Business IdeasU.S. businesses · USD

Cash runway calculator

How long would constant monthly receipts and payments preserve your cash floor?

FreeNo signupU.S. dollarsUpdated September 5, 2026

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 example

Calculation updated using the entered assumptions.

Time to protected floor5.00 months5 whole funded months
Time to zero cash6.00 months6 whole funded months
Monthly net burn$5,000.00Negative means modeled cash generation
Current reserve shortfall$0.00
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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

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.

Definitions and sources

These references support the definitions and calculation boundaries. The starting numerical example is authored for arithmetic; each available business preset has its own evidence and limitations.

  • Burn-rate definitionsStripe. Supports net cash burn and constant-flow runway; no benchmark is copied. Accessed September 5, 2026.
  • Financial-statement definitionsU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Supports the income-statement sequence and the distinction between earnings and cash flows. Accessed September 5, 2026.
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