Finance for builders and tradesfunded around progress claims, not against them

The situation

Builders, subcontractors and trade businesses run on a cash cycle that rarely matches when the bills actually fall due. A progress claim might be certified but not paid for weeks, retention money sits held until practical completion or beyond, and BAS or superannuation obligations don't wait for a client to settle an invoice. On top of that, a job often needs equipment, materials or subcontractor payments before the first claim is even lodged. The requirement this creates is rarely a single, simple loan — it is working capital to bridge the gap between doing the work and being paid for it, equipment finance to get a machine on site before the job starts, or a facility to clear a tax debt that built up during a slow stretch.

Why the first answer is often no

Banks are generally cautious about construction-industry cash flow, and a standard business loan application often doesn't fit well with how builders actually get paid — against certified claims, staged milestones and retention schedules rather than a steady monthly invoice cycle. A disputed claim, a run of BAS arrears, or simply an industry a credit policy treats warily can produce a fast decline rather than a considered assessment. Banks remain part of the panel and are often the right fit for an established, well-documented trading business, but the businesses that get declined here are frequently sound operators whose cash flow timing, not their underlying trade, doesn't match a standard credit model.

How it gets funded

Short-term business loans bridge the gap between a certified claim and payment, or clear a temporary shortfall, typically secured by a caveat, a general security agreement or, where available, property. Asset and equipment finance is arranged against the equipment itself — an excavator, a truck, tools of trade — and can usually be settled before a job starts rather than after. Invoice and debtor finance advances a percentage of a verified progress claim or invoice, useful specifically where the delay is the client's payment terms rather than the underlying business. Where no property or strong asset base exists, unsecured business loans are sized to trading history and turnover instead. And where a BAS or superannuation debt has built up, ATO debt refinance clears it directly, often faster than a Tax Office payment plan would allow.

Lenders in this category are used to seeing defaults, disputed claims and BAS arrears in the construction and trades sector, and assess the broader picture — other contracts on the books, the equipment held, and the current trading position — rather than filtering out the sector altogether. Banks want fuller financial disclosure and move more slowly; private lenders and specialist funds will often work from BAS, bank statements or an accountant's letter and structure the facility around the security and the exit.

What to have ready

Recent BAS lodgements or bank statements, details of current contracts and progress claims on issue, information on any retention held, equipment details if financing an asset, and entity and director documents. Where a claim is disputed, a short summary of the dispute and its likely resolution timeline helps considerably.

Working with us

We start with the cash-flow gap itself — what's owed, when it's expected, and what's needed in the meantime — rather than assuming a single product fits every builder. From there we place the file with lenders who work in construction and trades specifically, so the file is assessed by someone who understands progress claims and retention rather than a generalist credit model.

Once a facility is in place, we stay available for the next gap rather than treating each enquiry as a one-off, since cash flow timing in this industry tends to recur project to project. Many builders end up holding more than one type of facility at once — a line of credit or short-term loan for day-to-day cash flow, alongside equipment finance for specific asset purchases as they come up — and we're upfront about which structure suits which need rather than defaulting to whichever is easiest to arrange.

If you were referred to us by an accountant, broker or another adviser, that relationship stays exactly where it is — we report back to them as much as to you, and there is no cross-sell beyond the finance you came to us for.