What is weeks of cash?
Weeks of cash is how many weeks a company's current cash would last at its recent burn rate. It's calculated as the cash balance divided by average weekly net burn, meaning net cash outflow averaged over the trailing four weeks. It turns a bank balance into a deadline, so a founder knows how long they have to act.
Formula
Cash balance ÷ average weekly net burn (trailing 4 weeks)
Example
A hypothetical apparel brand has $1,200,000 across its operating accounts. Over the last four weeks, cash out exceeded cash in by $240,000, so average weekly net burn is $240,000 ÷ 4 = $60,000. Weeks of cash = $1,200,000 ÷ $60,000 = 20 weeks.
How to read it
Higher is better: more weeks means more time to fix margin, raise capital, or wait out a slow season. A four-week trailing burn can swing hard when a large inventory payment or a big wholesale collection lands in the window, so read it next to the 13-week forecast rather than on its own. If the business is generating cash (burn is zero or negative), weeks of cash is effectively unlimited and the KPI is treated as healthy.
What moves it
- Timing of inventory purchase order deposits and balance payments to factories
- Paid media spend ramping up ahead of a launch or holiday season
- Wholesale customers paying invoices early or late
- Seasonal swings in DTC sales that change weekly cash inflow
- One-time cash events such as a loan draw, equity raise, or annual insurance payment
What to do when it's flagged
- Rebuild the 13-week cash forecast and find the specific weeks that drive the burn
- Push or split upcoming inventory purchase orders and renegotiate supplier payment terms
- Cut or pause paid media with the weakest contribution margin
- Start financing conversations (inventory line, revenue-based financing, or equity) well before cash is short
How Inflection tracks it
Inflection's KPI Monitor flags weeks of cash as Watch below 26 weeks and Critical below 13 weeks by default; each client's thresholds are adjusted to their business.
Cash balance and trailing four-week net burn come from connected bank feeds (or manually entered balances), with the QuickBooks balance sheet used for cash when no bank feed exists.
Updated 2026-10-11. Example figures are hypothetical.