Free Tool
Monthly Expense Planner
What does the business cost every month? List your expenses by category, split into fixed and variable, and this planner adds them up, shows the split, and — if you enter your cash balance — how many months that balance lasts.
Estimates and scenarios for planning purposes only — not financial advice. The results on this page are built from the numbers you enter. They are planning aids, not predictions, and not financial, tax or legal advice. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
What this tool does
Expenses are entered as lines: a label, a colon, and an amount, one per line — for example 'Software subscriptions: 49'. Fixed expenses are the ones that do not change with sales: rent, subscriptions, insurance. Variable expenses change with sales: materials, transaction fees, advertising. The planner totals each group separately and together, so you can see both the monthly total and how much of it you could cut if sales stopped.
Burn rate is the monthly total: the amount the business spends in a typical month. Runway is the cash balance divided by the monthly total: how many months the business can run on the cash it has, if nothing comes in. With a $1,800 monthly total and a $9,000 balance, the runway is 5 months. No expense figure is pre-filled as 'typical' — every number is yours, because typical varies so much by business that a pre-filled figure would mislead more than it helps.
Try it
Waiting. Enter your expenses and press Plan monthly expenses.
How it works
Monthly total = sum of fixed expenses + sum of variable expenses. Fixed share = fixed total ÷ monthly total. Burn rate = monthly total. Runway = cash balance ÷ monthly total, in months. A line is read as the label before the last colon and the amount after it — using the last colon means labels can contain colons of their own.
Variable expenses are entered at their typical monthly level, not their maximum: an advertising budget that varies with the month should be entered as its average, and the planner's monthly total is a typical month, not a worst case.
Assumptions and limitations
- Runway assumes nothing comes in and spending stays exactly as listed. Real runway is longer if revenue continues, and shorter if spending rises — treat it as a stress test, not a forecast.
- The planner totals the expenses you list. It cannot find expenses you forgot: subscriptions, annual fees divided by twelve, and software renewals are the ones most often missed. Review the list against your bank statements, not just your memory.
- This is a planning tool, not a tax or accounting record. It does not calculate tax, separate personal from business spending, or track what was actually spent against the plan.
Worked example
Example: fixed expenses of $49 (software), $40 (internet) and $25 (insurance) total $114; variable expenses of $120 (materials), $80 (advertising) and $30 (transaction fees) total $230. Monthly total = $344. With a cash balance of $9,000, runway = 9,000 ÷ 344 = about 26.2 months.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between fixed and variable expenses?
Fixed expenses do not change with sales — subscriptions, rent, insurance. Variable expenses rise and fall with sales — materials, transaction fees, advertising. The split matters because fixed costs must be paid even in a month with no sales.
What is burn rate?
The amount the business spends in a typical month — the monthly total. It is called burn rate because it is the rate at which cash is used up.
What is runway?
How many months the cash balance lasts at the current burn rate, assuming no money comes in. A 9,000 balance at 344 a month is about 26 months of runway.
Why are no expenses pre-filled?
Because 'typical' expenses vary enormously by business. A pre-filled figure would look like advice, and it would be wrong for most readers. Every number here is yours.
Should I include my own salary?
Yes, if you pay yourself a fixed amount each month — it is a real monthly cost. If you take whatever is left over, leave it out and read the monthly total as the business's costs before your pay.