To war-game a cash runway brief before it reaches the board, put the draft brief, the cash balance broken out by account and restriction, monthly burn for the last six months with one-time items marked, the forward plan, any debt agreements with minimum cash or other covenants, and your scenario assumptions into one request. Then instruct Pingpong to rebuild the runway figure from those inputs and challenge every definition behind it. Ask whether the months quoted would survive a director's questions, how many months remain before the covenant floor rather than before zero, and what the downside case really assumes. Fix the brief before its headline number becomes the figure everyone repeats.
This page is for chief financial officers and chief executives preparing a runway brief or a cash section of the board deck. It covers the runway figure and the definitions behind it. For testing a growth plan against cash and covenants, see role-play the CFO before you commit to a plan. Executive starting points live under Pingpong for executives.
Four definitions to settle first
- Cash. Unrestricted cash only, or including deposits held as collateral, escrow, or balances that cannot move quickly?
- Burn. Gross or net, trailing or forward, and with one-time inflows and outflows removed?
- Runway. Months until cash reaches zero, or until it reaches a covenant floor or the minimum balance the board is comfortable holding?
- Scenarios. What changes between the base and downside cases, and does spending respond when revenue falls?
Two briefs with the same data can differ by a year depending on these choices. Directors will ask about each one, so the brief should answer them in plain words.
A worked example
This example is illustrative and does not describe a customer. A 140-person robotics software company has $38 million in the bank. The draft brief says the company has 26 months of runway and does not need to raise until the second half of next year.
The chief financial officer pastes the brief, the bank and investment statements, the last six months of burn, the hiring plan, the venture debt agreement, and the base and downside cases, and asks Pingpong to rebuild the figure.
A useful pass finds that $4 million of the balance is held as collateral for a lease letter of credit, leaving $34 million unrestricted. The brief divides the full $38 million by a trailing three-month net burn of $1.45 million, but one of those months includes a one-time customer prepayment of $2 million. The forward plan, with the approved hiring, puts net burn near $1.9 million a month. On those figures, runway to zero is about 18 months.
The bigger issue is the debt agreement. It requires a minimum of $10 million in cash at all times. Runway to that floor is just over 12 months in the base case. The downside case assumes revenue 20% below plan but keeps every hire, which raises burn to about $2.3 million and cuts runway to the floor to roughly ten months. Fundraising would need to start within weeks.
The pass also notes that the brief sets no points at which management would act, so the board cannot tell what happens if the downside arrives.
The chief financial officer rewrites the brief. It leads with months to the covenant floor in both cases, then months to zero. A short box defines cash, burn, and runway as used. One-time items are listed separately. The downside case now pauses hiring after the first quarter of missed revenue. The brief adds two trigger points: freeze open roles if unrestricted cash falls below $26 million before the end of the second quarter, and begin fundraising conversations once the floor is 12 months away, which is less than a month from now. The board discusses fundraising timing at this meeting instead of next year's.
A request you can copy
Below are our draft runway brief, cash by account with any restrictions, six months of burn with one-time items marked, our forward plan, our debt agreements, and our base and downside cases. Rebuild the runway figure from these inputs. Challenge each definition: which cash counts, which burn figure is used, and whether runway runs to zero or to a covenant floor. Test what the downside case assumes about spending. Show runway to zero and to any floor in each case, list every place the brief overstates or understates, and suggest the trigger points the board should see.
How Pingpong runs the war-game
The web review app sends your request through several models in order. Each later model receives the original request and every earlier answer, with instructions to assess the work so far. Recalculate every figure it gives you in your own model before the brief goes out. For the steps inside the app, see running your first review.
What a model can't war-game
A model does not know your lender's appetite to waive a covenant, how investors view your sector right now, or which costs your team can actually cut quickly. It cannot audit your cash balances. Your controller and auditors own the numbers, and covenant questions belong with counsel and your lender.
When the brief leads to a board decision, see war-game a decision before the board meeting. More guides live under work decisions before you commit.