How many months of cash does your business have left — and how much revenue is needed to break even?
Those are two of the most important numbers for a cash-burning startup or small business.
The free Break-Even & Runway Calculator Excel template combines them in one simple spreadsheet.
Enter your current cash balance, starting monthly revenue, expected revenue growth, variable-cost percentage and fixed monthly costs.
The calculator then estimates:
- monthly break-even revenue; - current revenue relative to break-even; - a 12-month revenue and cash projection; - monthly net cash flow; - closing cash balance; - whether cash runs out during the forecast period.
It is deliberately a focused one-sheet tool for founders who need a quick view of cash runway and break-even without building a complete financial model.
What is cash runway?
Cash runway is an estimate of how long a business can continue operating before its available cash is exhausted, assuming the forecast assumptions occur.
For a startup or loss-making business, runway provides a more useful warning than profit alone because a business needs cash available to pay its obligations.
A founder might therefore ask:
- How many months of cash do we have? - When could the current cash balance run out? - Does expected revenue growth extend the runway? - What happens if fixed costs increase? - How far are we from monthly break-even?
The free calculator is designed to make those questions easier to test.
What is break-even revenue?
Break-even is the point at which the business generates enough contribution to cover its fixed costs.
The workbook calculates contribution margin from the variable-cost assumption and then uses that figure to estimate the monthly revenue required to break even.
This produces a practical break-even revenue calculator rather than simply reporting whether the current month made a profit or loss.
What inputs does the calculator use?
The spreadsheet uses five principal inputs:
- cash in the bank today; - Month 1 revenue; - monthly revenue growth percentage; - variable cost as a percentage of revenue; - fixed costs per month.
These inputs feed the break-even calculation and 12-month cash projection.
What does the free cash runway calculator calculate?
The workbook calculates:
- contribution margin percentage; - monthly break-even revenue; - current revenue versus break-even; - Month 1-12 revenue; - variable costs; - fixed costs; - monthly net cash flow; - monthly closing cash balance; - runway result.
Everything updates when the assumptions change.
Free startup runway calculator
For an early-stage business, runway is not necessarily a simple calculation of:
cash balance ÷ current monthly loss.
If revenue is expected to grow, monthly cash burn may change over time.
The JEBS calculator therefore creates a 12-month projection using the entered revenue-growth assumption.
Revenue changes each month, variable costs move with revenue, fixed costs remain visible and the resulting monthly cash flow changes the closing cash balance.
This provides a more useful startup runway spreadsheet than a static division calculation when the business expects revenue to change.
Cash burn calculator
Cash burn describes the cash being consumed by the business during periods when outflows exceed inflows.
The 12-month projection makes monthly net cash flow visible.
If the business is losing cash, the closing balance declines.
If improving revenue eventually produces positive cash flow, the model reflects that change.
This helps founders understand not only the current burn but the direction of travel under the assumptions entered.
Break-even calculator for small businesses
The model can also be used by established small businesses that are below their desired level of profitability.
By entering the current cost structure, the user can estimate the monthly revenue needed to cover variable and fixed costs.
Changing the variable-cost percentage or fixed-cost base updates the break-even revenue automatically.
That can help answer questions such as:
- How much additional revenue is needed to break even? - How does a lower gross margin affect the break-even point? - What happens if fixed overhead increases? - Does expected sales growth reach break-even before cash becomes constrained?
Who is this free break-even and runway spreadsheet for?
The calculator is designed for:
- startup founders; - small-business owners; - pre-profit businesses; - founders preparing for funding discussions; - businesses experiencing cash pressure; - entrepreneurs testing a new venture; - anyone looking for a free cash runway calculator, burn rate spreadsheet or break-even calculator in Excel.
Scenario planning with the calculator
Financial planning is most useful when assumptions can be changed.
The workbook allows the user to test different scenarios by changing the input cells.
For example:
Lower revenue growth
Reduce the monthly growth assumption and see how the cash projection changes.
Higher fixed costs
Increase monthly fixed costs to see how break-even revenue and runway respond.
Different gross margin
Changing variable cost as a percentage of revenue changes contribution margin and therefore the break-even point.
More starting cash
Changing the opening cash balance shows how additional funding or reserves affect the projected runway.
This allows the free tool to act as a simple startup cash scenario calculator.
What this free runway calculator does not include
This tool is deliberately simple.
It does not include:
- multiple forecast scenarios side by side; - detailed hiring schedules; - individual operating-cost lines; - fundraising rounds; - detailed working-capital schedules; - a complete three-statement forecast.
Its purpose is to answer the immediate runway and break-even questions quickly.
Need a more complete cash runway model?
The JEBS Cash Runway & Break-Even Model extends the same underlying problem into a fuller planning tool.
The paid model provides a 24-month runway forecast with Base, Downside and Upside scenarios, hiring and cost levers and a more complete cash-planning framework.
The free calculator is designed for the first question:
Where is break-even, and what happens to our cash over the next 12 months?
The full model is for users who need to plan the path in more detail.
Download the free Break-Even & Runway Calculator
The Break-Even & Runway Calculator is available as a free Excel download from James Edison Business Solutions.
Enter your current cash, revenue, growth and cost assumptions and use the workbook to estimate break-even revenue and project the cash balance across the next 12 months.
Download the Free Break-Even & Runway Calculator →
Important
This calculator is a financial modelling and business-planning template. It is not financial, investment, lending, accounting, tax or legal advice. The output depends on the assumptions entered and does not predict future business performance. Verify assumptions and obtain appropriate professional advice where required.