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Do you actually know your runway, to the month, tied to your real compute commitments?
Most AI founders carry a runway number in their head that assumes burn is a smooth line. It isn't. Prepaid GPU credits, reserved capacity, and a single usage spike can move it fast. A licensed CPA will review your QuickBooks Online and give you a runway figure you can defend, separating gross burn from net burn and tying it to the compute you've actually committed to.
Free, no obligation, and no software to install. A real CPA does the work, not a bot.
A runway number you guessed at versus one you can defend
When compute is committed, prepaid, or reserved, burn stops behaving like a flat monthly line. Here is the difference between the runway most AI companies are working from and the runway a CPA can actually stand behind.
What we usually find in the books
Engineering payroll sits in one lump with no split between qualified research and routine work
Gross and net burn are used interchangeably, so the real number is off by months
Prepaid GPU credits and reserved capacity sit in QuickBooks as one lump, hiding when cash actually leaves
A model release or usage spike swings burn and nobody can say how runway moved
The board asks how many months you have left and the answer changes every time you're asked
What good runway looks like
Runway is modeled against your real compute commitments, not a flat average of last month
Gross burn and net burn are separated and labeled, so revenue offsets are honest
Prepaid and reserved compute are timed to when cash leaves, so the curve reflects reality
A 13-week cash flow shows the near term, with scenarios for a spike or a new model release
One runway number, with the burn multiple behind it, that you can put in front of the board with confidence
What a free runway review gives you
Your numbers should tell you which jobs make money and when cash gets tight. We handle the books, the job costing, and the forecast so every bid, draw, and payroll Friday is backed by real financials.
A licensed CPA reviews your QuickBooks Online and gives you runway tied to your actual compute commitments, with gross and net burn separated. A figure you can put in front of the board, not a guess.
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Before our call, the CPA flags the 3 to 5 things in your books most likely shortening your runway or distorting your burn, from mistimed prepaid compute to misclassified costs. Each one framed as an estimate the CPA confirms with you.
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We walk through the findings together, talk through a 13-week view and a spike scenario, and you leave with a clear next step. No pitch, no obligation, and you keep the takeaways either way.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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It's genuinely free with no obligation. A licensed CPA reviews your QuickBooks Online and walks you through the findings on a 20 to 30 minute call. If our ongoing service is a fit we'll say so, but you keep the runway read and the flagged issues whether or not you ever work with us.
We start in your QuickBooks Online to separate gross from net burn, see how compute is recorded, and check the timing of prepaid and reserved spend. Where committed compute lives outside QuickBooks, we ask you for those contracts or invoices so the runway reflects real cash timing, not a flat average.
A licensed CPA does the review and runs the call. We use QuickBooks Online and our own tools to move faster, but the judgment, the runway figure, and the issues we flag come from a real accountant, not an automated report.
Those sit outside a CPA firm's lane to perform, so we don't claim to. We can coordinate with your valuation provider and auditors and make sure your books and runway support those processes, but we won't overstate what an accounting and tax-advisory firm does.
Yes, and often more so. Messy or thin books are exactly where runway gets miscounted. The CPA will show you what's missing, give you a working runway estimate to confirm together, and point out the few fixes that make the number trustworthy.
The AI Founder's Cash Runway Checklist
Eleven yes or no questions to pressure-test the runway number you're carrying. If you can't answer yes to most of these, your runway is a guess. Enter your email and we'll send it over.
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