How to Calculate and Plan
Cash Flow Runway Calculator: How Many Months Can Your Business Last?
Calculate burn rate and cash runway with simple formulas, a worked example, a 13-week forecast method and practical ways to extend your runway.
How to Calculate and Plan
Step-by-step guidance for taxes, equipment, cash flow and pricing your time.
These guides are step-by-step. They show how to estimate self-employment tax, work out sales tax, decide whether equipment pays for itself, measure cash runway and set an hourly rate that covers your real costs.
Every guide lists the inputs you need, the formula, the order to do things in, and the documents or official portals to check. Several of them point to the IRS or to state agencies, because tax rules and thresholds change and the official source is always the final word.
A good habit is to run each calculation twice: once with your best-case numbers and once with a cautious set. If the plan only works in the best case, that is useful information before you spend money, hire someone or commit to a lease. Keep your assumptions written down so you can compare them with what actually happens at the end of the quarter.
Guides in this topic
How to Calculate and Plan
Equipment Purchase ROI: How to Calculate Payback Before You Buy, Lease or Finance
Calculate simple and discounted payback, ROI and the buy vs. lease question for business equipment, including how tax deductions like Section 179 change the math.
How to Calculate and Plan
Hourly Rate Calculator for Freelancers and Consultants: Price Your Time to Cover Real Costs
Work backward from the income you need to a billable hourly rate, with a worked example, a utilization table and tips for converting hourly rates to project fees.
How to Calculate and Plan
Sales Tax Calculator for Small Businesses: Formulas, Nexus and What You Owe
How to calculate sales tax forward and backward, when you must collect it across states, what economic nexus means and how to avoid common filing mistakes.
How to Calculate and Plan
Self-Employment Tax Calculator: How to Estimate What You Owe and Set Money Aside
Step-by-step self-employment tax math with a worked example, the half-deduction, quarterly estimated payment dates and safe harbor rules to avoid underpayment penalties.