reductions
- Discuss founder salary
- Maintain a board finance snapshot
Questions and limitations
Understand what the result cannot decide
How much runway should a startup have?
There is no universal target. Consider the time required to reach the next milestone, fundraising conditions, revenue predictability, obligations, and how quickly expenses can be reduced.
What is net burn?
Net burn is monthly cash expenses minus monthly cash revenue. If revenue is greater than expenses, the company is not burning cash under this simplified model.
Should receivables count as cash?
Not until collected for a conservative runway calculation. Model expected collection dates separately because delayed payments can create a cash shortage despite reported revenue.
Does this replace a cash-flow forecast?
No. A detailed forecast should model timing, taxes, debt, annual bills, hiring, financing, and scenario changes month by month.
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