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Funding for your situation

Adding a crew to your construction company: what it costs and how it pays back.

The real cost of adding a crew, what funders look at, and a worked example using illustrative figures.

✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.

Where the cash gap comes from

A signed contract sits on the desk, but payroll and materials are due before the first draw. Adding a crew is the most direct way to turn demand you are already turning away into revenue, and it is also a purchase that comes due before it earns.

Merchant Fund Express is a funding marketplace: you apply once, and the file is matched to the structure that fits it. The sections below show what this situation usually costs, how a funder reads it, and what to prepare.

Typical useBuying capacity: one more truck, chair, bay or crew
TimelineSame-day decision on a complete file; funding typically the next business day after signing
CreditMinimum FICO is 500; better credit means better offers
DocumentsAbout three months of business bank statements and a short application

A construction company file is read through contract backlog and billing schedule, receivable aging and retainage and equipment and bonding already in place.

Payments arrive by progress billing or net terms, often well after payroll and materials are paid. A reviewer sees that pattern in the statements before reading a word of the application.

Equipment is part of the picture. A failure such as a skid steer or mini-excavator repair or a truck repair can run $9,000 to $9,000 and interrupt revenue while it is down.

The documents that usually matter most for a construction company are the signed contract or schedule of values and recent invoices and aging report, alongside the bank statements.

What adding a crew usually involves

Truck and trailer ($45,000)

A fixed purchase with a quote you can put in front of a funder.

Tools and safety equipment ($12,000)

A fixed purchase with a quote you can put in front of a funder.

Bonding and insurance ($9,000)

Often front-loaded and easy to leave out of the first estimate.

Crew payroll and materials float ($25,000)

People are paid on a schedule that does not wait for new revenue to ramp.

A worked example: one more crew

Cost itemIllustrative amount
Truck and trailer$45,000
Tools and safety equipment$12,000
Bonding and insurance$9,000
Crew payroll and materials float$25,000
Cushion for overruns and slow early weeks (about 10%)$9,000
Funding need for one more crew$100,000

Sizing check. If the full repayment shown in an offer were $130,000 over about 26 weeks, the weekly debit would be about $5,000. Against illustrative monthly deposits of $160,000 (about $36,923 a week), that is roughly 14% of weekly deposits. Your own offer states the real repayment amount in dollars; run your numbers on the factor rate calculator before you accept anything.

Source: worksheet by Merchant Fund Express. Illustrative only: these figures are not an offer, and real amounts depend on your file and the funder.

How the file gets read

Whether current deposits show the demand the new crew is meant to serve
A quote or bill of sale for the main purchase
Whether any part of the purchase is already financed on the same account
Contract backlog and billing schedule
Receivable aging and retainage
Equipment and bonding already in place

These are the same factors described on revenue and deposit requirements and time in business. Merchant Fund Express walks you through how your own file reads before you apply.

Documents that speed it up

Three months of business bank statements
A completed application
A government-issued ID for the owner
The signed contract or schedule of values
Recent invoices and aging report
A quote or bill of sale for the crew

A complete file is what makes a same-day decision possible. If something is missing, tell us and we will work around it.

Mistakes that cost owners money

Funding the crew itself but not the weeks of payroll before it pays for itself
Choosing the biggest, newest option when a used or smaller unit would reach the same revenue
Taking on a payment sized for the best week rather than a typical one

Related funding structures

Equipment financing: Built around the equipment itself, which often keeps the payment tied to what it earns.
Working capital loans: Lump-sum capital sized on your deposits, for a defined need with a clear payback.
Business line of credit: A reusable pool you draw on and repay, useful when costs arrive in pieces.
Merchant cash advance: Repaid from future revenue; fast, and priced as a fixed total, so read the full repayment amount.
How funders read a construction company: Industry-specific notes on what the file needs.
Factor rate calculator: Run your own numbers before accepting an offer.
More funding situations: Other growth, operating and recovery moments.

Common questions

How fast can I get funded to add a crew?

Merchant Fund Express gives a same-day decision on a complete file, and funding is typically the next business day after signing. The quote or bill of sale for the crew is the document that usually moves things along.

Is this equipment financing or working capital?

It can be either. If the purchase is a single asset with a quote, equipment financing may fit; if you also need payroll and supplies for the ramp-up, working capital covers the whole package.

Does a used crew work?

Often yes. A used purchase can shorten the payback, and a quote or invoice from the seller is what the file needs.

What credit score do I need?

The minimum FICO is 500, and better credit means better products and terms. See credit score requirements for how the tiers work.

See what you qualify for

Merchant Fund Express gives a same-day decision on a complete file. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.

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