Cash Runway Calculator
UAE 2026

Project your cash flow, model burn rate and growth scenarios, see how many months of runway you have left, and find out if you’re Default Alive — a free cash-flow forecasting tool for UAE startup founders.

Calculate Runway

Cash in the bank right now

AED

Average monthly revenue

AED

Average monthly expenses

AED

Break down your expenses

Separate your expenses into COGS and operating costs. When active, COGS grows with revenue and expense growth applies to OpEx only.

COGS / Direct costs (per month)

AED

Gross Margin: —

Operating expenses (per month)

AED

Total Expenses: AED 0

Add one-time events (payments, funding, etc.)

Type

Label

Amount

AED

Month

Templates:

Growth Scenario

Set how revenue and costs scale over time

↑ Revenue growth

10% / month

0%25%50%

Compounds monthly — 10%/mo means revenue doubles every ~7 months

↓ Expense growth

2% / month

0%15%30%

0% = holding costs flat. 3–5% = gradual scaling.

Forecast horizon Project until — (24 months from today)

24 months

Net Monthly Burn —

Default Alive? —

Without growth (flat)

Runway —

Cash-Zero Date —

With your growth assumption

Runway —

Cash-Zero Date —

Break-even —

Cash projection

—

Cash balance Revenue Expenses

How to Use This Calculator

1 Enter your numbers

Cash on hand, monthly revenue, and monthly expenses

2 Adjust growth

Use the sliders to model optimistic or pessimistic scenarios

3 Check Default Alive

See the indicator and projection chart

4 Add events

VAT payments, funding rounds, license renewals for accuracy

Formulas & Key Metrics

Formulas

Metric	Formula
Net Monthly Burn	Monthly Expenses − Monthly Revenue
Runway (flat)	Cash on Hand ÷ Net Monthly Burn
Cash-Zero Date	Today + Runway months
Breakeven Month	First month where Revenue ≥ Expenses

Key Terms

Term	Meaning
Gross Burn	Total monthly expenses (before subtracting revenue)
Net Burn	Expenses minus revenue — your actual monthly cash outflow
Runway	Months until cash reaches zero at current burn rate
Default Alive	Revenue will overtake expenses before cash runs out (Paul Graham)
Breakeven	The month when revenue first exceeds expenses

Runway Scenarios

Scenario	Cash	Revenue	Expenses	Growth	Runway	Alive?

Understanding Cash Runway

What Is Cash Runway?

12–18 Ideal months

< 6 Critical zone

3–6 Months to raise

Cash runway tells you how many months your business can keep operating before the money runs out. It’s calculated by dividing cash on hand by net monthly burn (expenses minus revenue).

Paul Graham’s “Default Alive” Framework

Default Alive — at your current growth rate, revenue will overtake expenses before cash runs out
Default Dead — cash will run out before revenue catches up, even with growth
Why it matters — it forces founders to answer the hardest question: do you need to raise money to survive?

Read Paul Graham’s original essay →

When to Worry

< 6 months — Critical. Fundraise or cut costs immediately. Most rounds take 3–6 months to close.
6–12 months — Caution. Enough to execute, not enough to be comfortable. Plan your next move.
12–18 months — Healthy. Focus on growth and milestones.
18+ months — Strong. Room to experiment and find product-market fit.

How to Extend Your Runway

Cut non-essential spend — software subscriptions, marketing experiments, office perks
Renegotiate contracts — office rent, supplier terms, payment schedules
Accelerate revenue — prepaid plans, annual billing, faster sales cycles
Raise capital — equity round, convertible notes, revenue-based financing
Bridge financing — short-term facility to buy time for a full round

Frequently Asked Questions

Need help with cash flow projection?

Skrooge is the virtual accounting team for UAE startup founders — runway, cash flow projections and investor reporting, built on real numbers.

Cash Runway CalculatorUAE 2026