Sound Familiar?
The Work Is There. Your Capital's Stuck in the Last Job.
Right now you've got crews on a site you haven't been paid for yet. Equipment you're making payments on while it waits for the next phase to start. A change order the GC approved on the phone — but the paperwork, and the money, is three weeks behind. And somewhere on the books, 8% of a job you finished last spring, still sitting in retainage. None of that is a margin problem — the profit's in the contract. It's capital stuck between the work you've done and the day you get paid for it.
If every dollar you've earned but haven't collected were working instead of waiting — how many more jobs could you run at once?
Bobby’s Take
I talk to contractors every week who pass on the next project because their capital's tied up in the last one — in receivables, in retainage, in a change order that hasn't cleared. That's not a pipeline problem; it's a financing problem, and it's the most fixable one in the business. One file reaches the lenders who fund around progress billing and retainage instead of declining over them, structures the mobilization, the equipment, and the working capital together, and brings it back in days. You run the job; we run the capital behind it. So picture next season with three crews running instead of one, and the cash to mobilize each before the first draw — what does the company bill that it can't right now?
Bobby Friel, Founder, Basecamp Funding · 20+ years in banking and finance
The Real Problems
The Real Problems on Your Jobsite — and What Solves Each One
| What it costs you | What solves it | Typical range | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobilizing before the first draw | Crews, equipment, and materials out the door weeks before the first progress payment clears | Working capital or line of credit | $250K–$5M | 1–2 days |
| Slow progress payments | Bill monthly, paid net-60/90 — capital locked across the whole job | A/R / progress-billing factoring | $250K–$5M | 1–2 days |
| Retainage held back | 5–10% of every job withheld for months after completion | Working capital or A/R line | $250K–$5M | Days |
| Heavy equipment | Excavators, lifts, trucks — buying ties up cash; renting eats margin on long jobs | Equipment financing (asset-secured) | $250K–$5M | Days |
| Change orders | Approved work you've performed but haven't been paid for | Line of credit | $250K–$5M | Draw as needed |
| Material cost spikes | Lumber, steel, concrete jump mid-project — margin compression or stalled work | Working capital or line of credit | $250K–$5M | 1–3 days |
| Winning bigger jobs | A larger contract needs more mobilization capital than the last one paid | Stacked structure | $250K–$20M+ | Days–weeks |
Larger lines available when revenue, cash flow, and story qualify.
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The Numbers That Matter
Construction Runs on Capital Timing
83 days
the average general contractor waits to get paid after the work is complete — among the longest cash cycles of any U.S. industry.
Levelset Construction Payment Report
82%
of construction companies name cash flow as their #1 challenge to taking on new work.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
$1.3B
a year contractors spend in interest costs bridging the gap between work performed and payment received.
Associated General Contractors of America
Capital Stacking
One File. The Whole Job Funded.
Most contractors need more than one thing to take on a bigger job — the equipment, the mobilization capital, and a line to cover payroll until the draws catch up. A bank looks at each piece alone and prices the whole loan at the riskiest layer — usually the receivables it doesn't understand. A marketplace structures each piece with the lender who underwrites it best, then stacks them into the number the job actually requires.
Funded into the full job — not whittled down to whatever one bank felt safe approving.
How a $4M mobilization gets funded
Need more than equipment alone? The remainder stacks — for the full structure, see commercial financing.
Contractors We've Funded
What a Structured File Looks Like
Representative scenarios — illustrative, anonymized figures, not specific client transactions.
Start Here
Find Your Structure in 60 Seconds
Move the slider for your estimated range, then answer three quick questions to lock it in. No documents to start. Soft-pull review — no score impact.
What Happens When You Start
Estimate Your Capital Range
Slide to your annual gross revenue. We size capital off your top line — not your credit score.
Estimated Capital Range
A conservative range based on 10-15% of annual revenue — many businesses qualify for more with strong receivables or assets behind them. Lenders return real term sheets once they see your file.
60 seconds · No obligation · Estimate only
What an operator hears every week
“If you're passing on the next project because your capital's stuck in the last one, you don't have a pipeline problem. You have a financing problem.”
Bobby Friel · Founder, Basecamp Funding
Why Us
Why Contractors Fund With Us Instead of Their Bank
The Real Cost
Where Could Your Company Be Right Now?
The jobs you can't bid never show up on a term sheet — but every week the capital isn't in place, it compounds. If capital set the pace instead of capping it — where would this company be a year from now?
Structure Your Capital Plan →Tax Strategy
Section 179 + 100% Bonus Depreciation on Your Equipment & Trucks
If last year was strong and you’re about to write a check to the IRS — stop. Acquire qualifying equipment with as little as 10% down, finance the rest, and write off the full purchase price in year one. Section 179 covers it up to the annual cap; 100% bonus depreciation — made permanent in 2025, with no cap and no income limit — carries the rest.
At the top bracket, a first-year deduction that size can produce tax savings that exceed the total interest cost of financing the equipment — and several times the cash you put down. For an established business with strong cash flow, that’s the difference between funding the IRS and funding your own growth. Your CPA models the exact numbers for your bracket and structure.
Worked scenario · top bracket · illustrative
You put down $120K. The first-year write-off can return more than three times that in tax savings — and you keep the equipment.
Scales with your numbers
Illustrative only. Actual savings depend on your tax bracket, entity type, state conformity, and CPA guidance. Section 179 and bonus depreciation are elections your CPA makes for your situation; above the Section 179 cap, 100% bonus depreciation carries the balance.
Terms reflect credit, revenue, time in business, and each lender. Every file is unique — see what the desk structures for yours in the 60-second qualifier.
Bobby’s Take
“I've watched contractors write huge checks to the IRS when they could've put the machine in the yard, written off the full price, and bid bigger work the same year. That's not tax planning — that's leaving capital in federal coffers that belonged in your equipment.”
Bobby Friel · Founder
Avoid These
5 Funding Mistakes That Cost Contractors the Most
Dealer financing usually runs well above competitive rates. Over the life of the machine that's real money you didn't need to spend — compare before you sign.
A working-capital product on a long-lived machine costs far more than equipment financing built for the asset. Match the product to the purchase, and compare total cost of capital — not the monthly payment.
Carrying crews and materials on cards until the first draw quietly eats your margin. A line of credit built for mobilization costs a fraction of that.
Sixty days on a progress billing — plus retainage held a year — is capital you can't deploy. An A/R line releases most of it in a day for a modest fee, and keeps the next job moving.
Mobilizing a larger contract with sixty days of capital means scrambling again on day 61. Fund the full mobilization.
Put It to Work
Use Your Capital For
01Heavy equipment & trucksSee howLess“What contract could you bid if the excavator were already in the yard?”
Excavators, loaders, lifts, dozers, trucks, attachments. The equipment secures the loan, so newer outfits qualify on the asset; Section 179 deductible year one.
Structure this02MobilizationSee howLess“How many weeks of crews, equipment, and materials go out before the first draw clears?”
Working capital or a line of credit to mobilize before the progress payments land.
Structure this03Payroll across the gapSee howLess“When a draw slips two weeks, what covers payroll in the meantime?”
A line of credit so payroll never blinks while you wait on the GC.
Structure this04MaterialsSee howLess“How much margin are you losing buying lumber, steel, and concrete on cards?”
Working capital or a line for materials; lock pricing without draining reserves.
Structure this05Retainage & progress billingSee howLess“How much of your cash is sitting in retainage and net-60 billings right now?”
An A/R line or factoring that advances most of it the same week and recycles it into the next job.
Structure this06Change ordersSee howLess“What covers the work you've already performed but haven't been paid for?”
A line of credit against approved change orders, so performed work doesn't strangle cash flow.
Structure this07Bonding capacitySee howLess“Is your working capital strong enough to bond the bigger job?”
Working capital that strengthens the balance sheet behind your bonding capacity. (We fund the working capital that supports capacity — we don't issue the bond.)
Structure this08Taking the bigger jobSee howLess“What's the contract you'd bid if mobilization capital weren't the ceiling?”
A stacked structure sized to the larger project, funded around the draw schedule.
Structure this09Second crewSee howLess“What could you take on if a second crew were staffed before the revenue lands?”
Working capital for skilled labor and the ramp.
Structure this10Yard or shopSee howLess“When the lease comes up, are you signing it again — or buying the yard this time?”
Owner-occupied CRE; equity in the property you operate from instead of rent.
Structure this11Slow seasonSee howLess“What carries the crew through winter so you don't lose them before spring?”
A revolving line for seasonal gaps; draw down, repay when the season turns.
Structure this12Debt consolidationSee howLess“What would your monthly cash position look like if the high-cost equipment loans and advances were one payment?”
Consolidate now; once payment history is built, the lender's rate-review can improve terms — get funded now, optimize later.
Structure thisFunding by the Size of the Need
Funded at Every Stage
One application, multiple lenders — and a file read on your billing cycle funds in days, whether the need is $250K or $20M+.
How It Works
From Qualifier to Funded in Five Steps
No paperwork avalanche. No bank lobby. No guessing.
Qualify
A few questions about the business, right here. No documents to start.
Application
A soft credit pull and a quick document review to pre-underwrite the file.
Matched to the Right Lenders
The specialist lenders who fund your business - the right lender on each piece.
One Advisor, Real Term Sheets
Your advisor brings back real term sheets, not estimates, and walks the structure.
Structured & Funded
Accept the structure that fits, sign digitally - funded in days, not months.
For the application, have ready
Under two years in business, or the returns show a loss? We can structure on bank statements alone.
Full Transparency
What Kills Your Qualification — and What Doesn't
Most lenders won't tell you this up front. We will.
By Trade
Funding by Trade
Every trade — click yours for tailored options.
Equipment as collateral, progress-billing receivables — funded around how the work actually gets paid.
Recommended Products
The Products Contractors Fund With
Matched to how the work actually gets paid — and stacked into the full number when one isn't enough.
Equipment Financing
Excavators, loaders, lifts, trucks, attachments — the machine is the collateral.
Working Capital
Mobilization, payroll, and materials before the draws land.
Invoice Factoring
Turn progress billings and retainage into immediate cash.
Business Line of Credit
Draw to mobilize, repay as draws clear.
Purchase Order Financing
Fund materials against confirmed contracts.
Term Loans
One lump sum for a yard, a fleet, or a new division.
FAQs
Construction Financing — Questions Operators Ask
Monthly revenue, time in business, and cash-flow stability are the primary drivers. Credit is one factor, not the only one — many lenders here use revenue-first underwriting, so strong performance can offset a less-than-perfect profile.
Equipment financing for excavators, loaders, lifts, and trucks runs $250K–$5M. The equipment secures the loan, which typically means lower cost and longer terms (6 months–10 years) than unsecured products.
Yes. Working capital or a line of credit funds crews, equipment, and materials before progress payments arrive — fast enough to mobilize on schedule.
Yes. An A/R line advances most of a progress billing within a day or two, and can advance against retainage — capital you'd otherwise wait months to collect.
As fast as days; emergency working capital for a critical repair can fund as fast as same day.
Yes. With 6+ months of operating history, the equipment serves as collateral. Newer outfits can expect a down payment; revenue history and signed contracts strengthen the file.
A revolving line of credit is usually the most flexible — draw down through winter, repay when the season turns.
No. A soft-pull review has zero impact on your FICO. A hard pull only happens if you choose to move forward with a specific lender's offer.
The Operator's Guide
Construction Financing, the Way the Work Actually Gets Paid
Why banks misread construction
Here's what banks don't understand about construction: your money is always in the last job. In receivables billed net-60. In 8% retainage held a year after you finished. In a change order you performed but haven't been paid for. That's not bad management — that's construction. The lenders here fund around your billing cycle, not against it.
Every week I talk to contractors passing on the next project because the capital's stuck in the last one. That's a financing problem, and it's fixable — usually with one application and the right structure.
Every trade, funded around the work
GCs, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, concrete, excavation, framing, flooring, painting, landscaping, demolition — every trade, funded around how the work actually gets paid. Equipment financing with the machine as collateral. An A/R line that advances progress billings and retainage the same week. Owner-occupied CRE so you own the yard instead of renting it. The capital matched to the job, then stacked into the full number.
If you're staring at a bid you can't float, if the excavator's costing more in weekly rental than it would to own, if a draw just slipped and payroll's Friday — start the review. A few minutes, soft-pull, no score impact. Most contractors hear back within hours.
