A Brisbane builder wins an extra job and gets the materials funded straight away.

The situation

A Brisbane builder picked up an additional job on top of the work he already had on. It was good work and he wanted it, but it needed materials ordered and paid for up front, and his cash was already committed to the jobs in progress. His own money was tied up in a project that would not be paid until completion, roughly four months away.

This is one of the most common binds in construction. Builders are paid in arrears through progress claims and final payments, while suppliers want paying now. Win more work than your cash flow can carry and you either turn the job down or stretch suppliers and subcontractors until something gives.

Why the usual options did not fit

• A bank facility: too slow for an order that needed placing now, and a bank would want years of financials and a full credit process for what was really a few months of need.
• Supplier credit: trade accounts have limits, and stretching them puts the relationship and future pricing at risk.
• Turning down the job: walking away from profitable work because of timing, not ability.

What Equity Tap did

We lent against property security for a short term, sized to the materials he needed. There was no valuation and no request for tax returns or bank statements. The conversation was about the job, the materials, the property and one question that matters most to us: how will this be repaid?

The answer was clear. Another job was due to complete and pay out in about four months. That payment was the exit, and the loan term was set around it rather than locking the builder into a long loan he did not need.

The outcome

1. The materials were paid for and the new job went ahead on time.
2. The builder kept his existing jobs running without starving them of cash.
3. About four months later the other job completed and its payment repaid the Equity Tap loan.

He borrowed for the time he needed the money, and no longer. That is the point of short-term business lending: if you need funds for four months, take them for four months, not twenty years.

Is this your situation?

If you are a builder or tradie with more work than your cash flow can carry, see business loans for builders and construction and funding upfront costs for a large contract. Then tell us about the job or call 1300 123 024.

Frequently asked questions

Brokers: send the scenario through the Equity Tap broker channel and you will deal with the same lending team.