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How runway is calculated

bluprnts calculates runway from your forecast bank balance — the months before it first goes negative — not from a burn-rate estimate.

Runway is the number of months before your closing bank balance first goes negative.

bluprnts reads it straight off the forecast cash position rather than estimating it from a burn rate, so it accounts for everything your plan actually does — a loan drawn in month six, a seasonal quarter, VAT falling due, a hire starting in March.

The calculation#

  1. Build the closing bank balance for every month of the forecast.
  2. Find the first month it goes below zero.
  3. That month's index is your runway; the app also reports the lowest point the balance reaches.

When the balance never goes negative across the forecast, runway reads Fully funded — "Stays positive · low of £X in [month]".

Why it isn't cash ÷ burn#

The usual shortcut assumes a flat monthly burn. Real plans aren't flat: costs step up when you hire, revenue ramps, tax and VAT land in lumps, and a loan repayment can empty a month on its own. A cash-divided-by-burn figure is an average of a curve, and the curve is what kills you.

bluprnts still reports average monthly burn — as a description of what's happening, not as the input to runway.

The limit worth knowing#

Runway is measured across your forecast window. A two-year forecast that reports Fully funded is telling you the cash lasts two years, not forever. Extend the window if you need to know what happens after. See Forecast window.

Where it's shown#

  • Runway dashboard — the verdict, plus a timeline of what's consuming the cash.
  • Overview — as a tile, and as an Out of cash moment.
  • Reports — as a cited figure.

Learn more#