Construction business loans and cash advances for contractors and trades.
The crew gets paid Friday. The GC pays the draw in 45 days and holds 10% until the punch list closes. Materials for the next job are due before the last one pays. Funding partners in our network underwrite contractors on draw and progress-payment deposits, not just the owner’s credit score, with decisions in 24–48 hours and funds in the account in days.
At a glance
- Who
- General contractors, subcontractors, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, concrete, paving, landscaping, remodelers and specialty trades, 6+ months in business
- Working capital
- Cash advance of $10,000 to $500,000+, sized to monthly deposits*
- Machinery
- Equipment loans and leases of $25,000 to $500,000 per unit, 36–72 months*
- Lumpy income
- Draws, progress payments and customer deposits are averaged over 3–6 months.
- Credit
- Advances consider scores in the 500s. Machinery from the high 500s with time in business.*
- Speed
- Decision in 24–48 hours; advances fund in 24–72 hours after final approval*
You finance every job for the customer before they pay you for it.
Construction runs on a timing gap that gets wider the better business is. You buy materials, put a crew on site, rent equipment and pay for permits and insurance weeks before the first pay application goes in. The GC or owner pays in 30 to 60 days, often less a 5–10% retainage held until the whole project closes, and a change-order dispute can push a check out another month. Win two new jobs at once and a profitable contractor can be out of cash by the second payroll.
Swyft Advance works with funding partners who underwrite contractors every day. They read your statements the way an estimator reads a set of plans: deposits from draws and progress payments, customer deposits on residential work, supplier and payroll outflows and the rhythm of your season all tell them what the business actually earns. The owner’s credit score matters less than it would at a bank, and the decision comes in days rather than weeks.
- Draw, progress-payment and customer-deposit income counts as revenue
- Lumpy months are averaged, not penalized
- No hard credit pull to see your options*
- Four products, so a machine purchase and a payroll gap do not get the same expensive answer
Four contractor needs, four different answers
| Need | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll, materials, mobilization, waiting on a draw | Cash advance | Fastest. Remitted from the draws it helps you earn. |
| Excavator, skid steer, lift, dump trailer, work truck | Equipment financing | Secured by the unit, 36–72 months, far lower cost. |
| Recurring gaps between pay apps on several jobs | Line of credit | Draw to start a job, repay when the pay app clears, reuse. |
| Two or more advances already drawing daily | Reverse Consolidation | Cuts the weekly outflow 30–50% instead of adding to it. |
Capital for the iron, and capital for everything between the bid and the check.
Working capital: merchant cash advance
A funding partner purchases a portion of your future receivables and deposits the purchase price. You remit a fixed daily or weekly amount by ACH until the purchased amount is delivered. The total cost is fixed in dollars up front. It is not a loan. For contractors, amounts typically run 80–120% of average monthly deposits, and weekly remittance is common because income arrives in large, irregular checks.*
Machinery and trucks: equipment financing
Excavators, skid steers, compact track loaders, backhoes, lifts, dump trailers, paving and concrete equipment, generators, work trucks and specialty tools for HVAC, plumbing, electrical and landscaping, new or used, from a dealer, an auction or a private seller. The lender holds title to the unit, which is why machinery financing stretches further on credit than an unsecured loan would.
What funders read on a contractor’s bank statement.
Deposits
Draws, progress payments, customer deposits and final checks. Partners average them over three to six months and look at the signed backlog, not just the last big check.
Payroll, suppliers and equipment notes
Existing payroll runs, supplier accounts and machine payments tell the funder what the business already carries. A remittance that fits around them gets approved; one that does not gets sized down.
Negative days
Overdrafts and returned payments are the most common reason a contractor file declines. Three or fewer a month is the usual tolerance; a run of them while waiting on a documented pay app can often be explained.
Time in business and positions
Months under the current license and entity, and how many advances already draw from the account. One is normal. Three or more points to Reverse Consolidation.
Compare the advance to the job it lets you take, not to a bank loan.
A cash advance is priced for speed. It makes sense in construction when the capital turns into a job: the materials deposit that lets you accept a $90,000 contract, the payroll that keeps a crew together through a slow pay cycle, the repair that puts the excavator back on a site that bills by the day. It does not make sense for buying machinery, which is what equipment financing is for.
The cost is a fixed total, stated in dollars in your offer, along with the advance amount, the remittance and the term. Longer time in business, steady average deposits, fewer negative days and no existing advances bring it down. Partners also read the work: commercial and government contracts with signed pay schedules price better than one-off residential jobs.
- Advance amount
- The deposit to your account
- Total to remit
- Fixed in dollars on day one
- Remittance
- Daily or weekly amount, by ACH
- Term
- Estimated weeks or months to deliver
The contractor math: if an advance funds the materials and first payroll on a job that nets 15–20% margin, the job itself should earn back the full cost of the advance with room to spare. Run that comparison against the total on the offer, in dollars, before you sign the contract.
Fit test: the remittance has to clear under payroll and supplier payments in the month between draws, not in the month the big check lands.
Built for contractors with real jobs on the statements.
Each funding partner sets its own criteria. These are the guidelines most of them share for construction files.
- 6+ months in business under the current entity and license. Twelve months or more opens more partners and better pricing.
- $10,000+ in monthly deposits on average to a business bank account, including draws, progress payments and customer deposits.
- Three or fewer negative days a month on average. A gap while waiting on a pay application can be explained with the documents.
- An active contractor’s license and insurance where your trade and state or province require one.
- Credit scores in the 500s are considered for advances. Machinery financing typically wants the high 500s or above. See our bad credit funding guide.
- A US or Canadian contractor. Owner-operators with one truck and a trailer qualify on the same terms as a crew of twenty.
What you’ll need
Have these ready and most files are decided within two business days.
- Last 3–4 months of business bank statements; 6–12 months helps a seasonal trade
- Government-issued photo ID for the owner
- Contractor’s license number and certificate of insurance
- Voided business check or bank letter
- Signed contracts or pay applications for work in progress, if you have them
- For a machine purchase: the dealer, auction or seller quote, serial number or VIN, and proof of insurance before funding
Stacked advances turn a slow pay cycle into a shutdown.
Contractors stack for an understandable reason: each new job needs cash before the last one pays, and each advance looks like the bridge. By the third one the daily remittances are taking the money that was supposed to buy materials for the job that would have paid them all off. Adding a fourth makes the week worse, not better.
Reverse Consolidation is built for exactly that position. A funding partner sends weekly deposits that cover the remittances on your existing advances, and you remit one lower weekly amount over a longer term. Net weekly outflow typically falls 30–50%, which for a contractor is often the difference between finishing the backlog and walking off it.
Before you sign any construction advance
- Know the total dollar cost and the remittance schedule.
- Make sure the daily or weekly remittance fits under payroll and suppliers in the month between draws, not the month a check lands.
- Ask how reconciliation works if a project is delayed, a draw is disputed or weather shuts you down.
- If a job is bonded, check whether the surety requires notice of new financing.
- Ask whether the agreement includes a personal guarantee or confession of judgment. Some states restrict these.
Your Swyft advisor walks through each of these on every offer. If an offer would starve the next job, we say so.
Straight answers for contractors.
Can a contractor get funding while waiting on a draw or retainage?
Yes. Bridging the gap between finishing work and getting paid on it is the most common reason contractors apply. Funding partners look for six or more months in business, $10,000 or more a month in deposits from draws, progress payments and customer deposits, and bank statements without a pattern of negative days. The signed contract or pay application for the job you are waiting on helps the file. Approval is never guaranteed.
My income is lumpy: a few big checks, then nothing. Does that disqualify me?
No. Funding partners that work with contractors expect uneven deposits and underwrite on the monthly average over three to six months rather than any single month. A documented backlog of signed contracts helps. What they will not overlook is a pattern of overdrafts between checks, so keeping a small buffer in the account matters more than keeping deposits even.
Can I use a cash advance for payroll, materials or a bond?
Yes. Any legitimate business purpose qualifies. Payroll between draws, materials and deposits to start a job, mobilization costs, a repair on a critical machine, the premium on a performance bond and catching up on a supplier account are the most common uses. For buying machinery, equipment financing secured by the unit is usually far cheaper than an advance.
What credit score does a contractor need?
Cash advances for working capital consider owners with scores in the 500s because the decision rests mainly on deposits and time in business. Equipment lenders in our network typically want a score in the high 500s or above and one or more years in business, with used machinery often requiring 10–20% down at lower scores. Lower scores may mean a smaller amount or a shorter term rather than a decline.
How fast can a construction company get funded?
Most complete applications receive a decision within 24–48 hours. Cash advances usually fund within 24–72 hours of final approval. Equipment deals take a few days longer because the lender verifies the unit, the seller and insurance before releasing funds. Auction purchases need the invoice and payment deadline up front.
Does seasonal or weather-dependent work qualify?
Yes. Roofing, paving, landscaping, concrete and exterior trades that slow down in winter are common files. Partners read a full year of statements where available so the slow months are expected rather than surprising, and some offer weekly rather than daily remittance or seasonal structures on equipment. Tell your advisor when your season runs so the remittance is sized to it.
Take the next job. See your options today.
Ten-minute application, no hard credit pull to check, an advisor who knows what retainage does to a bank statement.