Free tools / Cash burn calculator
Free toolCash burn calculator
How fast is your business using up money? Enter three numbers and find out how much cash you are getting through each month, and what you will have left a few months from now.
Your numbers
Nothing you type here is stored.
Your cash burn will appear here
Fill in your cash, income and spending, then press Calculate.
What would change this
What cash burn actually means
It is simpler than it sounds
Burn is just the gap between what you spend and what you bring in. If you spend 1,200,000 a month and earn 800,000, you are getting through 400,000 of your own money every month. That is your burn.
Burning cash is not always bad
Plenty of healthy businesses burn cash on purpose while they grow. The danger is not the burn itself, it is burning without knowing the number, or without knowing when the money runs out.
What this does and does not include
- It works on averages. One big invoice or one late paying customer will move the real figure.
- It follows cash, not profit. Money you have earned but not been paid yet does not count here.
- It assumes your income and spending stay roughly flat. If you are about to hire or launch, run it again with the new numbers.
- It does not know about a tax bill, a loan repayment or an annual renewal landing next month. Add those to your monthly spending if they are coming.
Questions people ask
Gross burn is everything going out the door, ignoring what comes in. Net burn is the gap after your income. If you spend 1,200,000 and earn 800,000, your gross burn is 1,200,000 and your net burn is 400,000. Net burn is the one that tells you how fast your bank balance is falling. Gross burn is useful when you want to see the true size of your cost base.
No, and you should be told that plainly rather than shown a negative number. If more comes in than goes out, your cash is growing. This calculator says so instead of pretending there is a burn to report. The thing to watch then is whether it stays true once you hire, buy stock, or take on new costs.
Cash, every time. Use what actually moved in and out of the bank. A business can look profitable on paper and still run out of money, because profit counts a sale the day you make it while cash counts it the day you get paid. Burn is a cash question, so answer it with cash.
Only three levers exist: sell more, spend less, or get paid faster. Getting paid faster is the one most people forget, and it is often the quickest win, because the money is already yours and just sitting in someone else's account. Chase your overdue invoices before you cut anything.
Knowing the number is the easy part.
We help growing businesses see this every month instead of once a year, and act on it in time. Start with a free health check.
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