Runway: how long can your business survive?

How do you calculate your company's runway? Simple: if revenue stopped tomorrow — zero sales, zero income — how many months can your business survive on its current cash?

That number is the runway. And it's one of the most important indicators that few business owners actually calculate.

How to calculate:

Runway = Available cash / Monthly burn rate.

Burn rate is how much goes out each month (fixed costs + average variable costs). If you have $90,000 in cash and spend $30,000/month: runway of 3 months.

Why it matters:

Runway isn't a crisis indicator — it's a freedom indicator. With 3 months of runway, every spending decision comes with urgency. With 12 months, you can experiment, invest, make one mistake without going under.

What runway changes in practice:

• Runway < 3 months: Red alert. Every expense needs to be justified. Focus on immediate revenue. This is not the time for experiments.
• Runway 3–6 months: Caution zone. You can operate normally, but with discipline. Every investment needs a quick return.
• Runway 6–12 months: Comfortable. You can invest in growth, test new channels, hire with more calm.
• Runway > 12 months: Position of strength. You can say no to bad projects. You can negotiate better. You can choose the right path instead of the urgent one.

The most common mistake:

Confusing revenue with cash. A business can bill $100,000 per month and have a 1-month runway — if costs are $95,000 and cash on hand is $30,000. High revenue with low margin creates a dangerous illusion.

The business owner who knows their runway sleeps better. Not because the number is always good — but because they know the truth. And truth is the only foundation for intelligent decisions.

Runway is freedom measured in months. The longer it is, the more you can choose. The shorter it is, the more the urgent dominates the important.

How many months do you have? The Painel de KPIs calculates your runway with real numbers. No sign-up required.