Funding for your situation
How a painting contractor can finance materials and payroll ahead of a large contract, with a worked example using illustrative numbers.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
The sprayer failed on a deadline job. A large contract is good news that arrives as a cash problem: materials, labor and insurance are paid before the first invoice clears.
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.
Deposits and progress payments, with larger invoices on commercial jobs. 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 airless sprayer or a scaffolding replacement can run $2,800 to $4,000 and interrupt revenue while it is down.
The documents that usually matter most for a painting contractor are the signed contract or estimate and a supplier or equipment quote, alongside the bank statements.
Exterior work compresses into the warmer months; interiors fill in the gaps. For a painting contractor, that rhythm decides when a funding request reads best and how it should be repaid.
| Cost item | Illustrative amount |
|---|---|
| Materials and supplies for the first phase | $12,500 |
| Labor and payroll until the first draw (4 weeks) | $10,000 |
| Contractor license and insurance tied to the job | $3,000 |
| Sprayers, ladders and scaffolds or rental for the job | $9,000 |
| Cushion for overruns and slow early weeks (about 10%) | $3,500 |
| Cash needed before the first payment | $38,000 |
Sizing check. If the full repayment shown in an offer were $49,000 over about 26 weeks, the weekly debit would be about $1,885. Against illustrative monthly deposits of $45,000 (about $10,385 a week), that is roughly 18% 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.
Bought ahead of the first sale and sitting as cash until it turns.
People are paid on a schedule that does not wait for new revenue to ramp.
A fixed purchase with a quote you can put in front of a funder.
A real cost of the move that is easy to leave out of the first estimate.
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.
A complete file is what makes a same-day decision possible. If something is missing, tell us and we will work around it.
Options include working capital sized to the up-front costs, a line of credit to draw as phases begin, and invoice factoring once invoices exist.
It supports the file by showing demand and timing, but funding is typically sized on your deposits and existing obligations. Bring the contract with the statements.
Then bridging the gap is the point of the funding. The contract schedule shows how long the bridge needs to last.
The minimum FICO is 500, and better credit means better products and terms. See credit score requirements for how the tiers work.
Merchant Fund Express gives a same-day decision on a complete file. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
