IS YOUR BUSINESS
ACTUALLY GOING UNDER
OR DOES IT FEEL THAT WAY?
Most subcontracting businesses that feel like they're collapsing are not past the point of no return. The difference between recoverable and not recoverable is: does the business have viable margin in its work, and is there still time to collect the AR and restructure the overhead before the obligations outrun the revenue? Most situations we see are recoverable. Not all. But most.
We have seen clients sitting $1.2 million negative on their balance sheet doing $3 million a year in revenue flip the script in 12 months. Some of them paying $11,000 a week in merchant cash advance paybacks with banks that would not touch them. Some of those situations got fixed. Not all of them. It depends on how far gone things are and how willing you are to do the work. But if it is not a point of no return — it is possible.
HOW TO TELL IF
IT'S ACTUALLY RECOVERABLE.
You Have AR — Just Not Collected
If you have $150K+ in outstanding invoices that are legitimately owed and collectible, the cash exists. It's in someone else's account. Aggressive AR recovery in the next 30 days can change the picture significantly. This is the most common situation.
The Work Has Real Margin — The Overhead Doesn't
If your jobs are making 20–25% gross margin but overhead is running at 35%, the business is profitable at the job level and bleeding at the overhead level. That's an overhead restructure problem — difficult, not impossible.
The Work Itself Isn't Profitable
If you're winning work at 8% gross margin in a trade that needs 22%, the problem isn't cash timing or overhead — it's that every job makes the situation worse. This requires a harder conversation about pricing, trade selection, or market positioning.
The MCA Stack Is Bigger Than Monthly Revenue
If monthly MCA repayments exceed 30–40% of monthly revenue, the margin compression is so severe that operational fixes alone may not outrun the debt service. This requires a financial restructure conversation, not just a billing overhaul.
IF IT'S RECOVERABLE,
THIS IS THE SEQUENCE.
Speed matters. Every week of delay is another week of overhead running against a deteriorating cash position.
What SPM has seen: A $7.1M civil contractor was days away from merchant cash advances when we came in. Two lines of credit maxed, SBA loan, personal LOC against his house. In 30 days: $310K collected. In 90 days: all LOCs and SBA paid off. $750K new credit facility approved. See the case study →
CALL BEFORE YOU DECIDE
IT'S OVER.
The worst outcome is a business that was recoverable but didn't get the right help in time. The second worst is spending six months trying to fix something that isn't fixable and bleeding out slowly.
Either way — the first step is an honest diagnostic. Not a pitch, not a proposal. A conversation about what's actually broken, what the numbers look like, and whether there's a viable path.
That conversation is free. It takes 30 minutes. And we'll tell you the truth — even if the truth is that we can't help.
