A Kankakee, IL contractor carries a slow-paying job with working capital or a line of credit sized to the gap between paying for materials and crews and collecting the pay application, and keeps equipment purchases on separate financing.
An article from Rushcrest Commercial Capital in Kankakee, Illinois on bridging the gap between paying crews and suppliers and being paid on a job: working capital, lines of credit, retainage and the records a lender asks contractors for.
A slow-paying job, answered for Kankakee, IL contractors
The gap on a slow-paying job runs from the first material purchase to the day the pay application is paid, and retainage stretches part of it to the end of the job. Working capital covers a known gap once; a line of credit covers gaps that repeat job after job. A loader or a trailer bought during the job goes on equipment financing.
Kankakee County, IL had 199 construction employers in 2023, with 1,063 paid employees, and 139 had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns, 2023). Nonemployer Statistics for 2024 add 587 construction businesses with no payroll at all.
Working Capital for Contractors When a Kankakee, IL Contractor Needs Compact Loaders
A contractor who needs a compact loader for a job and also carries the job's payroll has two requests. The loader is equipment with a dealer quote; the payroll is working capital. Combining them into one loan can stretch payroll over the loader's term, paying interest on wages for years.
See equipment financing for loaders and excavators.
Construction Business Financing When a Kankakee, IL Contractor Needs Excavators
Construction business financing for an excavator follows the equipment pattern: the machine secures the loan, and hours and condition matter for used machines. Some contractors finance through dealers; an outside quote on the same machine gives a comparison.
The construction business loans page has more on equipment and bonding.
Contractor Cash Flow Issues When a Kankakee, IL Contractor Needs Skid Steers
Cash flow problems for a contractor often come from timing rather than profit: a profitable job can still drain the account while the general contractor processes the pay application. A skid steer breakdown in the middle of that wait adds a repair bill. A line of credit set up before the job is the tool for both, because it is there when the gap opens.
Illustration only, invented figures: a crew with a $12,000 biweekly payroll waiting 56 days for a pay application carries 4 payrolls, $48,000, plus materials, before the check arrives (56 days divided by 14).
Job Records a Kankakee County, IL Contractor Brings to a Working Capital Request
- Open pay applications and the contracts behind them.
- Retainage held on each job and the expected release dates.
- Recent business bank statements.
- The most recent tax return, plus profit and loss for the year so far.
- A list of equipment loans, leases and any existing credit line.
- Lien waivers or payment history with the general contractor, if available.
Each partner decides what it needs from this list.
Sizing the working capital request for a Kankakee County, IL job
List the job's costs by week: materials, subcontractors, payroll, equipment rental. List the expected payments by date, minus retainage. The largest running shortfall is the size of the gap. Add a cushion for a delayed payment, but avoid borrowing far beyond the gap, since unused money still costs interest on a loan.
Illustration only, invented figures: $60,000 of working capital at an annual rate of 11.5% over 12 months is about $5,317 a month and $3,804 in interest. On a line of credit, interest would run only while the money is drawn.
Supplier terms, deposits and other ways a Kankakee, IL contractor narrows the gap
Borrowing is not the only tool. A contractor can ask suppliers for longer terms on a large order, ask the owner for a deposit or for materials to be paid on delivery, bill more often if the contract allows, and submit pay applications on the first possible day. Each step shrinks the gap that working capital has to cover.
Lien waivers and clean paperwork also matter: a pay application missing a waiver can sit unpaid for another cycle. Keeping the documents current costs no interest and can shorten the wait by a full billing cycle.
Specialty trade contractors made up 136 of Kankakee County, IL's 199 construction employers in 2023 (County Business Patterns, 2023). A subcontractor in any of those trades waits on the general contractor's schedule as well as the owner's, so its gap can run longer than the job's prime contract suggests. Ask the general contractor when its own draws are due and plan around that date.
Working capital loan or line of credit for a Kankakee, IL contractor
A single large job with a known gap fits working capital. A contractor whose every job has a gap fits a line of credit, drawn and paid down job by job. Some contractors hold both: a line for routine gaps and a loan for a one-time large project.
See working capital loans, business lines of credit and the Kankakee, IL page.
By Rushcrest Commercial Capital · Updated
