Startup Budget Example — Verdca Pre-Seed, 12 Months
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Document: Startup Budget
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Last updated 6/4/2026
Startup Budget — Verdca, Pre-Seed, 12 Months
Company: Verdca (carbon-accounting SaaS for small manufacturers) Prepared by: Priya Nadar, Co-founder & CEO Period: 12 months starting January 2026 Currency: USD
1. Assumptions
- Starting cash: $480,000 (pre-seed round closed December 2025).
- Headcount: 4 people at start (2 founders, 2 engineers); 1 engineer joins month 4, 1 part-time growth hire joins month 7.
- Fully-loaded cost: base salary + 20% for payroll taxes, benefits, and equipment.
- Revenue: none until month 8, then small pilot contracts beginning at $4,000/month.
- Buffer: 10% contingency added to all non-people spend.
2. Representative monthly operating expenses (steady state, ~month 9)
| Category | Line item | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| People | 2 founders (fully-loaded) | $18,000 |
| People | 3 engineers (fully-loaded) | $33,000 |
| People | Part-time growth hire | $4,500 |
| Software & tools | GitHub, Figma, Linear, HubSpot, Notion, email | $1,400 |
| Marketing | Content, a small conference booth, LinkedIn ads | $3,200 |
| Infrastructure | AWS hosting, mapping & emissions-data APIs | $2,300 |
| G&A | Co-working desks, legal, accounting, insurance, bank fees | $3,600 |
| Total monthly expenses | $66,000 |
3. Burn, cash balance & runway
The plan starts lean and rises as headcount grows. Averaged across the 12 months:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross monthly burn (start of year) | $46,000 |
| Gross monthly burn (end of year) | $66,000 |
| Average gross monthly burn | ~$54,000 |
| Expected revenue (months 8–12) | $4,000 rising to $9,000 |
| Average net monthly burn | ~$52,000 |
| Starting cash | $480,000 |
| Cash spent over 12 months | ~$620,000 planned vs. $480,000 available |
| Runway at average net burn | ~9 months (cash-out ≈ October 2026) |
| Plan to start next raise | April 2026 (with ~6 months left) |
The budget makes the squeeze explicit: at the planned hiring pace, Verdca runs out of cash in roughly month 9, not month 12. The base plan therefore assumes the seed round closes by month 8, and the downside plan defers the month-7 growth hire and trims marketing to stretch runway to ~11 months.
4. Scenario check
| Scenario | Average net monthly burn | Runway |
|---|---|---|
| Base case | ~$52,000 | ~9 months |
| Downside (defer growth hire, cut marketing 50%) | ~$45,000 | ~11 months |
| Upside (seed closes month 8, +2 hires) | ~$78,000 | re-baselined post-raise |
Notes
All figures are illustrative and for demonstration only — this is not financial advice.
About this Example
Part of the Startup Budget document collection
Document Type
Startup Budget
An early-stage financial plan of expected costs and runway across the coming months.