Working capital calculator
Current assets of 150,000 against current liabilities of 80,000 leave 70,000 of net working capital and a current ratio of 1.875. See at once whether short-term resources cover short-term claims. Free in your browser.
- Free
- Runs in your browser
- No sign-up
- Your data stays on your device
Run — free
Worked example
- Current assets
- 150,000
- Current liabilities
- 80,000
- Net working capital
- 70,000
- Current ratio
- 1.875
- Liquidity position
- surplus
- Working capital to assets
- 0.4666666667
Net working capital is the cash cushion a company keeps after it subtracts every liability that is due within a year from every asset that is expected to turn into cash within a year. Analysts, credit officers, treasurers, and operators use that gap, and the current ratio that sits beside it, to judge whether the firm can pay suppliers, payroll, and short-term debt without raising new money. This working capital calculator takes total current assets and total current liabilities in the same currency, returns net working capital as the difference, and returns the current ratio as current assets divided by current liabilities. A positive result means current assets more than cover current claims; a negative result is a working-capital deficit and a current ratio below one.
What net working capital and the current ratio measure
The standard identity for net working capital is current assets minus current liabilities. Current liabilities are the claims due in the same window: accounts payable, accrued expenses, short-term borrowings, the current portion of long-term debt, and taxes payable. Subtracting those two totals yields net working capital, also called the working-capital surplus or deficit.
The current ratio is the same pair of totals expressed as a quotient: current assets divided by current liabilities. A firm with one hundred fifty thousand of current assets and eighty thousand of current liabilities has net working capital of seventy thousand and a current ratio of one point eight seven five. A firm with fifty thousand of current assets and eighty thousand of current liabilities has a deficit of thirty thousand and a current ratio of zero point six two five.
When the two totals are equal, net working capital is zero, the current ratio is exactly one, and the position is balanced. This calculator reports both figures from the same inputs so a credit file, a board pack, and a homework key share one contract. It does not reclassify line items, apply industry haircuts, or pull a live filing: you supply the two totals already taken from the statement.
The current ratio answers how many times short-term assets cover short-term claims; net working capital answers the same question in currency units instead of as a multiple.
Where a working capital calculator is used in credit, treasury, and teaching
Lenders and credit analysts compute net working capital and the current ratio when they screen a borrower, set a revolving-facility covenant, or refresh a watch list after a new quarterly statement. A current ratio below one is a classic flag that current claims exceed current resources; a comfortable surplus is not by itself a credit grant, but it is the first liquidity screen most underwriting checklists still require.
Corporate treasurers recompute the same pair after a large payable run, a receivables collection push, or an inventory build so operations and finance share one number instead of two spreadsheets. Private-company boards and owner-managers use the calculator before a dividend, a capex cheque, or a supplier prepayment that would drain the current-asset pile. If you need months of cash runway from a burn rate, use the separate cash-runway tool; this page answers only net working capital and the current ratio from two balance-sheet totals.
What you can do with it
Credit files and loan covenants
Compute net working capital and the current ratio from a classified balance sheet before underwriting or testing a minimum-liquidity covenant.
Treasury and period monitoring
Recompute both figures after a payable run, collection push, or inventory build so finance and operations share one liquidity snapshot.
Teaching and exam practice
Generate reproducible working-capital and current-ratio answers for homework keys, worksheets, and CFA-style liquidity drills.
FAQ
How is the current ratio different from net working capital?
Both use the same two totals. Net working capital is the currency difference (assets minus liabilities). The current ratio is the multiple (assets divided by liabilities). A ratio below one is the same situation as a working-capital deficit.
What does the calculator cost?
It is free in your browser on this page.
What counts as current assets and current liabilities?
Current assets are items expected to become cash within a year: cash, marketable securities, receivables, inventory and expenses paid in advance. Current liabilities are claims due in that window, such as payables, accrued expenses, short-term borrowings and taxes payable.
What does a current ratio below one mean?
That current claims exceed current resources, so net working capital is negative. A ratio of 0.625, for instance, means short-term assets cover only part of what falls due within the year, a classic warning sign for lenders.
Why can't current liabilities be zero?
Because the current ratio divides current assets by current liabilities, and dividing by zero has no answer. Current assets may be zero, but liabilities must be above zero, in the same currency and at the same statement date.
Related tools
For developers — API access
Everything on this page is available programmatically. This section is for teams who want to wire it into their own systems; everyone else can just use the tool above.
API endpoint
Prefer to automate it? One authenticated POST creates the task; the result comes back by webhook or a signed link. The same capability also runs here on the web, by email and from Telegram — and soon from our app too.
Call it from your stack
curl -X POST https://api.kit.forhosting.com/finance/working-capital \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $KIT_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"current_assets":150000,"current_liabilities":80000}'const res = await fetch("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/finance/working-capital", {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Authorization": `Bearer ${process.env.KIT_KEY}`,
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({
"current_assets": 150000,
"current_liabilities": 80000
})
});
const { task_id } = await res.json();import os, requests
res = requests.post(
"https://api.kit.forhosting.com/finance/working-capital",
headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['KIT_KEY']}"},
json={
"current_assets": 150000,
"current_liabilities": 80000
},
)
task_id = res.json()["task_id"]<?php
$res = file_get_contents("https://api.kit.forhosting.com/finance/working-capital", false, stream_context_create([
"http" => [
"method" => "POST",
"header" => "Authorization: Bearer " . getenv("KIT_KEY") . "\r\nContent-Type: application/json",
"content" => '{"current_assets":150000,"current_liabilities":80000}',
],
]));
$task = json_decode($res, true);body := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"current_assets":150000,"current_liabilities":80000}`)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://api.kit.forhosting.com/finance/working-capital", body)
req.Header.Set("Authorization", "Bearer "+os.Getenv("KIT_KEY"))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
res, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)Example request
{
"current_assets": 150000,
"current_liabilities": 80000
}Example response
{
"task_id": "tsk_a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6",
"type": "finance.working_capital",
"status": "queued",
"_links": {
"result": "/tasks/tsk_…/result"
}
}The API is asynchronous: the call returns a task_id immediately and the result arrives by webhook. Polling is capped at 1 req/s per task.
Pricing
Published price — no tokens, no invented credits. A failed task is never charged.
Errors
| HTTP | Code | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
401 | unauthorized | Missing or invalid API key. |
402 | insufficient_balance | Your balance doesn't cover the task price. |
404 | unknown_type | That task type doesn't exist. |
429 | rate_limited | Too many requests. Use the webhook instead of polling. |
Technical notes
The engine is deterministic arithmetic with no market feed, no clock, and no randomness, so the same two numbers always produce the same JSON. Run it free in the browser on this page, or call the API at $0.002 per successful task when you score many statements or reporting periods in batch.
What net working capital and the current ratio measure
Current assets are the balance-sheet items expected to become cash within the operating cycle or one year: cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, trade receivables, inventory, and prepaid expenses.
Inputs, validation, rounding, and the zero-liability edge
Both amounts must use the same currency and the same statement date; the engine does not convert units or roll forward a trial balance. Current assets must be greater than or equal to zero. There is no clock, locale, or randomness in the path. Send a JSON object with two required finite numbers: current_assets (aliases ca, total_current_assets, assets_current) and current_liabilities (aliases cl, total_current_liabilities, liabilities_current). Current liabilities must be strictly greater than zero, because the current ratio divides by that total: a zero or negative liability figure returns a typed invalid_input error that names the field. A liability total larger than assets is valid and is not rejected; the response then shows a negative net working capital, surplus set to false, and liquidity_position set to deficit. When the two totals match, net working capital is zero, surplus is true, and liquidity_position is balanced. When assets are positive, the payload also includes working_capital_to_assets, which is net working capital divided by current assets; that optional field is omitted when assets are zero so clients never see a null. Failed validation is never billed; only a successful API task consumes prepaid balance at the published base rate of $0.002.
Where a working capital calculator is used in credit, treasury, and teaching
Accounting students and CFA candidates meet both identities when a textbook asks for working capital and the current ratio from a classified balance sheet; a deterministic endpoint produces the same key a grader can publish.
Technical questions
What is the net working capital formula?
net_working_capital = current_assets − current_liabilities. The calculator also returns the current ratio as current_assets / current_liabilities, a surplus flag, and a liquidity_position of surplus, deficit, or balanced.
Why must current liabilities be greater than zero?
The current ratio divides current assets by current liabilities, so a zero or non-positive current_liabilities total is undefined and returns invalid_input.
Can net working capital be negative?
Yes. When current liabilities exceed current assets the tool returns a negative net_working_capital, surplus false, and liquidity_position deficit. That is a valid statement, not an error.