A contractor with lumpy deposits isn't a risk — that's progress billing. A staffing firm growing into a cash crunch isn't failing — that's net-45 terms. Knowing the difference is most of the job.
Progress billing, retainage, and a payroll cycle that runs weeks ahead of the draw.
You bid the job, buy the materials, run the crew, and wait 45 days for a draw that's already 10% short because of retainage. Then the next job starts. Lumpy deposits aren't a red flag in construction — they're the business model, and an underwriter who doesn't know that will misread your statements every time.
Programs that usually fit:
Fuel and maintenance today, broker settlement in 30 to 60 days.
Freight is a cash-flow business wearing a transportation costume. Fuel, insurance, maintenance and drivers all get paid now; brokers and shippers pay on their own schedule. Factoring is the default tool here for a reason — it converts the load you already hauled into cash the next morning.
Programs that usually fit:
Seasonal swings, thin margins, and equipment that fails on a Friday night.
Food and retail live or die on timing. A walk-in that goes down mid-service costs a weekend of revenue. A build-out that runs three weeks long costs a season. Revenue is usually strong but margins are thin, which means the structure of the money matters more than the headline rate.
Programs that usually fit:
Insurance receivables, expensive equipment, and practice acquisition.
Practices are strong credits with awkward cash flow — insurance reimbursement runs long, equipment costs run high, and buying into or out of a practice takes real capital. SBA is often the right answer here and the extra weeks are worth it on a ten-year note.
Programs that usually fit:
Weekly payroll against net-45 client terms. The classic growth trap.
Staffing is the purest version of the receivables problem: you pay contractors every Friday and invoice clients on net 45. Growing faster makes it worse, not better. Factoring solves it structurally because the facility scales with your billings instead of capping out.
Programs that usually fit:
Raw materials up front, purchase orders you can't fund, machines that cost six figures.
Manufacturers get squeezed from both ends — materials and labour before production, payment 60 days after delivery. Add a CNC that costs as much as a house and the capital stack gets complicated fast. The good news is manufacturers have collateral, which opens doors other industries don't have.
Programs that usually fit:
Deals that close in ten days and lenders who take forty.
Investor financing is a different discipline entirely. Nobody cares about your W-2 — they care about purchase price, rehab budget, after-repair value and how you exit. Speed is the product, because the deal you can't close in fourteen days goes to whoever can.
Programs that usually fit:
Parts inventory, lifts and diagnostics, and floor plan pressure.
Shops need parts on hand and bays running. Dealers need inventory that moves. Both need equipment that isn't cheap and both get hit hard when a slow month lands. Equipment financing and flexible working capital cover most of it.
Programs that usually fit:
Six good months paying for twelve months of overhead.
Seasonal service businesses need structure more than they need a low rate. A fixed daily payment sized off your July revenue will break you in February. Lines of credit and revenue-flexible remittance exist precisely for this shape of business.
Programs that usually fit:
The nine above are where we have the deepest lender relationships, but the network covers ecommerce, wholesale and distribution, technology, agriculture, education, events, transportation, beauty and wellness, security, cleaning, and dozens more.
If you're generating revenue through a US business bank account, there's almost certainly a program. Call and we'll tell you in five minutes.
Rather than waste your time, here's the honest list. These sit outside nearly every funder's box regardless of how strong the business is.
If you're in one of these, we'd rather say so now than run you through a process that ends the same way.
A four-minute application, a soft review, and zero impact on your credit score. Travis reads every submission personally and calls back with real options — usually the same business day.
Talk to Travis directly612-927-2055Soft review · No obligation · No impact on your credit score
