Working capital for contractors and the trades

Contractors get paid last. Materials, labor, fuel and the permit all come due before the first draw, and the retainage sits until the punch list is closed. A working-capital program moves cash to where the job calendar needs it — typically up to 2X monthly revenue, depending on how the file looks — with a review desk that reads your real deposits instead of one project’s paperwork. Two minutes and no documents shows you your options, and qualifying files typically hear back within one business day.

Why the money is always a draw behind

Because construction pays after the work, not before it. You buy the shingles, the ductwork, or the fixtures, you make payroll on Friday, and the owner pays on the schedule in the contract, after you have asked in writing. Then a slice of every progress payment is held back. On Florida public work, the law lets a public entity withhold up to 5 percent of each progress payment as retainage. On private jobs, Florida’s prompt-payment law puts the retained balance due within 14 days after substantial completion, with interest running from the 14th day after a payment is due. That is a long time for a roofing crew to carry a job’s profit on its own line.

This is not a contractor problem so much as a small-business problem with a contractor’s shape. The Federal Reserve’s 2024 Small Business Credit Survey found that among employer firms that sought financing, 56% did so to meet operating expenses, and 51% of firms named uneven cash flow as a financial challenge. In the trades, the unevenness has names:

• The job you just won. Bigger than the reserves were built for, and it starts Monday.
• Season and storms. Roofing, HVAC, tree work and site work run hot for months, then wait on weather, permits or insurance adjusters.
• Material deposits. Suppliers want money or a terms account before the truck leaves the yard.
• A slow-paying owner. The contract says one thing; the check says another.

Which structure fits which job

The structure should match what the money is doing. Working capital and term programs are the general tool for a won job: materials, payroll and equipment covered now, repaid on a schedule spelled out before you sign. Terms run out to 48 months at the ceiling — most files land 12–24. If your revenue swings with the season, revenue-based financing repays as a share of what the business actually brings in, heavier in the busy months and lighter when the weather shuts you down; the guide on working capital for seasonal businesses walks through it. If the cash you are waiting on is an invoice to a general contractor, a property manager or a commercial owner, invoice factoring turns that 30–90 day business-to-business invoice into cash now; it does not work for invoices to homeowners. A business line of credit fits recurring material buys, with limits that typically scale with monthly revenue and cost tied to what is drawn. Rates can start around 1% a month for the strongest files, depending on the file, and every figure on this site is an illustrative range, not an offer.

What the review desk reads on a contractor’s file

Deposits, balances, and existing payments, read together as one story. Contractor deposits are lumpy by nature — a draw lands, then nothing for three weeks — and underwriters who read trade files know that. What they weigh is whether the lumps add up to steady revenue over the months, whether the balance holds between draws or hits zero and bounces, and what is already coming out of the account every week. A lien on a job, a judgment, or a dispute that went to court is read with the rest of the file, not ignored; a construction lien is a security interest someone can take in property they supplied labor or material to, and an open one on your own work says something about the job. Say it on the call before the desk finds it. The guide on what underwriters look for in bank statements covers what helps and what you cannot fix in a week.

What the desk does not need to see your options: the contract, the schedule of values, or the plans. The two-minute form asks for the basics of the business. Bank statements and ownership details come later, on the secure application or by phone, never by text or email.

When a supplier account, an equipment lender or a bank is the better tool

Take the cheaper money when it fits and can land in time. A terms account with your supplier is the cheapest material financing there is. An equipment loan tied to the excavator or the bucket truck usually prices below general-purpose capital, because the asset secures it. A bank line, if the bank will open one and the job can wait for it, costs less than anything on this site. Working-capital programs are for the file the bank turned down, the job that starts before the line opens, or the month the draw is late and payroll is not.

Where the desk fits

We’re not the cheapest desk. Files that fit usually leave with a longer term and one payment instead of three — and you’ll know exactly what it costs before you sign anything. Speed and flexibility typically price above a bank line; if your bank can fund the file in time, take it. Aglet Funding is a DBA of Lendera Capital LLC, based in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and programs are available to businesses across the United States; availability can vary by state and by file. We also work with trucking companies, restaurants, auto repair shops and healthcare practices. How it works walks through the three steps; the quick assessment shows what files of your shape typically reach.

Sources

1. Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2024 Small Business Credit Survey — the share of firms seeking financing to meet operating expenses, and the share citing uneven cash flow
2. Florida Statutes §715.12, Construction Contract Prompt Payment Law — the retained balance is due within 14 days after substantial completion; interest runs from the 14th day after a payment is due
3. Florida Statutes §255.078, Public construction retainage — a public entity may withhold up to 5 percent of each progress payment
4. Cornell Legal Information Institute — Mechanic’s lien — what a construction lien is and who can hold one