How Do I Calculate Business Startup Costs? To calculate your startup costs, first identify all necessary expenses like office space, equipment, licenses, permits, salaries, and marketing. Estimate each expense by researching online and consulting with mentors or similar businesses.

To figure out how much money you need to start your business, add the asset purchases, startup expenses, and operating expenses over your cash runway period. This is your total startup costs, and it’s better to overestimate than underestimate these costs.

Make a list of the upfront costs needed to get your business off the ground. Add up the total of all upfront costs. Make a list of your estimated ongoing monthly costs. Multiply your ongoing costs (for 1 month) by the number of months you want to project (12 is good, 36+ is best).

Drafting a business plan is the best way to estimate your business startup costs. Within your plan, the financial projections section should estimate your revenue, profit, and expenses for the next three to five years. There are other resources to estimate your finances as well, such as the SBA’s startup costs worksheet.