Work out how much money you need before day one — and to survive the first months: add up the one-time launch costs, the monthly running costs over your runway, and a contingency buffer for everything you forgot. Every line is editable, you can add and remove rows, and everything updates live in your browser.
The maths: runway total = monthly burn × runway months. Subtotal = one-time total + runway total. Grand total = subtotal + buffer % of the subtotal.
Category shares below are shares of the subtotal (before the buffer). Monthly categories are counted at their full runway value — monthly amount × runway months — so every category is compared on the same footing.
One-time lines at face value; monthly lines at monthly amount × runway months. The buffer is spread on top of the grand total, not assigned to a category.
| Category | Type | Amount | Share | Share bar |
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Estimate your launch funding: editable one-time and monthly cost lists, runway months, a contingency buffer, the grand total and a per-category share breakdown.
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Estimate the funding a new business actually needs: editable one-time launch costs, monthly running costs multiplied over your runway in months, a contingency buffer on top, the grand total, and a per-category share showing where the money goes.
A founder lists one-time costs of $1,000 legal, $1,500 website, $3,000 equipment, $2,000 inventory, $500 branding and $500 deposits — $8,500 in total. Monthly costs are $1,200 rent, $1,500 salaries, $100 software, $300 marketing and $100 utilities — a burn of $3,200 a month. Over a 6-month runway that is $3,200 × 6 = $19,200, so the subtotal is $8,500 + $19,200 = $27,700. A 10% contingency adds $2,770, giving a funding target of $30,470. Rent is the biggest single category: at its runway value of $7,200 it is 26.0% of the plan — more than the $3,000 of equipment that felt like the big purchase.
One-time total = the sum of the one-time rows. Monthly burn = the sum of the monthly rows. Runway total = monthly burn × runway months. Subtotal = one-time total + runway total. Buffer = buffer % × subtotal. Grand total = subtotal + buffer. Category shares are each category’s runway-adjusted amount (one-time rows at face value, monthly rows × runway months) divided by the subtotal, so all categories are compared on the same footing and the shares sum to 100%; the buffer is deliberately not assigned to a category because it belongs to the whole plan.
One-time costs are paid once to launch — registration, equipment, initial inventory, deposits. Monthly costs repeat every month — rent, salaries, software, marketing, utilities. The estimator multiplies the monthly list by your runway in months, because six months of a $3,200 burn is a $19,200 funding need, not a $3,200 one.
Six months is a common minimum for a lean launch; 9–12 months is safer where revenue ramps slowly, leases are long or hiring comes first. The right number is the time until monthly revenue reliably covers the monthly burn — plus a margin, because that date usually slips. Try 6 and 12 months and compare the two totals before deciding.
10% if your costs are quoted and fixed, 15–20% if they are estimates, and more if the launch involves building work, imported stock or anything with a lead time. A buffer is not padding to spend — it is the difference between a surprise and a crisis. If you finish under budget, the buffer simply stays in the bank.
Because shares compare runway-adjusted amounts. Equipment is paid once; rent is paid every month of the runway. Over 6 months, $1,200 of rent is $7,200 of funding — more than double a $3,000 equipment bill. That is the point of the view: recurring costs dominate launch budgets far more than founders expect.
Yes — both lists are fully editable. Rename any preset row, change any amount, delete rows you do not need and add as many of your own as the launch requires, from franchise fees to vehicle deposits. The totals and shares update as you type.
No — it totals the cost side only, deliberately. If early revenue will cover part of the monthly burn, model it by shortening the runway to the months you must self-fund, rather than netting guesses against costs. For the revenue side, pair this with the break-even calculator.
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