Runway calculator
Months of cash left from your bank balance and burn, then with the hires and one-off costs you've already approved.
Your runway
Planned runway
8.5 months
Cash runs out in month 9
Simple runway
12 months
Net burn ₹10,00,000 a month
6 to 9 months
Raise and cut at the same time. Look hard at hiring plans and big contracts
Month by month
| Month | Opening cash | Net burn | New hires | One-off | Closing cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₹1,20,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹0 | ₹0 | ₹1,10,00,000 |
| 2 | ₹1,10,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹0 | ₹6,00,000 | ₹94,00,000 |
| 3 | ₹94,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹79,50,000 |
| 4 | ₹79,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹65,00,000 |
| 5 | ₹65,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹50,50,000 |
| 6 | ₹50,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹36,00,000 |
| 7 | ₹36,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹21,50,000 |
| 8 | ₹21,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | ₹7,00,000 |
| 9 | ₹7,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹7,50,000 |
| 10 | −₹7,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹22,00,000 |
| 11 | −₹22,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹36,50,000 |
| 12 | −₹36,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹51,00,000 |
| 13 | −₹51,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹65,50,000 |
| 14 | −₹65,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹80,00,000 |
| 15 | −₹80,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹94,50,000 |
| 16 | −₹94,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹1,09,00,000 |
| 17 | −₹1,09,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹1,23,50,000 |
| 18 | −₹1,23,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹1,38,00,000 |
| 19 | −₹1,38,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹1,52,50,000 |
| 20 | −₹1,52,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹1,67,00,000 |
| 21 | −₹1,67,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹1,81,50,000 |
| 22 | −₹1,81,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹1,96,00,000 |
| 23 | −₹1,96,00,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹2,10,50,000 |
| 24 | −₹2,10,50,000 | ₹10,00,000 | ₹4,50,000 | ₹0 | −₹2,25,00,000 |
What each level of runway usually means
- 18 months or more
- Comfortable. Typical straight after a raise. Time to build, not to watch the bank daily
- 12 to 18 months
- Healthy, but start preparing: data room, metrics, investor conversations
- 9 to 12 months
- Fundraising should be active now. Rounds often take six months or longer from first meeting to money in the bank
- 6 to 9 months
- Raise and cut at the same time. Look hard at hiring plans and big contracts
- Under 6 months
- Survival mode. Cut to extend, talk to existing investors about a bridge, protect payroll
How it works
- Net burn is gross burn minus cash in: everything you spend in a month, minus the money actually collected.
- Simple runway is cash in bank divided by net burn.
- Planned runway goes month by month for 24 months, starting next month: each hire is added from the month they start, at their cost with PF and other employer costs, and each one-off cost in its month. The part of the last month the cash covers counts too.
- Use an average of the last three months, not just last month, and count only cash in the bank.
The formula, a worked example and what to do at each level are in our guide, How to calculate runway, and when to start worrying.