A general contractor awarded a $4M job funds mobilization, bonding capacity, and the gap between draws in three layers, sized to the contract rather than to the company's balance sheet, and all three fund in days. Mobilization (site setup, the first sub deposits, the first two payrolls before the owner's first draw lands 45 to 60 days out) goes on a working-capital line sized to the company's deposits, funded in 1 to 3 days. The gap between draws goes on progress-billing financing, which advances each approved pay application in 24 to 48 hours instead of the net-30 to net-60 the owner takes to pay it. The 5 to 10 percent held in retainage until closeout goes on a retainage bridge. On a $4M job with eleven subs, that's $500K to $1M of capital, in place before the first sub mobilizes, which is what lets the GC take the job instead of the one who could float it. Bonding capacity rides on the same structure: the surety that bonds the job sets your capacity against working capital and backlog, and a contractor who shows up with the mobilization already funded gets a bigger program than one asking the surety to carry the float.
Here's what it looks like on a real file. A Denver residential contractor moving into commercial work had the job and didn't have the three things it needed at once: a shop and yard, heavier iron, and bonding capacity to bid the work. The $2.5M structure funded in 24 days: $1.4M of owner-occupied real estate on the shop, $800K of equipment financing on the excavators and loaders, and $300K of working capital for bonding capacity, mobilization on the first commercial job, and payroll before the first pay application. The contractor bid the first commercial job in month one. The construction hub's own representative files run the same way: a $2.8M project mobilized in 3 days, a $480K retainage gap freed in a day so the electrical sub could take two more jobs, a $300K change order bridged while the owner took 45 days to process it.
what a $4M general-contracting job typically needs in mobilization, draw-gap, and retainage capital before the owner's first payment, and how fast the three layers fund when they're sized to the contract
— Working capital 1–3 days; progress-billing advances 24–48 hours per approved pay app; retainage bridge at closeout. Denver contractor: $2.5M in 24 days incl. $300K working capital for bonding and mobilization
The Three Gaps, and the Layer That Funds Each One
Mobilization: the 60 days before the first draw. Site setup, temporary utilities, the first deposits to the eleven subs, two payrolls, the material order that has to be on site before the first pay application can be submitted. A GC is the project's bank until the owner's first draw clears, and on a $4M job that's $250K to $400K out before a dollar comes in. The working-capital line covers it: sized to four months of business bank statements, roughly 10 to 15 percent of annual gross, funded in 1 to 3 days, drawn as the subs mobilize and repaid when the first draw lands. What it buys you: the job starts on the owner's schedule instead of yours.
The gap between draws: net-30 to net-60 on every pay app. You submit the pay application; the owner's lender reviews it, the architect certifies it, and the money arrives 30 to 60 days later. Meanwhile the subs want paying on their terms and payroll is every other Friday. Progress-billing financing advances each approved pay application in 24 to 48 hours, underwritten on the owner's credit, not yours, and revolves draw by draw through the job. On a $4M job with monthly pay apps of $350K to $450K, that's the layer that keeps the subs paid without the GC fronting a quarter of the contract every month.
Retainage: the 5 to 10 percent you don't see until closeout. On $4M that's $200K to $400K held until punch list, sometimes a year after substantial completion. A retainage bridge advances against it so the capital isn't dead on the owner's books while you're bidding the next job. The hub's electrical-contractor file freed $480K of retainage in a day and took two more jobs with it.
Bottom line:
Mobilization funds on your deposits. The draw gap funds on the owner's credit. Retainage funds on the contract. Three lenders, one application, in place before the first sub shows up. The GC who has the structure takes the $4M job; the one who doesn't shrinks it or passes.
What Bonding Has to Do With It
On commercial and public jobs the owner requires the GC to be bonded: a surety, which is an insurance company, guarantees the owner that the job gets finished and the subs get paid. The surety decides how much work it will guarantee for you, and that number is your bonding capacity; without enough of it, you can't bid the job at all. A surety writes capacity against working capital, backlog, and your history of finishing jobs. The single fastest way to raise a bond program is to show the surety the mobilization and draw-gap capital are already in place, because it means the surety isn't underwriting the float. That's what the $300K working-capital layer did on the Denver file: it wasn't only mobilization money, it was the capital that got the bond program written in the first place. A GC who structures the job financing first and then goes to the surety walks in as a different credit than one who asks the surety to assume the whole 60-day gap.
What the $4M Job Is Actually Worth
The margin on a $4M commercial job is the whole reason to move up from residential. The GC who passes on it because the first draw is 60 days out isn't protecting the company; the mobilization gap is a $300K problem on a job with a seven-figure gross. Fund the gap on the contract, bond the job, and the next bid is $6M.
See what the contract funds at before the first draw.
Start Your Funding Request →What Sizes the Three Layers
The contract. An executed contract with an owner whose credit the progress-billing lender can underwrite: a developer with a construction loan in place, a public owner, a national tenant. The pay-application schedule sets the revolving availability.
The deposits. Four months of business bank statements with consistent deposits and no overdraft pattern, for the working-capital layer. Six months operating is the floor; two years and a completed-jobs list put you on the standard track.
The subs and the schedule. The sub list with their contract values, the mobilization budget, and the first pay-app date. The lenders are checking that the money they advance is going into a job that pays back on a known schedule.
Not the balance sheet. A bank sizes a contractor's line to last year's balance sheet, which on a growing GC is thin by design. The three layers here are sized to the job in hand: the contract value, the owner's credit, and the deposits the last jobs produced.
| Gap on a $4M job | Typical size | Layer | Sized to | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobilization before first draw | $250K–$400K | Working capital | Your deposits | 1–3 days |
| Net-30/60 on each pay app | $350K–$450K per draw, revolving | Progress-billing financing | The owner's credit | 24–48 hours per draw |
| Retainage held to closeout | $200K–$400K | Retainage bridge | The contract | Days |
| Total in place before mobilization | $500K–$1M | Three lenders, one application | The job, not the balance sheet | Days |
When the job also needs iron, the equipment layer sits next to these, sized to the machines; the excavator post covers that one. The general contractor page has the full product set, and capital stacking is the principle behind all of it. GCs in Texas and Colorado send us the $4M version every month.
Denver residential contractor moving into commercial work
Owner-occupied CRE + equipment financing + working capital for bonding and mobilization
$2.5M
Shop, iron, and bonding capacity funded together in 24 days; first commercial bid in month one
See the full case →What to Have Ready
The executed contract and the pay-application schedule. The sub list with contract values. Four months of business bank statements. The mobilization budget (site setup, deposits, first two payrolls). Your completed-jobs list if you have two years of them; under two years, the statements and the contract carry it. If a bond is required, the surety's current program letter, so the working-capital layer can be sized to what the surety needs to see.
Fund the job before the owner pays
One application, one soft pull. Mobilization on your deposits, the draw gap on the owner's credit, retainage on the contract.
Here's What Most People Get Wrong
They fund mobilization out of the operating account and run payroll on fumes until the first draw clears, then take a merchant cash advance against the card batch in week seven when the draw is late. Or they ask the bank for a line sized to last year's balance sheet and get a number that covers one sub's deposit. Or they let the surety assume the float and get a bond program a third of what the backlog supports. The GCs who move from $1M jobs to $4M jobs structured the mobilization, the draw gap, and the retainage before they signed the contract, and showed the surety the structure instead of the problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does a general contractor fund mobilization before the first draw?
On a working-capital line sized to four months of business bank statements, roughly 10 to 15 percent of annual gross, funded in one to three days and drawn as the subs mobilize. On a $4M job the mobilization gap is typically $250K to $400K over the 45 to 60 days before the owner's first draw lands.
How does progress billing financing work on a construction job?
Each approved pay application is advanced in 24 to 48 hours instead of the net-30 to net-60 the owner takes to pay it, underwritten on the owner's credit rather than the contractor's. It revolves draw by draw through the job, so the subs get paid on their terms while the owner pays on theirs.
Can I finance retainage before closeout?
Yes. A retainage bridge advances against the 5 to 10 percent the owner holds until punch list, which on a $4M job is $200K to $400K that can sit for months after substantial completion. One electrical contractor freed $480K of retainage in a day and took two more jobs with it.
How does job financing affect my bonding capacity?
It raises it. A surety writes capacity against working capital, backlog, and completed jobs. When the mobilization and draw-gap capital are already in place, the surety isn't being asked to underwrite the float, and the bond program comes in larger. Structure the job financing first, then go to the surety.
How much capital does a $4M general contracting job need before the first payment?
Typically $500K to $1M across mobilization, the gap between draws, and retainage, depending on the sub count, the pay-app schedule, and the owner's payment terms. It's sized to the contract and the owner's credit, not the contractor's balance sheet.
How fast can a general contractor get job financing in place?
Days. Working capital in one to three, progress-billing advances in 24 to 48 hours per draw once the facility is open, retainage bridges in days. A $2.8M project mobilized in three days on the structure; the $2.5M shop-iron-and-bonding file above funded in 24 days because it included real estate.
Bobby's Take
The $4M job is where a GC either becomes a commercial contractor or stays a big residential one, and the thing that decides it is almost never the bid. It's whether the company can carry eleven subs for sixty days before the owner writes the first check. Most GCs try to carry it on the operating account, and the ones who do are the ones calling me in week seven. Fund the mobilization on the deposits, fund the draws on the owner's credit, bridge the retainage, and walk into the surety with the structure already built. The contractors who win the $4M jobs don't have more cash than the ones who pass. They stopped being the project's bank.
