Startup Cost and Runway Calculator

Opening a business is mostly a cash question: what will it cost to open, and how long will the money last before customers pay the bills? This workbook answers both, with numbers you can show a lender or partner.

List every one-time cost (up to 50) with your estimate; when a quote or invoice arrives, it replaces the estimate. A contingency % and paid-to-date figures are added. Add monthly running costs (up to 40) with start and end months and yearly increases, and build revenue from customers: customers at opening, new customers per month and their growth, churn, capacity, price and other revenue, less variable costs. Enter owner savings, equity, grants and a loan with an optional repayment deferral. The workbook projects cash month by month for 36 months under Base, Conservative and Optimistic scenarios, and shows the break-even month, runway, lowest cash point and the extra funding needed to keep your chosen buffer. Sources & Uses lays out the funding for a lender, and the Dashboard charts cash for all three scenarios plus startup costs by category.

Included: worked-example and blank workbooks (10 sheets, 3,488 formulas; the example is a fictional Pilates studio), plus a 4-page PDF guide in US Letter and A4 with a quick start, how the numbers work, the worked example in three scenarios and a startup cost checklist. Google Sheets copy: pending.

General information, not financial, legal or tax advice.