Founder-Ready Budgeting Sheet

Purpose:
This template helps you translate your strategy and runway into a clear, milestone-based budget that founders, teams, and investors can all understand at a glance.

1. Company Overview & Budget Scope

Use this section to ground your sheet in the basics: who you are, where you are, and what this budget covers.

1.1 Company Snapshot

Tip: Keep this section updated as your stage, burn, and fundraising goals evolve.

2. Milestone-Based Planning

Your budget isn't about how long the money lasts — it's about how far it gets you.

Design your budget around outcomes, not just months. Fill in the target dates, expected spend to reach each milestone, and the hires linked to them.

2.1 Core Milestones

Recommendation: Add more rows for company-specific milestones (e.g., "Regulatory Approval", "Partnership Signed", "Launch v2", etc.).

3. Monthly Budget Tracker

Break down fixed, variable, and contingency costs. Helps keep burn efficient and adjustable.

Currency: Default here is QAR. Set your own base currency in your sheet (e.g., USD, EUR) and update column headers accordingly.

3.1 Monthly Cost Structure

3.2 Practical Implementation Notes

• Total Burn = Sum of all operating categories + contingency.

• Use separate tabs or sections for:

  • Actuals vs Budget

  • Monthly summaries

  • One-off expenses (e.g., incorporation, large hardware purchases)

• Add conditional formatting to highlight:

  • Budget overruns vs plan

  • Categories exceeding a set threshold (e.g., >40% of total burn).

4. Revenue Model Planning (If Applicable)

Optional for pre-revenue companies, but critical if you're monetizing or planning to.

4.1 Revenue Streams Overview

Guidance:

• Use this section to stress-test assumptions (ARPU, conversion, churn).
• Confidence level helps you communicate maturity of your model to investors.

5. Hiring Plan

Link hiring to milestones and outcomes. Hiring should unlock progress, not just fill roles.

5.1 Role-by-Role Hiring Plan

Tip: Add a column in your sheet for Status (Planned / In Process / Hired) to keep this live.

6. Runway & Extension Planning

Turn your cost and cash assumptions into a clear runway story.

6.1 Core Runway Calculations

Use this section to calculate your runway and plan for fundraising timing.

Extension Strategy

If your runway is shorter than desired, document your extension strategy:

• Cost Cuts

  • Percentage reduction: _____%
  • Primary areas: _____
  • Expected monthly savings: QAR _____

• Revenue Bump

  • Primary levers: _____
  • Expected monthly increase: QAR _____
  • Timeline to achieve: _____ months

• Bridge Round

  • Potential sources: _____
  • Target amount: QAR _____
  • Timeline: _____ months

6.2 Scenario Planning Suggestions

Create simple scenarios in your sheet:

• Base Case: Current plan, no major surprises.

• Conservative Case: Higher burn / slower revenue; see when runway shortens.

• Upside Case: Faster revenue or lower CAC.

Investor-Friendly: Being able to show these 2–3 scenarios makes you look prepared and transparent.

7. Investor Talking Points (Narrative View)

What does your budget say about you? This is the frame you give investors.

Use these prompts to craft a short narrative in your doc or pitch deck:

• We've planned for uncertainty by baking in a contingency margin.

• Each key hire is tied directly to a product or growth milestone.

• Our current runway comfortably takes us to [specific milestone] (e.g., "MVP live + 500 users").

• We understand CAC, revenue logic, and when to switch gears on channels that don't work.

• We're frugal, but not afraid to invest in traction drivers (e.g., marketing, product iterations).

• This budget reflects a founder team that thinks in terms of outcomes, not just months of survival.

Actionable Step: Turn these bullets into a 1–2 paragraph narrative and reuse in your fundraising materials.

8. Notes & Assumptions (Recommended Separate Sheet/Tab)

Leave a full page or tab for this. It will save you time when investors or team members ask "Why this number?"

8.1 Cost Assumptions

• List your cost assumptions clearly:

  • Cloud credits (e.g., AWS / GCP / Supabase credits)

  • Deferred or reduced founder salaries

  • Vendor discounts or promotional pricing

• Call out any seasonal or one-time expenses.

8.2 Revenue & Risk Assumptions

• Expected conversion rates at different funnel stages

• Churn and retention assumptions

• Sales cycle length and payment terms (e.g., upfront vs monthly)

8.3 Liabilities & Inflows

• Pending liabilities (e.g., legal fees, outstanding invoices)

• Expected inflows:

  • Grants

  • Prize money

  • Existing commitments or SAFEs likely to close

Good practice: Add links or references to supporting docs (contracts, grant letters, etc.) in this section of your sheet.

9. Practical Usage & Best Practices

9.1 Tooling Recommendations

• Prefer Google Sheets if you're sharing with investors — it's easier for them to:

  • Comment

  • Suggest changes

  • View live updates

• Build in basic formulas so the budget updates automatically as inputs change (burn, salaries, marketing, etc.).

• Use named ranges for key inputs (e.g., BaseSalaryFounder, MarketingBudget) to simplify formulas.

9.2 Versioning & Milestone-Based Updates

Keep versions as your company evolves:

• v1 – Initial budget (pre-MVP).

• v2 – Post-MVP, incorporating real cost and early revenue data.

• v3 – Post-raise, with new team and GTM investments.

• Use a Change Log sheet or small note section to record major shifts (e.g., "Increased marketing to 25% of burn in Q2").

10. Quick Setup Checklist

Use this checklist when creating a fresh copy of this budgeting sheet:

• Fill in Company Overview & Budget Scope.

• Define 3–7 key milestones with target dates and budgets.

• Set up Monthly Budget Tracker with your real categories and currency.

• Add or refine Revenue Model Planning (if applicable).

• Complete the Hiring Plan with realistic timelines and salary bands.

• Calculate Runway & Extension scenarios.

• Document Notes & Assumptions in a separate tab.

• Share with co-founders and key stakeholders for review.

• Create a clean Investor Talking Points summary.