Investors don’t just watch growth anymore—they watch efficiency. Your north-star metric: Burn Multiple.

Burn Multiple = Net Burn ÷ Net New ARR (Use Net New Gross Profit if you’re not pure SaaS.)

• Elite: < 1.0

• Good: 1.0–1.5

• Watch: 1.5–2.0

• Fix now: > 2.0

The good news: you can materially improve this number in 60 days without stalling growth. Here’s a practical, founder-friendly plan tuned for MENA/GCC startups.

Week 1–2: Measure and freeze scope

1) Establish the baseline

• Last 3 months: Net Burn, Net New ARR (or gross profit), Burn Multiple by month.

• Cash runway (months), by Base/Bear/Bull scenarios.

• CAC by channel, payback, CM1/CM2.

2) Publish the rules of spend

• Introduce a capital allocation ladder (must-have → growth engines → options → nice-to-haves).

• Turn policies into workflows in your card/AP tool: thresholds, dual approvals, vendor onboarding.

3) Kill leakage

• Pause auto-renewals, unused seats, overlapping tools.

• Stop discounts that outlast promos; implement floor pricing.

4) Price & package sanity

• Minimum price floors, remove zombie discounts, nudge to annual prepay with value-backed incentives.

Week 3–4: Pull cash forward, push cash out

5) Collections sprint

• 7/21/35-day dunning cadence with friendly friction (reminders, in-app banners, success-manager nudge).

• Offer annual prepay swap: 1 month free OR premium feature unlock.

• Add late-fee clause on new contracts; apply softly to chronic late payers.

6) Payables & vendor plays

• Renegotiate payment terms (Net 45/60), add off-ramps (30-day cancellation + data export).

• Consolidate tools at renewal; seek usage-based where variable.

7) Quote-to-Cash clean-up

• Close gaps between CRM → billing → GL.

• Ensure e-invoice/e-receipt totals reconcile to GL and cash—faster VAT refunds = extended runway.

Week 5–6: Fix unit economics (fast wins)

8) Channel pruning

• Pause channels with payback > 12 months or negative CM1.

• Reallocate to proven channels until payback < 9–10 months.

9) Expansion & retention

• Push value-based add-ons; launch 2–3 land-and-expand plays for existing customers.

• Target one churn driver this month (e.g., onboarding time); publish improvement.

10) Headcount discipline

• Hire to leading indicators (SQO volume, activation, NPS), not hope.

• Backfill only mission-critical roles; contract where seasonal.

Week 7–8: Package for the board (and your next round)

11) Reporting that changes decisions

• Scorecard: ARR/MRR, Net Burn, Burn Multiple, runway, CM1/CM2.

• Variance bridge: what moved vs last month (drivers and owners).

• Actions: the if–then triggers you’re executing (pause X, double-down Y).

12) Lock the operating cadence

• Monthly re-forecast with Base/Bear/Bull using the same drivers.

• 13-week cash model updated weekly; board pack sent 48 hours pre-meeting.

Quick levers ranked by speed vs impact

Immediate (days)

• Cancel unused SaaS, reduce seats, remove zombie discounts.

• Switch to annual prepay offers (with value add, not raw discount).

• Enforce PO for commitments > $5k, require business-case link.

Near-term (weeks)

• Vendor term extensions; consolidate contracts at renewal.

• Dunning + collections workflow; deposits for bespoke work.

• Price-floor rollout; packaging revisit for good-better-best.

Mid-term (1–2 months)

• Channel mix shift to sub-10-month payback.

• Retention lift via onboarding/activation fix.

• Gross-margin lift: reprice COGS-heavy SKUs, renegotiate logistics.

Sample calculation (SaaS)

• Month 0: Net Burn $400k, Net New ARR $150k → Burn Multiple = 2.67 (fix now).

• After 60 days: Net Burn $320k (–20%), Net New ARR $220k (+47%) → Burn Multiple = 1.45 (good). What changed? Annual prepay offers (+$40k ARR), vendor terms + tool consolidation (–$60k burn), paused a 14‑month payback channel (reallocated to an 8‑month channel), raised floor price 7%.

Founder checklist (save this)

✔️ Baseline Burn Multiple + runway; publish a capital allocation ladder.

✔️ Rolling forecast + 13‑week cash model live; one owner.

✔️ Collections cadence + annual prepay offer in market.

✔️ Vendor terms extended; off‑ramps and data‑export in contracts.

✔️ Channel payback < 10 months; price floors enforced.

✔️ Board pack: scorecard, variance bridge, action triggers.

Final word

You don’t need a miracle quarter to improve efficiency. You need clarity, cadence, and a few high‑leverage plays. Nail those in 60 days and your Burn Multiple tells a better story—one investors want to fund.

Need a burn‑multiple sprint with templates (cash model, dunning, board pack)? E Advisory can stand it up in a week.