Ratios and margins
The ratios bluprnts derives from your forecast — gross, operating and net margin, short-term cover and working capital — and where each one is shown.
bluprnts derives a small set of ratios from the forecast statements and shows each one where it is useful, rather than collecting them on a page of their own. Every one is calculated from statement lines you can open and check, so a ratio here is never a figure you have to take on trust.
Margins — on the profit and loss#
All three are cumulative across the forecast period and appear in the KPI strip above the Profit and Loss statement.
| Ratio | How it's calculated | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | Gross profit ÷ revenue | What each sale leaves after the direct cost of making and delivering it |
| Operating margin | Operating profit ÷ revenue | What is left after running the business, before interest and tax |
| Net margin | Profit after tax ÷ revenue | What the business actually keeps |
Gross margin also appears per product, live, as you set a product's price and unit costs — see Add or edit a product.
Balance sheet ratios#
In the KPI strip above the Balance Sheet.
| Ratio | How it's calculated | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Short-term cover | Current assets ÷ current liabilities | Whether near-term bills can be met from what's available to meet them. Below 1× they can't. Shows a dash when nothing is owed short-term |
| Working capital | Current assets − current liabilities | The headroom you have for day-to-day operations, as a cash amount rather than a multiple |
| Net assets | Total assets − total liabilities | What the business is worth on paper |
Short-term cover is the one worth watching. It can fall below 1× while the profit and loss still looks healthy — profitable businesses fail on liquidity, not on profitability.
Cash and survival figures#
These are not ratios, but they are the derived figures people usually come looking for. They live on the Runway dashboard and in the cash flow KPI strip.
| Figure | Where |
|---|---|
| Runway | Runway |
| Breakeven month | Runway, Breakeven |
| Average monthly burn | Runway |
| Lowest cash point and max cash needed | Cash flow statement |
Why the ratios always agree with the statements#
Ratios here are projections of the statements rather than separate calculations, and the statements are derived from your drivers. So a margin can always be traced back through the lines that produced it to the products, sales and costs underneath — see Where a number comes from.
Related#
- Profit and loss — the statement the margins come off.
- Balance sheet — the statement the cover and capital ratios come off.
- Metrics and formulas — every derived figure in one table.