When the cash forecast and the cover letter disagree on runway

Applicants often describe runway in months while the cash schedule speaks in NT$ balances. The mismatch appears when a cover letter promises “eighteen months of operating cover” but the monthly forecast crosses a zero cash line in month eleven once debt service and grant matching draws are timed correctly.

Start from the zero-cash month

We ask schedule authors to circle the first month where closing cash falls below the policy minimum they already stated elsewhere in the pack. That circled month becomes the honest runway figure. Marketing language on the cover can then be rewritten to match, or the forecast assumptions can be revised with evidence.

Watch annual matching funds

Grant packs frequently book matching contributions as a single annual inflow. Lenders and ministry officers who model monthly liquidity will reject that shortcut. Spreading the match across the months when cash actually arrives — and documenting the source — removes a common clarification trigger.

Keep one glossary of terms

“Runway,” “headroom,” and “buffer” get used interchangeably inside the same binder. Pick one definition, put it in a footnote on the cash schedule, and reuse it in the narrative. Dual-read reviews catch synonym drift faster than a single pass.

If your pack is already locked except for the forecast pages, a pre-submission spot check can target those schedules without reopening the full dossier.