A construction business gets paid last in its own supply chain. You buy the material, you mobilise the crew, and you carry both until a pay application clears. The owner pays the general contractor, the general contractor pays the sub, and each step adds its own approval cycle. On a 30-day billing cycle with a 45-day approval, the money for work finished in March can land in June.
Two features of the contract make this worse on purpose. Retainage holds back 5 to 10 percent of every invoice until the job closes out, so the profit on a job is the last money you see. Pay-when-paid clauses push the owner's delay straight down to the sub. Meanwhile payroll runs weekly and the supply house wants its 30 days.
So the shortage is not a profit problem. It is a timing problem, and it gets worse when you win. A bigger job needs more mobilisation cash up front, and a bank line sized on last year's balance sheet does not grow with this year's backlog. That is the gap most contractors are actually trying to close.
Byzfunder funds construction businesses directly, from our own balance sheet. Underwriting reads your bank deposit history, not your credit score alone, which is why a contractor a bank has declined can still be a fit here. Three structures cover most construction needs:
A merchant cash advance is a purchase of a portion of your future receivables at a fixed factor rate. It is not a loan and carries no APR. Repayment is a fixed weekly debit, taken automatically, and the amount is agreed before you sign - so you can test it against the week you mobilise and the week you wait on a pay app.
ByzFlex is revenue-based revolving capital. It is not a line of credit. You request capital, reuse it as it is repaid, and keep a standing facility for the gap that repeats on every job, instead of applying each time a draw slips.
A term loan suits a one-time purchase with a known cost: a truck, a second crew, a yard. Term loans are advertised by Byzfunder and fulfilled through our affiliated Byzwash entity.
Typical qualification is a 525 FICO for an MCA, 550 for ByzFlex, about 20,000 dollars a month in business deposits, and a US-based business. A complete file can fund in as little as 24 hours. Every file is underwritten on its own merits and approval is never promised.
The guides below go deeper: what retainage does to your cash position, how to fund a 90-day draw gap on a weekly payroll, how bonding capacity reacts to working capital, when factoring beats a revenue-based advance, and how contractor underwriting actually reads your file.
Electrical contractors front gear and wire, then wait on a pay app. Byzfunder funds the gap directly, from our own balance sheet.
GCs and subs face different cash-flow problems on the same project. Here's how retainage, pay-when-paid clauses, and funding shape differ by role.
When a GC pays your draw on a 30-90 day cycle but payroll is due weekly, the gap isn't a slow customer — it's how construction is financed. Here's how Byzfunder bridges it.
You qualified for the job — your bank line just wasn't sized for it yet. Here's how to bridge mobilization to first draw without waiting on a re-underwrite.
When a piece of equipment breaks down between draws, a traditional equipment loan is too slow. Byzfunder bridges the gap with fast, receivables-based capital.
Contractors wait weeks to get paid but payroll and materials don't wait. Here's every real financing option — ranked by speed, fit, and what it actually costs — for GCs and specialty trades.
Construction invoice factoring turns unpaid customer invoices into fast cash — but progress billing, retainage, and pay-when-paid clauses change the math. Here's how it actually works, what it costs, and the alternative that keeps you in control of your customer relationships.
Finding good construction workers is harder than it used to be. Here's where experienced contractors actually find crew, how to screen them fast, and what keeps them from leaving for the next job.
Excavators, skid steers, and dump trucks don't buy themselves. Here's how contractors actually finance construction equipment — and when working capital beats a traditional equipment loan.
Contractor funding approval hinges mostly on consistent revenue, time in business, and existing debt load — not just your credit score. Here's what actually gets checked.
Most construction marketing advice is generic. Here's what actually moves the needle for contractors — ranked by how fast it produces qualified leads.
Contractors wait an average of 56 days after submitting a pay application to get paid. A line of credit is supposed to cover that gap — here's how it actually works, who qualifies, and what to do when the bank says no.
Subs wait 51–96 days after a pay application while margins sit around 6%. Here's the mechanics of why, and what actually closes the gap.
Contractors don't have a profitability problem — they have a timing problem. Here's how to fund the gap between finishing work and getting paid for it.
Bonding capacity caps the size of job you can bid — and it's driven largely by working capital and net worth, not just experience or credit score.
Retainage is money you've earned but can't touch — often for months. Here's exactly how it works, who holds it, when it's released, and how contractors bridge the gap it creates.
A practical, tool-by-tool guide to the AI actually saving construction crews time and money in 2026 — and the one problem no software solves: getting paid.