Cash runway calculator
How long would constant monthly receipts and payments preserve your cash floor?
A teaching example in the units shown below.
These authored example inputs illustrate the calculation. Replace them with your own documented amounts, periods and rates; they are not measured industry averages or available offers.
Cash accessible to this business at the start of the period.
Constant monthly receipts, including their actual cash timing; not accounting revenue alone.
Include the cash commitments relevant to this scenario, such as payroll, taxes, debt payments and equipment.
The minimum balance you want to preserve. The tool also reports time to zero separately.
Your entered scenario
Starting exampleCalculation updated using the entered assumptions.
Formula and interpretation
Monthly net burn = cash payments − cash receipts
Cash above the floor = opening cash − protected reserve
For positive burn, runway = cash above the floor ÷ monthly net burn
To reproduce the worked example, choose Hypothetical arithmetic example under Starting example. Business presets have their own inputs; compare the selected values before applying the result.
A negative net burn means the entered constant-flow scenario adds cash. There is no finite modeled exhaustion horizon in that case.
A cash floor already breached is a present condition. Whole funded months show complete periods before reaching the threshold.
Worked example: $17,000 monthly payments less $12,000 receipts burns $5,000. Starting with $30,000 and protecting $5,000 gives five months to the floor and six to zero. A further $2,000 of monthly payments reduces floor runway to about 3.57 months, or three complete funded months.
For the Pharmacy case, enter payer deposits and stock settlements in their actual periods. Its earned sales and mature EBITDA do not replace those cash movements; use the seasonal cash-flow tool when timing changes by month.
Definitions and sources
These references support definitions and calculation boundaries, not the selected amounts. Worked examples below use the hypothetical arithmetic inputs. A selected business preset has its own roster, cost allocation and evidence; its results can differ without a formula error.
- Burn-rate definitions — Stripe. Describes net burn and constant-flow runway. This tool uses received cash rather than accrued sales; no startup benchmark or currency amount is copied. Accessed October 4, 2026.
- Financial-statement definitions — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Supports the income-statement sequence and the distinction between earnings and cash flows. Accessed October 4, 2026.
Continue with a related calculation
Connect the calculation to a complete operating plan
Review startup uses, staffing, annual results and input evidence alongside the relevant worksheets. A single calculation does not replace local quotes or a dated cash schedule.
Read the Pharmacy operating case →Check the input evidence and limits →
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