CPG Operator Guide
Cash Runway Assumptions and Scenario Guide
Use this guide to document available cash, cash receipts and disbursements, one-time events, capital expenditures, timing, scenario, and governance assumptions before reviewing a runway model.
Understand the simple shorthand
A common shorthand relates available cash to net burn, where net burn reflects cash expenses less cash revenue. Expenses, revenues, working-capital timing, capital investments, and significant events can change, so this page performs no arithmetic and presents no runway date.
What to include
- available cash
- net burn concept
- no runway date
Define available cash
Record unrestricted cash actually available for operating expenses on a stated date. Do not include anticipated fundraising or other uncertain capital infusions in the baseline, and disclose restricted or otherwise unavailable balances.
What to include
- dated unrestricted cash
- restricted-cash disclosure
- uncertain financing excluded
Map cash receipts and disbursements
Document dated operating receipts and payments such as payroll, production, inventory, freight, trade spend, debt service, taxes, capital expenditures, and other material cash events. Link working-capital timing assumptions to the owner planner.
What to include
- cash receipts
- cash disbursements
- working-capital timing
Separate nonrecurring cash events
Identify deposits, launch and slotting costs, equipment, insurance, tax, debt, settlement, financing, and other one-time events separately from the recurring baseline. Record timing, amount basis, source, and uncertainty.
What to include
- one-time inflows
- one-time outflows
- timing and uncertainty
Build baseline and downside assumptions
Use the same start date and time step for Baseline and Downside assumptions. Record what differs, source dates, model owner, update cadence, reconciliation process, materiality threshold, and qualified reviewer. Do not assign probabilities or choose a fundraising trigger.
What to include
- Baseline and downside
- same time basis
- owner and refresh cadence
Hand the packet to qualified review
Use the owner planner for DIO, DSO, and DPO timing. Use reconciled bank, cash, receipt, disbursement, debt, tax, payroll, inventory, receivable, payable, and capital-expenditure records for a complete forecast and qualified finance, legal, and tax review.
What to include
- owner timing method
- reconciled records
- qualified review
How this page fits the Tools system
The Cash Conversion Cycle Timing Planner owns working-capital timing arithmetic; this page owns cash-runway assumption and scenario preparation without a runway result.
The guide ends with a dated and source-backed scenario packet, not a runway result, funding recommendation, solvency or survival verdict, budget approval, or valuation.
What this page does—and does not—show
This guide organizes cash-runway assumptions and scenario-review questions. It does not calculate a runway date, determine when or how much to raise, predict financing, establish solvency or survival, approve spending, or replace current cash records, detailed cash forecasts, board-approved plans, and qualified finance, legal, and tax review.
The Cash Conversion Cycle Timing Planner owns DIO, DSO, DPO, and CCC timing scenarios; this guide owns broader cash-runway assumption preparation and never produces a runway result.
Evidence and review boundary
Tier B. This guide organizes cash-runway assumptions and scenario-review questions. It does not calculate a runway date, determine when or how much to raise, predict financing, establish solvency or survival, approve spending, or replace current cash records, detailed cash forecasts, board-approved plans, and qualified finance, legal, and tax review.
Finance owner using reconciled cash, receipt, disbursement, payroll, inventory, receivable, payable, debt, tax, and capital-expenditure records, with legal and tax review where applicable.
Sources reviewed
Related tools and next steps
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Guidance is being rebuilt with CPG design partners to connect these planning steps to a shared operating model. That connected product workflow is not available for live product demonstrations today. This standalone browser page does not connect to a Guidance account, product data, or a live operating workflow.
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