Capital AI: 11 prompts to ask about your finances

1. What's our current monthly burn?

• Why it matters: Your burn rate is the foundation of financial health. It tells you how fast you're spending cash and sets the baseline for every other decision, from hiring to fundraising timing.
• What you get: A clear number showing your average monthly cash outflow, plus context on whether it's trending up or down. It might ask you if this aligns with your expectations, or if you would like to dig deeper to see what’s driving these numbers.

2. How did my runway develop over the last three months?

• Why it matters: Runway tells you how long you can operate before needing more funding. It's your financial countdown clock.
• What you get: Last three months of runway remaining based on your current cash balance and burn rate and context whether this is a good or bad sign. It might ask you what you think has contributed to this development.

3. How did my cash balance develop compared to my business plan?

• Why it matters: Your plan is your roadmap. If actuals are drifting from the plan, you need to know why, and whether it's a signal to adjust strategy or raise capital sooner.
• What you get: A comparison showing where your cash balance stands versus what you projected, highlighting gaps and explaining what's driving them. It might ask you if you can share further insights driving this development.

4. What was the biggest cost block last quarter?

• Why it matters: Not all expenses are created equal. Identifying your largest cost categories helps you understand where money is going and where you might find efficiency gains.
• What you get: A breakdown of your top cost drivers (personnel, marketing, IT, or ops) with specific amounts and context. It might ask you if this aligns with your recent decisions, or if there are areas it should investigate for potential optimizations. 

5. What is my monthly revenue split by Stripe, Paypal, and bank accounts this year?

• Why it matters: Revenue is your scoreboard. You need a clear, up-to-date view of how much you've brought in to evaluate growth, forecast future performance, and communicate progress to stakeholders.
• What you get: Year-to-date revenue with breakdowns by source and trends over time.

6. Do I have big bank transactions worth paying attention to?

• Why it matters: Large or unusual transactions can signal important events – major customer payments, unexpected costs, or data anomalies that need review.
• What you get: A list of significant transactions with details (amount, counterparty, date) so you can investigate anything that looks off.

7. How did my runway develop this year and what's the most important driver?

• Why it matters: Runway is a story. Understanding what's extending or shrinking it (revenue growth, cost increases, fundraising) helps you take the right action.
• What you get: A narrative showing how runway has changed over the year and which factors (burn, revenue, cash injections) are most responsible.

8. What are the biggest drivers in my [category] costs in recent months?

• Why it matters: Drilling into specific cost categories (IT, marketing, personnel) reveals optimization opportunities. Maybe the vendor price jumped. Maybe you're overspending on a channel that's underperforming.
• What you get: Detailed breakdowns within a cost category, showing what's growing, what's stable, and where you might want to investigate further.

9. Can you give me the revenue, cogs, gross margin for every project and compare these?

• Why it matters: Not all projects or products are equally profitable. Understanding which ones have healthy margins and which are dragging performance down helps you make smarter decisions about where to invest resources.
• What you get: A project-by-project breakdown showing revenue, cost of goods sold, and gross margin percentage, making it easy to spot your winners and losers.

10. Show me the due dates of my accounts payable from my ERP system.

• Why it matters: Understanding what you owe and when payments are due helps you manage cash flow strategically. Late payments can damage vendor relationships, while early visibility lets you optimize payment timing.
• What you get: A breakdown of outstanding payables by different buckets (e.g., current, 30 days, 60 days, 90+ days), showing which vendors you owe money to and when payments are due.

11. Compare my actuals to my business plan, where am I off track?

• Why it matters: This is the big-picture question. It shows you holistically where performance is deviating from expectations and helps you prioritize what needs attention.
• What you get: A full comparison highlighting gaps between planned and actual performance, with explanations for why each variance exists and what it means for your strategy.

Finance prompts: Start simple, go deeper

These 10 prompts give you a solid foundation. Start with the ones that matter most to your current situation:

• Fundraising soon? Focus on runway, burn trends, and plan vs. actuals.
• Scaling fast? Dig into cost drivers and revenue growth rates.
• Just want clarity? Start with current burn, runway, and big transactions.

The beauty of Capital AI is that every answer opens the door to deeper questions. Ask one of these prompts, then follow up based on what you learn:

• "Why did burn increase in Q3?"
• "Which customers are driving that revenue growth?"
• "What happens if I cut marketing spend by 15%?"

Capital AI keeps the context and builds on your conversation, so you can go as deep as you need.

The bottom line: Just start exploring

Open Capital AI, pick one of these prompts, and see what you learn. You'll be amazed how quickly clarity replaces confusion, and how much time you save not digging through dashboards. Your finances are waiting to tell you their story. Just ask.