Use Cases
Funding Materials and Payroll on a Job You Have Already Won
The classic contractor gap: you have the work, the costs land now, and the payment lands in 45 days. How that facility is structured and sized.
The short answer
When a signed job requires materials and labour before the first draw arrives, short revenue-based working capital sized to those front-end costs and structured around the draw schedule is the standard fit. The facility is repaid as the job pays, so it clears rather than lingering.
Key takeaways
- Size the facility to the front-end cost of the job, not to the job's total value.
- Structure the term around the draw schedule, not the calendar month.
- The cost of capital should be measured against the margin on the job it unlocks.
- A job you would otherwise decline is the clearest possible return on funding.
This is the most common reason a contractor calls us, and it is one of the cleanest uses of capital there is: the revenue is already contracted, the risk is timing, and the facility retires itself when the job pays.
How to size it
Work from the front-end cost, not the contract value. If a $310,000 job needs $95,000 of materials and four weeks of crew before the first draw, the facility is built around that $95,000 and the payroll run — not around the $310,000.
How to structure it
- 1Confirm the draw schedule in writing before you size anything.
- 2Build the repayment horizon around when the draws land, with a small buffer for the general contractor being late.
- 3Keep the payment comfortable in a week with no draw at all.
- 4Plan the clear-down: this facility should end when the job ends.
Express Capital Funding · Direct lender
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Frequently asked questions
Can I use business funding to make payroll?
Yes, and it is a common use — particularly when the payroll is attached to work already contracted. What matters is that the gap has a defined end, such as a draw or invoice due date, rather than being a recurring shortfall.
How fast can it be in place?
With complete bank statements, a decision commonly comes the same day and funding follows in as little as 24 to 48 hours.
Keep reading
Published by Express Capital Funding, a direct lender to U.S. small and mid-sized businesses. This article is general information, not financial, legal, or tax advice, and is not an offer or commitment to lend.
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