Cash forecast and runway

1How it is calculated

Open Reports → Cash forecast. All amounts are in USD.

• Starting point: your live Mercury balance, or the balance you type in if no bank is connected.
• Money coming in: what clients still owe, on each invoice's due date (this month if it is already late), plus the invoices your recurring schedules will create, after their usual payment terms.
• Money going out: costs that came back in at least 2 of the last 3 months (software, rent, contractors) at their average, plus the average of all your other spending in the same months.

Every figure is listed under the table, so you can see why the line goes where it goes.

2Runway

Runway is how many months today's cash lasts at your usual costs if no money came in at all. It is the prudent reading. If the forecast goes below zero, the month is shown in red.

A forecast is an estimate from your own records, not a promise. Part of Professional.