A Pampa, TX contractor can carry a materials bill on a line of credit draw, cover crew payroll during the wait for a customer invoice with a working capital loan, and put a mortar mixer, scaffold frames and a saw on an equipment loan. One invented masonry job runs through all three, from the brick yard bill to the day the customer pays.
One invented masonry job: a brick yard bill drawn on a credit line for 60 days, a day-by-day cash table that finds the low point before the customer pays, a working capital loan sized to that low point, and a small equipment bundle. Contractor counts are Gray County, TX figures from County Business Patterns.
General Contractor Loans for a Brick Yard Bill Due Before the First Invoice Is Paid
In this invented job, a Pampa, TX masonry contractor buys brick, block, mortar and sand for $16,290 on net 15 terms, so the bill is due on day 15. The contractor invoices the customer at the end of the month, and the customer pays on day 75.
With these invented figures, drawn on a line of credit at 12.55% from day 15 to day 75, the $16,290 costs $336.06 of interest for the 60 days. The same amount on a six-month working capital loan at 13.4% means $2,822.09 a month and $642.54 of interest over the six payments, unless the agreement allows an early payoff. For a bill that clears on a known date, the draw is the closer fit here.
Contractor Working Capital Loan for Crew Payroll While the Invoice Ages
Payroll does not wait for the customer. In the same invented job, four masons are paid $7,180 every two weeks, with paydays on days 14, 28, 42, 56 and 70, and two small repair jobs bring in $4,180 each. The table runs the contractor's cash from day 0, leaving out the brick yard bill already sitting on the line.
| Day | What happens | Amount | Cash after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 0 | Cash on hand | $12,260 | |
| Day 14 | Crew payroll | -$7,180 | $5,080 |
| Day 21 | Small repair job paid | +$4,180 | $9,260 |
| Day 28 | Crew payroll | -$7,180 | $2,080 |
| Day 42 | Crew payroll | -$7,180 | -$5,100 |
| Day 49 | Small repair job paid | +$4,180 | -$920 |
| Day 56 | Crew payroll | -$7,180 | -$8,100 |
| Day 70 | Crew payroll | -$7,180 | -$15,280 |
The low point in this invented table is $15,280 short on day 70. A working capital loan of $17,400 at 13.9% for 9 months, funded around day 40, has its first payment of $2,047.02 due near day 70, so the loan has to cover the shortfall and that payment together; it does, with $72.98 left. The 9 payments total $18,423.18.
Construction Equipment Financing for a Mortar Mixer, Scaffold Frames and a Masonry Saw
The same invented contractor prices a mortar mixer at $4,385, scaffold frames and planks at $7,815 and a masonry saw at $2,165: $14,365 in all. On an equipment loan at 10.95% for 36 months, the bundle runs $469.95 a month, and the 36 payments total $16,918.20.
Paying cash for the bundle at the start of this invented job would have pushed the day-70 low point to $29,645 short. Equipment dealers, banks and independent equipment finance companies may each quote the same bundle; comparing them on the total of payments, plus any fees, shows the gap between two quotes better than the monthly figure alone.
Contractor Financing Options, Sorted by the Bill They Pay
- A materials bill with a known payment date behind it: a line of credit draw, cleared when the customer pays.
- Crew payroll across a long wait for an invoice: a working capital loan sized to the low point in a cash table like the one in this post.
- Mixers, saws and scaffold frames that stay in use from one job to the next: an equipment loan with a term closer to how long the gear lasts.
- Work on the contractor's own building, or building a property to sell: outside what this site arranges.
Gray County, TX had 25 specialty trade contractor establishments with paid employees in 2023, and 10 of them had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns). The construction industry page has the county's wider contractor counts, and the blog has articles for stores and cleaning companies.
By Robinstead Commercial Capital · Updated
