Calculate your operational runway by excluding non-recurring costs and non-cash expenses.
Total liquid capital currently in the bank.
Actual cash collected (not just booked).
Total cash leaving the bank this month.
Legal settlements, equipment, one-off fees.
Raw Net Burn Rate:$0.00
Adjusted (Recurring) Burn Rate:$0.00
Excluded Amount Impact:$0.00
True Operational Runway:0.0 Months
*Calculated using the Adjusted Burn Rate to predict long-term sustainability.
What is Excluded from Burn Rate Calculation?
When calculating the "Burn Rate" used to estimate a startup's runway, not all cash outflows are created equal. While the raw cash balance decreases with every dollar spent, the Operational Burn Rate usually excludes certain items to give investors and founders a more accurate picture of recurring business health.
1. Non-Cash Expenses
The most common exclusion from cash burn calculations are expenses that reduce net income on the P&L but do not involve actual cash transfer.
Depreciation & Amortization: While these are expenses for tax purposes, the cash left the bank when the asset was purchased, not when it is depreciated.
Stock-Based Compensation: Paying employees in equity affects the cap table, not the bank account.
2. One-Time Non-Recurring Costs
These are cash outflows that happened once and are unlikely to happen again. They are excluded to calculate the "Adjusted Burn" or "Recurring Burn."
Legal Settlements: Large, one-off payments for lawsuits.
Capital Expenditures (CapEx): Buying servers, office furniture, or heavy machinery. This is often tracked separately from Operating Expenses (OpEx).
Security Deposits: Cash that leaves but is technically an asset.
3. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) Variable Adjustments
In some specific high-growth models, variable costs directly tied to revenue (like credit card processing fees) might be analyzed separately to understand the fixed operational burn ("Fixed Burn") required just to keep the lights on, regardless of sales volume.
function calculateAdjustedBurn() {
// Get input values
var cashBalance = parseFloat(document.getElementById('cashBalance').value);
var monthlyRevenue = parseFloat(document.getElementById('monthlyRevenue').value);
var totalExpenses = parseFloat(document.getElementById('totalExpenses').value);
var excludedItems = parseFloat(document.getElementById('excludedItems').value);
// Validation: Check for valid numbers
if (isNaN(cashBalance)) cashBalance = 0;
if (isNaN(monthlyRevenue)) monthlyRevenue = 0;
if (isNaN(totalExpenses)) totalExpenses = 0;
if (isNaN(excludedItems)) excludedItems = 0;
// Logic Step 1: Calculate Raw Net Burn
// (Total Outflows – Revenue)
var rawNetBurn = totalExpenses – monthlyRevenue;
// Logic Step 2: Calculate Adjusted (Recurring) Burn
// Raw Burn – One-Time/Excluded Items
// Note: If excluded items were part of the Total Expenses input, we subtract them to find the "normal" expense level.
var adjustedExpenses = totalExpenses – excludedItems;
var adjustedBurn = adjustedExpenses – monthlyRevenue;
// Logic Step 3: Calculate Runway
// We use Adjusted Burn for runway to see how long we survive on normal operations
var runway = 0;
var runwayText = "";
if (adjustedBurn <= 0) {
runwayText = "Infinite (Cash Positive)";
} else {
runway = cashBalance / adjustedBurn;
runwayText = runway.toFixed(1) + " Months";
}
// Formatting Helper
function formatCurrency(num) {
return "$" + num.toLocaleString('en-US', {minimumFractionDigits: 2, maximumFractionDigits: 2});
}
// Display Results
document.getElementById('rawBurnResult').innerHTML = formatCurrency(rawNetBurn);
document.getElementById('adjustedBurnResult').innerHTML = formatCurrency(adjustedBurn);
document.getElementById('excludedImpactResult').innerHTML = "-" + formatCurrency(excludedItems);
document.getElementById('runwayResult').innerHTML = runwayText;
// Handle case where burn is negative (profit)
if (adjustedBurn <= 0) {
document.getElementById('adjustedBurnResult').className = "br-result-value br-highlight-green";
document.getElementById('runwayResult').className = "br-result-value br-highlight-green";
} else {
document.getElementById('adjustedBurnResult').className = "br-result-value";
document.getElementById('runwayResult').className = "br-result-value br-highlight";
}
// Show result section
document.getElementById('resultSection').style.display = "block";
}