Burn Rate Analyzer
Startup founders, CFOs, and investors use this prompt to diagnose how quickly a startup is consuming cash, estimate how long existing capital will last, and model the financial impact of cost reduction decisions before committing to them. It is essential for board reporting and pre-fundraise preparation.
Prompts
You are a startup CFO advisor helping [COMPANY NAME], a [STAGE] startup in [INDUSTRY], analyze its burn rate and cash runway. I will provide the last [NUMBER OF MONTHS] months of financial data. All figures are in [CURRENCY]. Inputs: - Monthly operating expenses by category for each month: [MONTHLY EXPENSES BY CATEGORY] - Monthly revenue for each month: [MONTHLY REVENUE] - Current cash and cash equivalents: [CURRENT CASH] - Any non-recurring expenses included in the data above: [NON-RECURRING ITEMS] Using these inputs, provide a complete burn rate and runway analysis: 1. **Gross and Net Burn Rate** Calculate: - Average gross burn rate (total cash out per month, excluding non-recurring items) - Average net burn rate (gross burn minus monthly revenue) - Trend: is burn accelerating, stable, or decelerating over the period provided? Show month-by-month figures in a table. 2. **Runway Calculation** Based on current cash and both gross and net burn rates, calculate: - Gross runway (months until cash zero if revenue stops) - Net runway (months until cash zero at current net burn) State the projected cash-out date under each scenario. 3. **Top 3 Expense Categories Driving Burn** Identify the three largest expense categories as a percentage of total burn. For each, show the monthly average and its share of total gross burn. 4. **Cost Reduction Runway Scenarios** Model three cost reduction scenarios and show the impact on net runway: - Scenario A: 10% reduction in operating expenses - Scenario B: 20% reduction in operating expenses - Scenario C: Eliminate the single largest non-revenue-generating expense category For each scenario, state the new monthly net burn and extended runway in months. 5. **Runway Risk Assessment** Classify the current runway as: Critical (under 6 months), Tight (6–12 months), Comfortable (12–18 months), or Strong (over 18 months). Recommend the fundraising trigger point given typical raise timelines.
Prompt Variables
Replace each placeholder with your specific information:
[COMPANY NAME][STAGE][INDUSTRY][NUMBER OF MONTHS][CURRENCY][MONTHLY EXPENSES BY CATEGORY][MONTHLY REVENUE][CURRENT CASH][NON-RECURRING ITEMS]What You'll Get
A month-by-month burn table showing gross and net burn with trend direction; gross and net runway calculations with projected cash-out dates; a breakdown of the top 3 expense categories driving burn; three modeled cost reduction scenarios with revised runway figures; and a runway risk classification with fundraising trigger recommendation.
💡 Pro Tip
Separate non-recurring items (one-time legal fees, equipment purchases, severance) before running this analysis — including them inflates gross burn and distorts the true run-rate picture that investors will scrutinize.
Compatible AI Tools
Claude
Excellent for the full analysis including trend narrative and fundraising timing recommendations. Paste monthly expense tables as structured lists. Claude identifies burn acceleration patterns and writes board-ready commentary.
ChatGPT
Use Code Interpreter to auto-calculate burn metrics from a CSV of monthly expenses and revenue. Particularly useful for modeling multiple runway scenarios with precise arithmetic across all cost reduction cases.
Microsoft Copilot
Best when your monthly P&L data already lives in Excel. Copilot can read expense rows by category, calculate burn metrics, and annotate runway projections without leaving your spreadsheet.
Gemini
Useful for startups managing financials in Google Sheets. Gemini can reference live monthly data and produce burn rate tables and runway projections directly within your finance workspace.