Cash Runway Calculation for Indian Startups: Proven Templates and Dashboard

Key takeaways

Cash runway is months of survival at your current net burn, for Indian startups, adjust for GST, TDS, and collection delays to avoid false comfort.
Use the core formula, Runway months = Available Cash divided by Average Monthly Net Burn, but compute both elements carefully using real bank movements, not P&L entries.
Build a practical calculator with scenario planning, conservative, base, and optimistic, to see how collections and costs shift your survival window.
Download a founder friendly template that maps receivables aging, statutory calendars, and runway dashboards from cash flow dashboard template.
Extend runway with focused levers, collections acceleration, vendor term renegotiations, marketing efficiency, and headcount optimization.
Automate data ingestion and dashboards to move from monthly firefighting to weekly, even daily, visibility using AI Accountant.
Monitor India specific pitfalls, GST timing, DSO, DPO, FX realization, multi entity cash, and avoid mixing accrual figures with cash for runway calculations.
Start fundraising before the danger zone, many founders target 12 to 18 months of runway as the healthy band, with weekly recalculations during volatile phases.

What is Cash Runway and Why It Matters for Indian Startups

It is 2 a.m., payroll is due Friday, GST filing knocks tomorrow, and a major client is 45 days late. If you are asking yourself, how long until we run out of cash, you are not alone.

Cash runway is the number of months your startup can operate at its current, or projected, net burn before the bank balance hits zero. It is your financial countdown timer.

India adds complexity. You juggle GST timing, TDS schedules, and delayed enterprise collections, and exporters face FX realization delays. These realities distort a naive runway view that only looks at invoices and expenses.

Two definitions matter most:

Gross burn is total monthly cash outflows, salaries, rent, cloud, software.
Net burn is cash outflows minus actual collections, this drives runway.

For deeper primers, you can browse three month runway trends, cash runway definitions, and how much runway is enough, but in this guide we stay practical, India first, founder friendly.

The Core Cash Runway Formula for Indian Startups

Runway months = Current Cash Balance divided by Average Monthly Net Burn

Where Net burn = Monthly cash expenses minus operating cash receipts from collections. This is not your P&L, it is money moving in and out of your bank accounts.

Adjust for India specific factors:

Step 1, True available cash: Exclude earmarked statutory dues. If ₹5 lakh sits in the account and ₹2 lakh is for next GST, ₹50,000 for TDS, available cash is ₹2.5 lakh.
Step 2, Timing complexity: Uneven months, GST payout spikes, annual software renewals, quarterly compliance, monthly payroll.
Step 3, Working capital reality: With a 45 day collection cycle, this month’s invoices are not today’s cash. If you enjoy 30 day vendor credit, reflect the lag in outflows.

Use the adjusted view:

Available Cash = Bank Balance minus Reserved for Statutory Dues minus Committed Outflows

Monthly Net Burn = (Fixed Costs plus Variable Costs plus One time payments divided by 12) minus Actual Collections

Runway Months = Available Cash divided by Average Monthly Net Burn

Further reading: cash runway walkthrough, runway trend analysis, startup runway glossary, glossary, cash runway.

Step by Step: Build a How Many Months Runway Calculator

Let us build a calculator that respects Indian realities.

Required inputs

Cash Position

Current bank balance
Cash reserved for GST, TDS, ESI, EPF
Expected collections, week wise for eight weeks, use this cash flow projection template for India
Committed receivables with realistic collection dates

Monthly Expenses

Fixed costs, salaries, rent, software
Variable costs, marketing, travel, utilities
Quarterly or annual expenses, compliance, renewals, insurance
Statutory payments calendar

Growth Projections

Expected revenue growth
Planned hiring
Marketing increases

Calculation steps

Step 1, Net Available Cash

Net Available Cash = Bank Balance - Statutory Reserves - Committed Outflows + Confirmed Collections (next 30 days)

Step 2, Monthly Net Burn

Fixed Monthly Burn = Salaries + Rent + SaaS + Insurance + Other Fixed Costs
Variable Monthly Burn = Marketing + Travel + Utilities + Other Variable Costs
Statutory Monthly Burn = (Annual Compliance Costs + Quarterly Payments) / 12
Total Monthly Burn = Fixed + Variable + Statutory
Monthly Collections = Average Monthly Revenue × Collection Rate
Net Monthly Burn = Total Monthly Burn - Monthly Collections

Step 3, Scenarios using scenario planning for cash flow in India

Conservative, collections 20 percent lower, costs same
Base, current trends continue
Optimistic, collections up 15 percent, some cost optimization

Months of Runway = MAX(0, Net Available Cash) / Net Monthly Burn

Simple Excel formula

=MAX(0,B2-C2-D2+E2)/((F2+G2+H2)-I2)

B2 Bank Balance, C2 Statutory Reserves, D2 Committed Outflows, E2 Confirmed Collections, F2 Fixed Burn, G2 Variable Burn, H2 Statutory Burn, I2 Monthly Collections

Useful glossaries and explainers: runway trend guide, cash runway models, cash runway glossary.

Downloadable: Runway Planning Excel Template

We created an India specific template to accelerate setup, see the cash flow dashboard template and pair it with aging insights from AR and AP aging charts.

Tab 1, Inputs Dashboard

Cash position tracker with statutory reserves
Receivables aging buckets, with aging best practices
Payables aging with vendor level view
GST calendar with due dates
TDS and other statutory schedules
Debt service schedule

Tab 2, Scenario Planning

Base, conservative, and optimistic variants
Cost cutting toggles by category
Hiring plan with salary projections
Marketing spend levers

Tab 3, Dashboard View

Runway months by scenario
Monthly burn trend chart
Cash balance projection for twelve months
DSO tracker from India DSO strategies, DPO tracker
Statutory payment alerts

Tab 4, Sensitivity Analysis

Revenue impact toggles
Collection delay scenarios
Opex cut options
Headcount reduction modeling

How to use

Import bank statements and accounting exports from Tally or Zoho Books
Enter cash position, receivables, payables
Classify spend into fixed, variable, statutory
Run scenario toggles to test outcomes
Update weekly so alerts stay relevant

The template is optimized for Indian data formats, and it flags low runway early.

Extend Runway with Cost Cuts: High Impact Levers

When the dashboard signals a crunch, act quickly, and surgically.

Headcount optimization

Calculate fully loaded cost per role, often ₹8 to ₹12 lakh annually
Each role eliminated can add roughly one to one and a half months for a ten person team
Prioritize non revenue generating roles, consider leadership pay adjustments first

Vendor terms renegotiation

Extend cycles to 45 days where possible
Push for volume discounts on major SaaS
Consolidate vendors to strengthen leverage
Use annual plans with discounts when liquidity allows

Marketing efficiency

Pause channels with ROAS below three
Fund the highest converting campaigns
Lean more on organic and content
Remove vanity metric spends

Infrastructure and software costs

Prefer reserved cloud instances for 30 to 50 percent savings
Audit licenses, remove unused seats
Negotiate rate cards with higher commitments
Adopt open source where it is safe

Admin and office

Hybrid work to trim space needs
Shared resources, meeting rooms, parking
Negotiate rent reductions or deferrals
Eliminate non essential perks

Cost Cut	Monthly Savings	Runway Extension, ₹18L burn
Two positions eliminated	₹1.5L	Plus one month
Payment terms extended by 30 days	₹3L one time	Plus two weeks
Marketing spend cut by 50 percent	₹2L	Plus three weeks
Office downsizing	₹1L	Plus two weeks
Total	₹4.5L	Plus two and a half months

Collections acceleration

Offer early pay discounts, two percent for ten day payment
Use invoice finance for large receivables
Automate reminders with payment reminder workflows
Ask for advances from new customers
Reconcile GST input credits faster using GSTR 2B tools

Do not amputate your growth engine, optimize first, then cut.

Build a Runway Dashboard for Founders

A great runway dashboard, see the ultimate dashboards guide, turns ambiguity into action.

Cash position metrics

Bank balance, available cash after statutory reserves
Months of runway
Weekly burn rate
Collections versus target

Operating metrics

MRR trend
DSO and DPO
CAC and churn

Alert metrics

Upcoming statutory dues
Receivables overdue 30 plus days
Budget overruns by category
Burn rate deviations

Option 1, Sheets first

Import bank and accounting data
Tag transactions by type
Build pivot charts and a runway number
Use conditional formatting for low runway thresholds
Add sparklines for weekly balances

Option 2, Automated with account aggregators, see account aggregator bank feeds in India

Connect bank feeds and accounting
Auto categorize with machine learning
Compute runway continuously
Set alerts for cash events
Use mobile friendly views

Layout

Top, big runway number, bank balance, thirty day projection, this month’s burn versus budget
Middle, twelve month cash chart, burn trend, collections versus invoicing
Bottom, overdue receivables, statutory deadlines, budget variances

Update cadence, daily for balances and major collections, weekly for burn and runway, monthly for full reconciliation.

Indian Startup Cash Flow Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Mixing P&L with cash flow

Accrual invoices are not cash. Use bank movements for runway, ignore non cash items like depreciation or ESOP charges.

GST timing mismatches

GST cycles can distort your view. Maintain separate GST tracking, see GST reconciliation automation, and do not treat GST collected as operating cash.

Revenue recognition versus cash

Enterprise cycles stretch to ninety days frequently. Use aging schedules, only count confirmed collections for near term runway.

Multi entity complexity

Consolidate cash, track intercompany separately, handle FX delays for export revenues, and different statutory calendars per entity.

Seasonality and cyclicality

Use twelve month trailing averages and scenario tests so one strong or weak month does not mislead decisions.

Working capital missteps

Monitor DSO, DPO, and inventory days
Reduce DSO with better processes
Extend DPO responsibly
Minimize inventory holding

Reference perspective: how much runway is enough.

Worked Example: SaaS Startup Runway Calculation

Meet Priya, founder of a B2B SaaS, using metrics from the SaaS metrics dashboard India guide.

Current financial position

Bank, ₹1.8 crore
GST reserve, ₹12 lakh
TDS and other dues, ₹3 lakh
Net available cash, ₹1.65 crore

Monthly expenses

Salaries, ₹25 lakh
Office rent, ₹2 lakh
Cloud, ₹1.5 lakh
Marketing, ₹4 lakh
Other, ₹1.5 lakh
Total burn, ₹34 lakh

Revenue and collections

Monthly invoicing, ₹18 lakh
Actual collections, ₹16 lakh
Net monthly burn, ₹18 lakh

Receivables

Outstanding, ₹30 lakh, 0 to 30, 30 to 60, 60 plus days
Expected collections next thirty days, ₹20 lakh

Base case

Available Cash = ₹165L
Net Monthly Burn = ₹18L
Runway = 165 ÷ 18 = 9.2 months

Scenario 1, Business as usual, collections ₹16L, burn ₹18L, runway 9.2 months

Scenario 2, Conservative, collections drop to ₹12L, net burn ₹22L, runway 7.5 months

Scenario 3, Cost cutting, headcount minus three saves ₹5L, marketing minus fifty percent saves ₹2L, office downsize saves ₹1L, burn ₹26L, net burn ₹10L, runway 16.5 months

Scenario 4, Growth mode, collections ₹22L, burn ₹38L, net burn ₹16L, runway 10.3 months

Action plan, protect collections with weekly reviews, prep a cost playbook that triggers if collections fall below ₹14L for two months, start fundraising now so you have options, and negotiate 60 day vendor terms.

How Automation Reduces Manual Runway Tracking Work

Automation compresses effort from hours to minutes, improves accuracy, and creates real time visibility.

Automated bank statement processing

OCR for PDFs and Indian formats, see bank statement OCR software for India
ML categorizes salaries, rent, marketing
Flags GST and TDS automatically

Real time accounting integration

Sync Tally and Zoho Books, see Zoho Books automation
Auto match receipts to invoices
Update projections instantly

Predictive modeling

Pattern based collection forecasts
Seasonality adjustments
Runway threshold alerts
Suggestion engine for cost levers

Dashboards on autopilot

Daily runway recompute
Trend visualizations
Mobile alerts for variance
Board ready summaries

Compliance automation

GST reminders with cash impact
TDS schedules integrated
Input credit reconciliations
Vendor payment scheduling

Security

ISO 27001 standards
SOC 2 Type II announcement
Bank grade encryption, audits, and testing

ROI

Manual runway tracking, 4 to 6 hours monthly
Automated review, roughly 15 minutes monthly
Fewer errors, faster action

Tools like AI Accountant are built for India, GST, TDS, and multi entity setups, so you get accuracy with less effort.

Your Action Plan: Implementing Runway Tracking Today

Week 1, Foundation

Download the template from the cash flow dashboard template
Gather six months of bank statements
Export Tally or Zoho Books data
Map your top twenty expense categories
Compute current burn from actual cash movements

Week 2, Calculator

Set up the months of runway calculator with real data
Create conservative, base, optimistic scenarios
Compute DSO and DPO
Lay out the statutory calendar, GST, TDS, ESI
Ring fence compliance reserves

Week 3, Dashboard

Build your founder dashboard
Define weekly update workflows
Enable mobile views
Set alert thresholds, runway below six months, burn up more than twenty percent
Share views with advisors

Week 4, Process

Weekly runway review, thirty minutes every Monday
Collections follow ups to improve DSO
Negotiate vendor terms
Prepare cost playbooks by scenario
Start fundraising if runway is below twelve months

Ongoing

Update actuals monthly
Refresh assumptions
Variance analysis, projected versus actual burn
Improve categorization
Communicate runway status to stakeholders

Emergency triggers

Below nine months, moderate cuts
Below six months, aggressive cuts and emergency funding
Below three months, survival mode and bridge

Key tools

AI Accountant for automation and dashboards
Zoho Books or QuickBooks for accounting
Sheets or Excel for modeling
Bank APIs and account aggregator feeds for real time data

Your runway is the most important metric, master it, and you earn clarity and peace of mind.

FAQ

As a CA advising startups, how frequently should I recompute runway for a client with volatile collections?

Weekly recomputation is prudent when collections are volatile, with a monthly hard close for reconciliations. Encourage the finance team to maintain a rolling thirty day collections forecast inside a dashboard, ideally built via an automated tool like AI Accountant, so deviations trigger alerts immediately.

What is a healthy months of runway range for Indian startups, pre Series A versus growth stage, in your professional view?

Pre Series A, many operate with 6 to 9 months, which is risky. A healthier band is 12 to 18 months, giving time to execute, and negotiate calmly. Growth stage companies should target 15 months or more, since sales cycles and fundraises are longer.

How do I reconcile runway with accrual P&L under Ind AS, when clients keep mixing invoices with cash?

Runway is a cash construct. Start from bank balances, subtract statutory reserves and committed outflows, then divide by average net burn based on cash expenses minus cash collections. Keep accrual P&L for profitability analysis, but never for runway. Use AI Accountant to auto tag bank transactions, and produce cash only reports alongside accruals.

How should I factor GST and TDS obligations into runway for a multi state client?

Create a statutory reserve schedule by jurisdiction, GST, TDS, ESI, EPF, and subtract it from available cash. Do not treat GST collected as operating cash. Use a compliance calendar within the dashboard, or the GST modules highlighted in GST reconciliation automation, to keep reserves accurate.

What is the correct way to compute net burn when there are annual prepaid SaaS and insurance payments?

Amortize one time payments into a monthly equivalent for burn analysis, for example, divide by twelve, while still managing the actual cash spike in the cash flow plan. Your formula then becomes Fixed plus Variable plus Statutory plus Amortized one offs, minus actual collections.

Clients ask whether to include expected funding in runway, what do you advise?

Exclude expected funds unless legally committed. Present two scenarios to the board, runway without funding, and with funding if it lands on a specific date. This clarifies urgency and negotiation position, without overestimating safety.

How do I treat intercompany transfers and FX realization for an exporter while calculating runway?

Compute runway per entity first, then create a consolidated view. Separate intercompany balances from operating cash, and model FX realization delays explicitly in the collections schedule. AI Accountant can tag intercompany flows and track pending FX credits so the runway line excludes non free cash.

What is a practical method for building a conservative collections forecast for runway?

Use receivables aging, apply historical recovery rates per bucket, for example, 0 to 30 days at 90 percent, 30 to 60 at 70 percent, 60 plus at 40 percent, and only include the resulting amount in the next thirty to sixty days. This creates a defendable, conservative collections plan.

Which three metrics should a founder see at the top of a runway dashboard every morning?

Available cash after statutory reserves, months of runway at current net burn, and this month’s collections versus target. Add a weekly burn rate chip. Tools like AI Accountant can surface these on mobile with daily refresh.

How do I justify cost cuts to the board while protecting growth, any framework you recommend?

Use an efficiency first ladder, cut vanity spend, reallocate to high ROI channels, then renegotiate vendors, and only then consider headcount. Pair each lever with runway extension impact. For example, a marketing optimization saving ₹2L adds roughly three weeks at ₹18L net burn, which can be shown on the runway chart.

For product companies, how do inventory purchases distort runway, and how do I correct for it?

Inventory is a cash use, not immediate revenue. Treat planned inventory buys as committed outflows in the cash plan, and track inventory days. Reduce SKU bloat and improve turns to release cash. Model seasonality explicitly, do not rely on a simple monthly average.

Can an AI based tool replace monthly manual reconciliations for runway accuracy?

It should not replace reconciliations, it should compress and systematize them. With AI Accountant, bank feeds, OCR, and ML tagging reduce effort from 4 to 6 hours to about 15 minutes of review, with exception handling and audit trails, while you still perform a monthly close for assurance.