Founders are often obsessed with metrics like revenue, runway, and profitability.
But the most dangerous killer in a startup?
The “Near-Death” Startup Cash Flow Audit- What We Learned Helping a Founder Plug ₹2.1L in Monthly Leaks
Cash flow that slowly bleeds out — without a single alert on your dashboard.
We call it the “near-death zone”:
The startup’s still running, but cash burn is outpacing collections, vendors are unpaid, EMIs are getting juggled, and salaries are… delayed.
Let’s unpack how this happens — and more importantly, how to fix it.
Symptoms You Can’t Ignore
If you’ve seen any of these signs in the last 90 days, you need a cash flow triage — now:
- Burn > Collections: Your expenses are growing faster than receipts.
- Delayed Vendor Payments: You’re stalling dues, hoping collections catch up.
- EMI Juggle + Salary Delays: You’re patching gaps with personal funds or temporary fixes.
The business might be alive.
But you’re running on stress, not strategy.
3 Weekly Cash Metrics You Need to Track
Forget yearly ratios and quarterly reviews.
These are three cash metrics we recommend tracking every single week:
1. Net Cash Burn (NCB)
= (Total Outflows – Total Inflows)
This tells you how much money you’re actually burning after collections.
Not P&L burn. Not theoretical projections.
Real burn. Real cash.
2. Creditor Days
= (Trade Payables / Daily Purchases)
This measures how long you’re taking to pay vendors.
A sudden jump here means you’re delaying payments to plug a cash gap.
3. Vendor-to-Bank Ratio
= (Total Payables / Bank Balance)
This ratio shows how much pressure your payables are putting on your current bank balance.
High ratio = cash crunch incoming.
Real Case: ₹2.1L/Month Leak Found in 2 Hours
A founder came to us with a simple problem:
“Revenue is stable, but cash is vanishing.”
We ran a quick cash audit — and here’s what we found:
- Multiple SaaS tools on auto-renew (used by ex-employees)
- Unclaimed reimbursements being paid twice
- A mismatch between payroll software and TDS deduction entries
- No segregation of OPEX vs COGS in tracking systems
Leakage: ₹2.1L/month, every single month.
We shut it in 30 days.
Startup Cash Flow Audit – Solution
The “CASH” Framework: Plug Leaks Before You Drown
We built this 4-step cash discipline framework after working with 50+ founders across D2C, SaaS, and services.
Categorise
Map your fixed, variable, recurring, and discretionary spends. Most startups don’t even know what’s bleeding where.
Audit
Run weekly cash audits — not just accounting audits. Reconcile tools, subscriptions, payouts, and auto-debits.
Shut Leaks
Kill unused tools, tighten access controls, and flag reimbursements or duplicate spends.
Hold Discipline
Build cash rituals: weekly reviews, CFO check-ins, vendor payment plans, and burn dashboards. Get in touch with Pitchers Global today!