Who built this: Published free by T.A.G. Business Funding (Towers Asset Group LLC), an independent business-funding ISO in Chagrin Falls, Ohio — not a direct lender. Educational tool; results are estimates based on your inputs, not offers or guarantees.

Reviewed by the T.A.G. Business Funding editorial team. Last updated August 14, 2026.

Your job numbers

Total job value ($) Customer deposit you'll collect up front (%)

Many residential jobs: 10 to 30%. Commercial/GC work: often 0%.

Materials you must buy up front ($) Weekly labor + overhead on this job ($) Weeks to complete the job Days after completion until final payment lands Cash you can commit from the business today ($)

Only what you can spend on THIS job without endangering payroll elsewhere.

Your cash-flow picture

Peak cash-flow gap (worst week)

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Cash out before final payment

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Weeks you'll be cash-negative

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Profit on job (value − materials − labor)

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Five ways contractors cover the gap — honestly compared

Ordered roughly from cheapest to fastest. Each fits a different situation; none is automatically right.

1. Restructure the contract itself (deposit + progress billing)

FreeNeeds negotiation leverage

The cheapest working capital is your customer's. A 30% deposit plus weekly progress draws can erase most of the gap you see above — try changing the deposit % in the calculator and watch the peak gap shrink. Many contractors under-ask here out of habit, not necessity.

2. Supplier terms (Net 30/60 on materials)

CheapLimits: credit approval, caps

Trade credit from your supply house shifts the materials hit until after money starts flowing. Costs little or nothing if paid on time. The catch: new accounts get small limits, and one late payment can freeze the account you depend on.

3. Bank line of credit / SBA

Cheapest borrowed moneySlow · credit-gated

If you have 680+ credit, 2+ years of history, and time to wait 30 to 90 days, this is the lowest-cost borrowed capital. It does not help with the job that starts Monday — set it up in the off-season, before you need it.

4. Invoice factoring (if you bill commercial GCs)

Moderate costDays to fund

Sell the receivable, get most of it now. Works when your customer is a creditworthy GC or commercial account; doesn't fit residential work where there's no invoice to factor until the job's done.

5. Revenue-based funding / MCA

Fastest · daysHighest cost

Underwriting typically weights your business bank deposits and cash flow more heavily than traditional bank underwriting (credit is still considered — programs in T.A.G.'s network start at 500 FICO with no hard credit inquiry before the initial decision). Priced with a factor rate: $40,000 × 1.30 = $52,000 repaid, fixed. That cost only makes sense when the job's margin clearly covers it — which is exactly what the calculator above helps you check. Model an advance against your job numbers →

The job's margin is there — the cash just isn't yet?

That's the exact situation revenue-based funding was built for. T.A.G. Business Funding connects contractors with working capital through its funding-partner network: typically 4 months of business bank statements and a one-page application to start, decisions are returned by the funding provider once your file is complete. Free to apply, no hard credit inquiry before the initial decision, no obligation. Approval is never guaranteed — every file is underwritten by third-party funders.

See How Contractor Funding Works →

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