Runway Extension
Also known as: Extend Runway, Cash Runway Extension
Definition
Runway extension increases the number of weeks or months a company can operate before cash runs out or financing becomes mandatory. It can come from cost reduction, collections acceleration, vendor terms, pricing, working-capital control, financing, or strategic scope decisions.
Runway extension is not just cutting spend. The best plan protects the work that creates enterprise value while removing cash burn that does not.
The first step is a cash forecast that shows exactly when decisions become irreversible.
Related terms
- 13-Week Cash Flow — A rolling short-term cash forecast used to manage liquidity, runway, lender discussions, and turnaround decisions.
- Cash Runway — The number of months a company can operate before cash runs out at the current burn rate.
- Lender Forbearance — A lender's temporary agreement not to exercise remedies after a default or covenant issue.
Where this gets applied
- Unit Economics — CAC payback, NRR, gross margin by segment, cohort analysis, paid-on-bookings vs. paid-on-cash.
- Financial Infrastructure — ARR waterfalls, deferred-revenue rules, board-pack standardization, FP&A architecture.
- Project Recovery — Stalled programs unblocked. We've rescued $13M and $3M Fortune 500 initiatives in under 30 days.