Keeping a road crew working while a progress claim sat unpaid

The challenge

The contractor had completed and certified $310,000 of work across two council jobs. Both claims were approved. Neither would be paid until the client finished its end-of-quarter payment run, which was fifteen business days away.

Payroll for 22 staff was due Thursday. Two subcontractors had already said they would pull crews off site if they were not paid that week. Stopping work would have breached a milestone on the larger of the two contracts.

Their bank asked for two years of financials and a property valuation. The broker managing the relationship needed something that could move inside three days, unsecured.

The solution

We assessed the file on six months of business bank statements. No property, no valuation, no credit check to reach a conditional offer. Terms were back with the broker in under an hour.

We funded $180,000 the same business day, sized against monthly turnover rather than the claim value, so the facility stood on its own if the claims were delayed further.

Repayments were set weekly and scheduled to begin after the expected claim date, so the first payment fell on the other side of the cash flow gap rather than into it.

Why the deal worked

The broker sent a complete file on the first attempt: statements, contracts, claim certificates and the payment terms in writing. Nothing had to be chased, which is usually the difference between hours and days.

The trading story was strong even though the bank account was not. Recognising that is the whole point of reading a file rather than scoring it.

The outcome

Crews stayed on site, payroll ran on time and the milestone was met. Both claims were paid nineteen days later and the contractor cleared the facility early, taking the early payout discount.

They have since come back twice for equipment. Under our originator rule, the broker was paid in full on both.