🧮 Startup Budget Calculator
A startup budget has three parts, and most first budgets only do the first one. There are the one-time costs to open the doors, the monthly costs that start the moment you do, and the cushion that keeps you alive while revenue catches up. Itemize all three here (zeros are fine) and get the number you actually need to launch.
How many months the monthly costs must run before revenue covers them. Common guidance is 3 to 6; 0 means revenue has to arrive in month one.
Total cash to launch (one-time + cushion)
$5,500
Total one-time startup costs
$3,700
Monthly operating costs (your burn)
$600
Suggested 10% contingency for surprises
$550
Launch number with contingency
$6,050
Your launch number is $5,500: $3,700 of one-time costs plus 3 months of the $600 monthly burn. Plan for $6,050 instead; the $550 contingency is common budgeting practice because first budgets are built from best cases, and unspent cushion just becomes extra runway.
Estimates for planning, not financial advice. Your real numbers will vary; that is exactly why you track them.
Does this resonate?
The budget is the first page of the launch plan
Know your number? A free account turns it into a week-by-week launch checklist for your exact business: the filings, the tools, the first customers, in order.
Get your launch checklist free →Good questions about this math
What belongs in one-time vs monthly?
One-time costs happen once to open the doors: registration, equipment, the website build, starting inventory, branding, deposits. Monthly costs repeat whether or not you sell: rent, subscriptions, marketing, supplies, insurance. The test for any expense: if you would pay it again next month, it is monthly, and it belongs in your burn, not your launch list.
How many months of cushion should I fund?
Common guidance is 3 to 6 months of operating costs, and slower-to-first-revenue businesses (anything with permits, build-out, or long sales cycles) lean toward the high end. The honest way to pick your number: run the Cash Flow Forecast calculator with your expected revenue ramp and see how many months it takes before money in covers money out.
What if I have no idea what a line costs?
Never guess; research real quotes. Look up your state's actual filing fees, price the exact equipment on real listings, get two or three written quotes for anything a vendor does, and check the published pricing page for every subscription. An hour of quote-gathering turns a wish list into a budget, and the 10 percent contingency covers what the quotes miss, not what you never checked.
What do I run after this?
Two companions built for the next questions. The Cash Flow Forecast calculator takes your monthly burn and projects 12 months of money in vs money out, so you can see whether your cushion is actually enough. The Revenue Projections calculator models the sales side month by month. And if you want the 60-second version of this budget, the Startup Cost Estimator is the quick 8-line take.
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