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Calculators

Startup cost calculator

A startup budget has three parts: what you pay once to open the doors, a reserve for the months before sales cover the costs, and a cushion for what you missed.

Example numbers, made up: The starting numbers are a made-up small bakery, not real costs.

One-time costs: what you pay once to open

Rename, add or remove lines to fit your business. A blank line is left out.

A reserve and a cushion

What comes back every month whether sales do or not: rent, staff, utilities, insurance, supplies, marketing. If the business has to pay you, your own living costs go in here too.

For the months before sales cover the costs. The SBA says to count at least 12 monthssba.gov ·2026 of monthly costs.

A share on top of the one-time costs and the reserve, for what every budget misses. The SBA suggests adding a little extra to a break-even plan, say 10%sba.gov ·2026, for costs you can't predict; this uses the same idea on the budget.

Your savings, a loan, money from family or investors. Leave it blank to skip.

Total to start

$117,920

$35,200 to open, $72,000 to carry 12 months of costs, and a $10,720 cushion. Most of it is for the months after opening, not the opening.

Equipment, $18,000$18,000Build-out: fixing up the space, $9,000$9,000Deposits: rent and utilities, $3,000$3,000Permits and licenses, $1,200$1,200First stock and supplies, $2,500$2,500Marketing to open, $1,500$1,500Reserve: 12 months of costs, $72,000$72,000Cushion, $10,720$10,720
How it's worked out

Reserve = monthly costs × months to set aside. → $6,000 × 12 = $72,000

Cushion = (one-time costs + reserve) × the cushion %. → ($35,200 + $72,000) × 10% = $10,720

Total = one-time costs + reserve + cushion. → $35,200 + $72,000 + $10,720 = $117,920

Learn the idea behind it

  • Lesson

    Your startup budget(members-only)(included in your membership)

    Sort one-time costs from monthly ones, follow an example budget line by line, and build your own with where the money comes from.

    Take the lesson

  • Lesson

    Whose money starts a business?(members-only)(included in your membership)

    See the three ways owners pay to start, their own savings, a loan or an investor, and what each one really costs.

    Take the lesson

The numbers you type stay on this page and aren't sent anywhere. For learning, not financial advice.