{
  "version": "1.3.0",
  "releasedAt": "2026-05-20",
  "kpi": {
    "rogueId": "finance.total_operational_outflow",
    "slug": "total_operational_outflow",
    "domain": "finance",
    "defaultLabel": "Total Operational Outflow",
    "description": "Sum of cash actually paid for operating activities for the period — payroll and benefits, employer taxes, vendor payments (infra, tooling, contractors), sales and marketing spend, rent, professional services, refunds issued. Excludes financing activities (debt repayment, dividend payments) and investing activities (acquisitions, capex). Direct input to gross burn. Common pitfall: capitalized R&D and long-term capex sometimes get bucketed here; if so they distort gross burn. Keep this strictly operating-cash and surface investing/financing outflows separately so the board can see \"ongoing cost base\" vs. \"discretionary capital deployment\".",
    "fieldType": "currency",
    "unit": null,
    "maturity": "general",
    "suggestedForStages": [
      "seriesA",
      "seriesB",
      "seriesC",
      "public"
    ],
    "defaultOwningFunctions": [
      "Finance"
    ],
    "stageRelevance": {
      "seriesA": "recommended",
      "seriesB": "recommended",
      "seriesC": "recommended",
      "public": "recommended"
    },
    "definitionSource": {
      "tier": "editorial",
      "sourceName": "imboard Editorial",
      "sourceUrl": null,
      "sectionRef": null,
      "publicationDate": "2026-04-01",
      "attributionNotice": null
    },
    "formula": "Sum of operating-activity cash payments for the period. Equals gross burn × months_in_period when there are no working-capital re-classifications.",
    "whyItMatters": "The denominator-side of net burn and the basis of gross burn — controlling the structural cost base is the lever most boards can directly act on between fundraises.",
    "interpretationGuidance": "Decompose by spend category each board cycle (payroll vs. infra vs. GTM) — a sustained shift toward GTM or infra usually signals a strategic decision worth explicit board endorsement. No single industry threshold for \"good\" — interpretation is always against ARR, revenue per FTE, and gross-margin context.",
    "relatedKpiIds": [
      "finance.total_operational_inflow",
      "finance.gross_burn_rate",
      "finance.net_burn_rate",
      "hr.arr_per_fte"
    ],
    "metricBasis": {
      "timeBasis": "period_flow",
      "moneyBasis": "cash",
      "production": "primary"
    }
  }
}