Calculator Inputs
Example Data Table
| Input | Example Value | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Developer headcount | 8 | Core engineering staff included in burn. |
| Average monthly developer cost | $5,200 | Loaded monthly cost per engineer. |
| Support or leadership headcount | 3 | Product, QA, DevOps, and management roles. |
| Cloud weekly cost | $1,400 | Hosting, storage, traffic, and build usage. |
| Tools weekly cost | $650 | Development and collaboration subscriptions. |
| Revenue offset | $2,200 | Weekly recoveries or recurring customer receipts. |
| Starting cash reserve | $120,000 | Capital available to absorb burn. |
| Forecast weeks | 16 | Projection range for runway planning. |
Formula Used
1) Weekly payroll conversion
Weekly Payroll = Headcount × Monthly Cost × 12 ÷ 52
2) Allocated one-time weekly cost
Allocated One-time Cost = One-time Cost ÷ Spread Weeks
3) Base weekly cost
Base Weekly Cost = Payroll + Contractors + Cloud + Tools + Office + QA + Miscellaneous + Allocated One-time Cost
4) Contingency amount
Contingency = Base Weekly Cost × Contingency %
5) Gross weekly burn
Gross Weekly Burn = Base Weekly Cost + Contingency
6) Net weekly burn
Net Weekly Burn = Gross Weekly Burn − Weekly Revenue Offset
7) Runway
Runway Weeks = Starting Cash ÷ Net Weekly Burn
This model helps software teams translate staffing, infrastructure, and operating costs into a weekly cash drain figure. It is useful for sprint budgeting, runway checks, scenario planning, and executive reporting.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your current engineering and support headcounts.
- Add loaded monthly costs for each role group.
- Fill in weekly non-payroll costs like cloud, tools, and office overhead.
- Allocate one-time project spending across a realistic number of weeks.
- Set a contingency percentage for uncertainty and overrun protection.
- Subtract any weekly revenue offsets, recoveries, or billed work.
- Enter planned weekly burn and starting cash to compare budget and runway.
- Submit the form to view summary metrics, forecast tables, and graphs.
FAQs
1) What is weekly burn rate in software development?
Weekly burn rate is the amount of cash a software team uses each week after operating costs and offsets are counted. It gives a fast view of spending pace and runway pressure.
2) Why use weekly burn instead of monthly burn?
Weekly burn is more responsive for sprint planning, hiring changes, cloud spikes, and launch periods. It helps teams catch cost drift earlier than a monthly-only review.
3) Should revenue offsets be included?
Yes. If your team has billable work, subscriptions, reimbursements, or customer-funded development, adding those offsets gives a more realistic net burn figure.
4) What costs are usually forgotten?
Teams often miss contractor time, observability tools, recruiting costs, workspace stipends, security services, and one-time migration expenses. A contingency field helps cover that gap.
5) What is a good runway target?
Targets vary, but many teams prefer at least thirteen to twenty-six weeks of runway. Risk rises quickly when runway falls below one quarter.
6) Why spread one-time costs across weeks?
Spreading one-time costs smooths short-term analysis and avoids distorting a single week. It is useful when setup, migration, or launch expenses support several delivery cycles.
7) Can this calculator support scenario planning?
Yes. Change headcount, contingency, revenue offsets, or cloud costs to compare best-case, expected, and stress scenarios before making staffing or roadmap decisions.
8) Is net burn more important than gross burn?
Both matter. Gross burn shows total operating demand, while net burn shows the true weekly cash drain after offsets. Runway calculations should usually use net burn.