Burn rate
Burn rate
Net cash out per month — not ‘if everything hits.’ Gross burn minus cash in, on a definition you keep stable. If marketing and finance use two burns, you do not have a metric. You have an argument.
Burn Rate vs Runway
Burn rate vs runway: what you spend, and how many months that leaves
Reviewed August 21, 2026 by Robb
Burn is the cash you consume. Runway is how long the cash you have will last at that burn. People quote one without the other, and they quote both off a forecast they do not control. We use actual cash, a conservative view of collections, and a hiring plan you would still fund if the round is late.
Runway
Runway
Cash on hand divided by that burn, adjusted for known lumps: payroll cycles, tax, a facility payment, a close that has not wired. Eighteen months on a slide and nine in the account is not a rounding error. It is a different company.
Gross, net, and honesty
Gross burn is spend. Net burn is spend after collections. Runway that assumes next quarter’s bookings is a wish. We show both, and we show the version where the round slips.
Hiring is how runway dies
A ‘we’ll raise into the plan’ hire is how nine months becomes four. Put the seat on the cash calendar before the offer. If it only works with a wire that is not in, it is not a hire. It is a bet.
This is core CFO For Rent work
Bookkeeping that closes, a 13-week view, and a forecast that ties to cash. That is how burn and runway stay boring — which is the point.
Frequently asked questions
Which number do investors want?
Both, with the definition. Net burn and months of cash, plus what would change them. A single ‘runway’ with no method is a red flag.
Should I include the round I am raising?
Show current runway without it, then the case with it. Mixing them in one number is how people get surprised.
How often should this update?
At least with the monthly close, and weekly when cash is tight. Stale runway is a decoration.