Unrestricted Cash
Cash that the company can freely deploy for any operational purpose — total bank balances minus any contractually restricted balances. This is the input most boards actually want when judging runway, because it strips out escrows, security deposits, and processor reserves that cannot be spent on payroll or vendors. The distinction matters more as the company adds enterprise contracts (deposit obligations), debt facilities (covenant balances), and payment processing volume (rolling reserves). Common pitfall: at early stage, restricted cash is often near zero so teams equate this with `finance.total_cash_in_bank` — track them separately from day one to avoid surprise reclassifications later. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier)
No public third-party standard anchors this KPI yet, so I'mBoard authors and maintains the definition — transparently labeled as editorial tier. See the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system and the back-attribution workstream.
Rogue ID: finance.total_unrestricted_cash
Type: Currency
Domain: Finance
Definition
Cash that the company can freely deploy for any operational purpose — total bank balances minus any contractually restricted balances. This is the input most boards actually want when judging runway, because it strips out escrows, security deposits, and processor reserves that cannot be spent on payroll or vendors. The distinction matters more as the company adds enterprise contracts (deposit obligations), debt facilities (covenant balances), and payment processing volume (rolling reserves). Common pitfall: at early stage, restricted cash is often near zero so teams equate this with finance.total_cash_in_bank — track them separately from day one to avoid surprise reclassifications later.
Formula
finance.total_cash_in_bank − finance.total_restricted_cash. Equivalent to the sum of bank-account balances flagged `restricted: false` in `finance.bank_accounts_list`.Why it matters
The right cash number to divide by net burn when computing the spendable runway a board can act on — restricted cash cannot bridge a payroll gap.
How to interpret
A meaningful divergence between unrestricted and total cash (industry folk-wisdom: >5–10%) is the trigger to surface a restricted-cash schedule in the board pack. Compare period-over-period — a sudden drop in unrestricted cash that does not match burn usually means a reclassification (e.g. a new lease deposit) rather than spending.
Related KPIs
finance.total_cash_in_bankfinance.total_restricted_cashfinance.operationally_available_cashfinance.runway_monthsfinance.bank_accounts_list
Source
I'mBoard editorial — authored and maintained by I'mBoard, first published 2026-04-01. No third-party standard is cited for this KPI; when one emerges, the definition is back-attributed and promoted to the published tier (a minor version bump). Read the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system, attribution rules, and dispute process.
Stage relevance
| Company stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| Pre-Seed | Core |
| Seed | Core |
| Series A | Core |
| Series B | Recommended |
| Series C+ | Recommended |
| Public | Recommended |
Suggested for stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C+, Public.
Default owning functions
- Finance
Machine-readable
- This KPI as JSON:
/api/ontology/finance/total_unrestricted_cash.json - All Finance KPIs:
/api/ontology/finance.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
Restricted Cash
Cash on the balance sheet that is not available for general operating use because it is contractually pledged or held for a specific purpose — typical examples include landlord lease-deposit escrows, customer-funds collateral, security deposits backing letters of credit, payment-processor reserves, and debt-covenant minimum-balance requirements. Per IFRS and US GAAP balance-sheet presentation, restricted cash must be disclosed separately from unrestricted cash; the board should treat this number as removed from runway. Common pitfall: payment-processor "reserve" balances and large customer-deposit floats are often missed when reporting unrestricted cash, inflating apparent runway. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
Working Capital Adjustments
Itemized list of working-capital adjustments with explicit sign-prefix driving the additive-vs-subtractive multiplier — e.g. "+ AR collected: $250k", "− Prepaid infra: $80k", "+ Deferred revenue: $600k". The line-item basis for `finance.net_working_capital_adjustment` and its child KPIs (current_asset_adjustments, current_liability_adjustments). The signed-prefix UI convention prevents the most common working-capital reporting bug — sign-flips that double-count or invert the cash effect. Common pitfall: lumping unrelated items into a single "other working capital" line loses the diagnostic value; break out the top 3–5 components. — Finance KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).