# Construction Business Loans and Financing for Contractors

Most construction businesses need money for timing, not for profit: the work is finished, the pay application is in, the cash lands weeks later. Working capital financing is the lead product for contractors through Capital Gurus' network, with equipment financing and term loans beside it. Providers in our network consider $10K–$10M, depending on the funding provider.

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- Same-day decisions from some providers. Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.
- 700+ industries served

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**Looking for a loan to build a house?** This page covers financing for construction businesses.

**The construction cash gap**

1. Work finished
2. Pay application in
3. Cash lands (Weeks later)

Bridged by [working capital financing for construction companies and contractors](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/working-capital/).

Rates, factor rates, fees and terms are set by the funding provider that makes your offer and are disclosed in that provider's agreement. Figures on this page are illustrative ranges from providers in our network, not offers.

## The structure that fits first

- **Payroll, materials and mobilization between draws** (Working capital, Lead product): Providers size it from your bank deposits, not a completed project, so it bridges the wait while a pay application clears. [How contractors use working capital](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/working-capital/)
- **For excavators, machines, trucks and attachments** (Equipment financing): The asset secures the deal and keeps the cash you already have in the business for payroll and materials. [Construction equipment financing](https://capitalgurus.com/industries/construction/equipment-financing/)
- **Where the amount and the end date are known** (Business term loan): A yard, a shop fit-out, a fixed project budget: a set repayment schedule, the more predictable structure. [Term loans for contractors](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/term-loans/)

Decisions from some providers the same day, depending on the provider. Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.

[Get my options](https://capitalgurus.com/apply/) · [All financing options](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/)

## The numbers before you apply

- **Typical amount:** $10K–$10M. Across the products in our network
- **Equipment amounts:** Up to $5M. Up to $500K on the application alone; up to $5M with full documentation
- **Speed:** As fast as 6 hours. Same-day decisions from some providers; funding as fast as 6 hours, subject to provider approval and document turnaround

Amounts considered by providers in our network, depending on the funding provider. Not an offer. Cost is stated on each product page.

## What do construction businesses use financing for?

Five needs account for most construction applications, and they are all about timing.

- **Payroll between pay applications** (Most common): The crew is paid weekly; the GC pays on its own cycle, well after the work it covers. This is the single most common reason a contractor applies, and it is the clearest case for working capital.
- **Materials and supplier deposits**: Lumber, steel, concrete and mechanical packages, often paid before the first draw. A supplier who wants a deposit on a long-lead item does not wait for the owner's architect to approve a pay application.
- **Mobilization on a new award**: Crew, fuel, a trailer, insurance certificates and a bond, before the job earns a dollar. Winning the work is the point at which cash is tightest.
- **Machines and attachments**: An excavator, a skid steer, a boom lift, a service truck, a breaker, a trailer. Financed against the asset: a machine that works for a decade should not be paid for out of operating cash, or out of one quarter of receipts.
- **Retainage and slow GC payment**: A share of each pay application is held until close-out: earned, not yet collected. It is the reason [invoice factoring](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/invoice-factoring/) shows up in construction at all.

**When financing does not help** What those five share is that the money either produces revenue or protects revenue you have already earned. If the gap is structural instead (every month short, not one month short), financing buys time without fixing the cause, and the payment schedule arrives on top of the original problem.

## Which financing options fit construction businesses?

| Product | Why it fits construction | Amount considered | Relative speed |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1. [Working capital financing](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/working-capital/) | Sized from deposits rather than from a finished project; covers payroll, materials and mobilisation between draws | Up to $10M for strong files, depending on the funding provider | Same-day decisions from some providers, subject to provider approval and document turnaround |
| 2. [Equipment financing](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/equipment-financing/) | The machine, truck or attachment secures the deal, so operating cash stays where it is | Up to $500K on the application alone; up to $5M with full documentation | Quicker on application-only files, slower once full documentation is required |
| 3. [Business line of credit](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/line-of-credit/) | Standby capital for a gap that reappears every draw cycle, drawn and redrawn as you pay it down | $10K–$5M, depending on the funding provider | Slower to open; draws are quick once the line is in place |
| 4. [Invoice factoring](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/invoice-factoring/) | Retainage and slow general-contractor payment: the invoice and your customer's credit carry the decision | Sized by the invoice rather than by the business, depending on the funding provider | Slower to set up, then invoice by invoice |
| 5. [SBA loans](https://capitalgurus.com/loans-and-financing/sba-loans/) | Real estate, acquisition and the longest schedules | Set by the lender under SBA rules | Several weeks to a few months |

Capital Gurus is not an SBA lender; SBA loans are made by SBA-participating lenders. Amounts, costs and terms in this table depend on the funding provider and are disclosed in that provider's agreement. Cost is stated on each product page, not here: a loan or a line states a rate or a fixed cost of funds, while a revenue-based structure states a factor rate and is not a loan.

One application reaches the providers whose guidelines accept it. [Get my options](https://capitalgurus.com/apply/)

## What do providers look for in a construction file?

- Preferred by some
- Higher risk to others
- Restricted by a few

That spread is the whole argument for one application to a network rather than six applications to six providers.

### Four things decide a construction file

- **Deposit consistency**: Revenue in every month of statements counts for more than one strong month followed by a weak one. Seasonality is expected in this trade (a quiet winter in a northern market is read as a pattern, not as a decline) but the pattern has to be visible in the statements, which is why complete months matter more here than in a retail file.
- **Draw schedules and receipts**: Lumpy deposits that match pay applications read differently from lumpy deposits with no explanation. Say on the application how you are paid: monthly pay applications, progress billing, time and materials, or on completion.
- **Retainage**: Money held back to close-out sits on your books as earned and in the general contractor's account as cash. Providers know this, and some will not count retainage toward the revenue they size from. If a large share of your receivable is retainage, say so and expect factoring to come up.
- **License and insurance**: An active contractor license in the business's name, and certificates that match the work, are table stakes. Some providers verify the license number before funding. A license in a previous entity's name, or one that lapsed, stalls a file faster than a weak month does.

**Personal guarantee** A personal guarantee is commonly required. Some products from some providers are offered without one, but most require it, so read the agreement before you sign.

**Surety bonds** A surety bond is not financing, and no provider in our network issues one. Financing can cover the working capital a bonded job ties up (mobilization, payroll and materials) while the bond stays with your surety.

[what providers ask for in an application](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-requirements/)

## One application, two structures

A site-work contractor wins a municipal job. The award needs a machine it does not own and two months of payroll before the first pay application clears.

- **Equipment financing** — $150,000 — A used excavator and a breaker attachment — Paid for over years, against the asset
- **Working capital** (Lead product) — $60,000 — Payroll, fuel and materials until two pay applications clear — Funded short, out of the revenue the job produces

[Put payment figures against your own numbers · Estimate payments with the business loan calculator](https://capitalgurus.com/calculators/business-loan-calculator/)

Illustrative example, not an offer. Amounts, costs and schedules are set by the funding provider that makes your offer and are disclosed in that provider's agreement. Financed equipment may qualify for a depreciation deduction. Consult a tax advisor.

## General contractors, trades and heavy civil

- **General contractors** (Working capital + line of credit): Largest files, longest gaps: you carry the subs. Working capital and a credit line lead; factoring if retainage dominates.
- **Heavy civil and site work** (Equipment-led): Excavation and site work run on machines: the usual question is which to finance and which to rent for one job.
- **Concrete and masonry** (Materials-led): Steel and framing too: supplier deposits come before the first draw, and mobilization money matters most here.
- **Specialty trades** (Places well): HVAC, plumbing, electrical and roofing: preferred by several providers. Their page: [home services and specialty trades](https://capitalgurus.com/industries/home-services/).

**Residential new-build and remodelling · the honest part** Some providers in our network restrict this work and a few decline it, so it is harder to place than commercial or public contracting. The file is not unfundable; it is narrower. Clean statements and a verifiable licence matter more here than anywhere else in the trade.

## What does a construction business need to apply?

Some providers consider applications at these minimums. Meeting a minimum does not guarantee an offer. The application is a soft credit pull only.

- **12 mo** time in business
- **$15K** monthly revenue
- **525** credit considered from
- **3 mo** bank statements
- **5 min** application

### Bring, on top of the statements

- A government ID
- More statements in some states: four in CA, NY, FL and GA with some providers
- Your contractor licence number
- A current certificate of insurance
- A short note on how you are paid and what the money is for

Providers ask what the funds are for, and a specific answer (a machine, a named job's payroll, a supplier deposit) reads better than "working capital".

Capital Gurus does not make the credit decision and does not fund the transaction. The provider that makes your offer does both, and its agreement governs it.

- [Business loan requirements](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/business-loan-requirements/)
- [How to get a business loan](https://capitalgurus.com/guides/how-to-get-a-business-loan/)

## Related industries and situations

### Related industries

- [Home Services & Specialty Trades](https://capitalgurus.com/industries/home-services/)
- [Landscaping & Lawn Care](https://capitalgurus.com/industries/landscaping/)
- [Manufacturing](https://capitalgurus.com/industries/manufacturing/)

[Browse every industry](https://capitalgurus.com/industries/)

### Situations and reading

- [Fast business funding](https://capitalgurus.com/solutions/fast-funding/)
- [Business Line of Credit for Contractors](https://capitalgurus.com/blog/business-line-of-credit-for-contractors/)

[All blog posts](https://capitalgurus.com/blog/)

## Frequently asked questions

### Can a construction company get financing between draws?

Yes, and it is the most common reason contractors apply. Providers in our network size working capital from your bank deposits rather than from a finished project, so the gap between the pay application and the payment is something they underwrite every day. A line of credit does the same job for a gap that repeats every cycle.

### What do providers look at on a contractor's file?

Deposit consistency first: revenue in every month of statements, not one strong month after a weak one. Then negative balance days, complete statements with no missing pages, financing already in repayment, your credit profile and your licence. Seasonality is expected in this trade and is read as a pattern, not as a problem, when the statements show it clearly.

### Can I finance construction equipment with weak credit?

Sometimes. Equipment is the one structure where the asset itself carries part of the decision, so a weaker credit profile is less decisive than it is on a term loan. Some providers consider credit from 525 with 12 months in business and $15,000 in monthly revenue. Expect a shorter schedule, a smaller first amount, and a deposit.

### Do providers fund residential new-build and remodelling?

Some do and some do not. A few providers in our network restrict new-home construction and residential remodelling outright, and others price the work as higher risk, so this part of the trade is harder to place than commercial or public work. It is still worth applying: one application reaches the providers whose guidelines accept it.

### Can an LLC get a business loan?

Yes. Limited liability companies are the most common applicants in Capital Gurus' network, including single-member LLCs. Providers underwrite the business's revenue and time in business alongside the owner's personal credit, and most products require a personal guarantee from the majority owner. The LLC's registration date usually counts toward the 12-month minimum, and funds are deposited into the LLC's business bank account.

### Is an SBA loan an option for construction?

It can be, usually for real estate, acquisition or the longest schedules. Capital Gurus is not an SBA lender; SBA loans are made by SBA-participating lenders. Expect several weeks to a few months, full financial statements and tax returns, and a decision made by the lender under SBA rules. If the need is this month's payroll, it is the wrong queue to join.

## See your options with one application

Decisions from some providers **the same day**, depending on the provider. Subject to provider approval and document turnaround.

[Apply now](https://capitalgurus.com/apply/) · [Call (725) 765-4512](tel:+17257654512)

About 5 minutes, soft credit pull only · [Talk to a funding advisor](https://capitalgurus.com/contacts/)

By the Capital Gurus Editorial Team · Reviewed by Joseph Wartz · [Editorial policy](https://capitalgurus.com/editorial-policy/)

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Source: https://capitalgurus.com/industries/construction/ · Last reviewed 2026-11-09 · Capital Gurus is not a lender.