It's 11:47 PM. The forecast’s due tomorrow.
The numbers don’t line up. And the model’s on version 47.
Someone just asked what happens if you delay hiring by three months. So you duplicate the sheet, change a few assumptions, and try not to touch the formulas that already broke once.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone.
There's a better way. Runway gives you real-time formulas, live scenario branching, and actual collaboration.
Change an assumption, and your entire model updates instantly. Run multiple scenarios at the same time. Let your whole team make edits, together.
Where spreadsheets fall short
Spreadsheets are powerful and flexible — but they aren’t accessible to the broader team.
- Version sprawl: You get “Budget_Q4_Sarah_edits_v3_FINAL.xlsx” in five different places. Anyone’s changes can overwrite someone else’s. Tracking edits seems nearly impossible.
- Manual updates slow everything down: Copy-pasting changes eats up hours that should be spent analyzing or deciding.
- One error breaks the model: A single typo can mess up your whole forecast. And you might not notice until you’re presenting.
How Runway does collaborative forecasting
Runway replaces spreadsheets with a live platform designed for collaborative planning.
Here’s how it works:
- Automated actuals: Runway integrates with 750+ systems — accounting, HR, CRM, and more — so your actuals and forecasts stay in sync.
- Human-readable formulas: Write formulas that are easy for everyone to read, understand, and trace.
- Automated reporting: Pull actionable insights with one click.
Creating new scenarios
Change a driver, and Runway shows the downstream impact instantly. No hunting through tabs. No broken formulas.
One tweak instantly refreshes forecasts for revenue, hiring, cash flow, and more.
Scenario branching: explore what-ifs without cloning
With Runway, you can test assumptions like you test code.
- Model aggressive vs conservative hiring plans.
- Compare pricing strategies. Model different fundraising timelines. Explore tradeoffs side by side.
- Each branch starts with your base model but evolves independently — so you can explore changes without touching the base scenario.
- When a branch makes sense, merge it back with one click.
Live collaboration: real-time editing with control
Runway lets your whole team work in one model.
- Granular permissions mean each stakeholder only sees and edits what’s relevant.
- Sensitive fields are masked automatically.
- Add descriptions to drivers — right in the model. No more messy Slack threads.
- Dashboards update as you plan, so you can show the impact of each change live. Even during a board meeting.
How fast-moving teams use Runway to forecast
- Fundraising becomes faster: Build investor-ready scenarios in minutes. Adjust targets live as conversations evolve.
- Board meetings get interactive: Show real-time impact of feedback. No more “We’ll update this after.”
- Cash runway modeling improves: See multiple burn rates in one place. Compare tradeoffs without switching between tabs.
- Hiring connects directly to the P&L: Model salary changes, ramp-up plans, and org growth visually.
- Departments manage spend smarter: Give Sales, Marketing, or Ops access to their own departmental views. Let them simulate cost tweaks on their own.
- Cross-functional planning happens in one place: Teams can enter pipeline and campaign data on their own. Finance sees it all.
For more details, check out our Scenario planning playbook for early-stage companies.
Why collaborative planning with Runway works
- Speed: Plans update in real time. Forecasting goes from weeks to hours.
- Accuracy: No broken formulas. Real data. Live assumptions.
- Alignment: Everyone works from the same version — a single source of truth that stays up to date. No confusion about versions or assumptions.
- Scalability: Runway grows with you — from small teams to multi-entity orgs.
Superhuman saw a 50-100X efficiency boost after switching to Runway.
Ready to forecast smarter?
Stop managing spreadsheets. Start managing the business instead.
Book a demo to see Runway’s collaborative forecasting in action.