BECOME THE CONTRACTOR YOUR BANK SAYS YES TO.
Banks don't decline construction companies because they hate construction. They decline contractors they can't read. A banker looking at billing basis books with no WIP schedule, financials that reach him in March, and a line that never rests at zero sees risk he can't price, and unpriceable risk gets declined. The relationship that produces approvals is built on legibility: monthly financials a banker can trust, a WIP schedule that explains the swings, a 13 week forecast that proves you know your own future, and a call that comes before the problem instead of after it. One verified civil client went from two maxed lines to a $750K approval in 90 days, same company and same jobs. The package changed.
A banker isn't grading your character. He is sizing risk with the documents in front of him, and when those documents don't answer his questions he prices the uncertainty or declines it. That's why the fix is a reporting package rather than a better meeting. Four things decide the answer: whether the financials mean anything, how the line behaves month to month, whether you can forecast your own cash, and whether he hears bad news from you first. Every one of the four is something you control, and none of them require a good year to start.
WHAT IT MEANS.
Financial legibility is how easily a banker can read your business from the documents you send: accrual books with percentage of completion revenue, a WIP schedule that ties to the income statement, and a close that finishes every month.
The order counts here. A sub who cleans up the books but keeps the line pinned at its limit has fixed the smaller of the two problems, because the bank reads its own statements before it reads yours. Ninety days of the line drawing at mobilization and resting at zero between jobs is evidence a presentation deck can't fake.
WHAT THE BANK SEES.
Can they trust the numbers at all?
Before any ratio gets calculated, a banker decides whether your financials mean anything. That means accrual books with percentage of completion revenue, a WIP schedule that ties to the income statement, reconciled accounts, and a close that finishes every month rather than a QuickBooks export in March. Construction lenders read the WIP first, because it's where contractor financials tell the truth or don't. A sub with clean percentage of completion books and a current WIP gets underwritten. A sub without them gets a smaller number at a higher rate, if anything.
How the line behaves is the credit report
Banks read how you use the line as character evidence. A facility that draws at mobilization, repays at collection, and rests at zero between jobs is a timing tool, which is fundable and increasable. A line pinned at its limit for months is funding losses, and no presentation deck changes what the statement history says. Ninety days of disciplined line behavior is worth more at renewal than any meeting.
Do you know your own future?
The single most credibility building document a sub can put in front of a banker is a 13 week cash forecast that proves true week after week. It answers the question behind every credit decision, which is whether this owner knows what's coming, with evidence instead of confidence. Bankers extend capacity to contractors who forecast, because contractors who forecast don't surprise them.
Bad news early is credit, bad news late is a workout file
Every banker says the same thing: tell us before. A slow quarter flagged in advance with a plan attached is a normal conversation, and the same quarter found on a late financial statement is a covenant review. The cadence that builds the relationship is a quarterly financial package sent without being asked, a call when something material moves in either direction, and a renewal conversation started 90 days out. Banks have seen every construction problem there is. The only unforgivable one is surprise.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN DOLLARS.
A verified civil client at $7.1M had two maxed lines, an SBA loan, and no bank willing to talk. Ninety days of rebuilt books, recovered receivables, and a forecast that proved true cleared the debt, and the same banks approved $750K in new capacity.
A verified marine client at $25M running on a shared Excel file couldn't get bonding or meaningful credit, because the financials were unreadable. Real books and a real WIP unlocked $10M of aggregate bonding and a $4.5M line of credit in progress.
The bank reads its own statements first, so three months of draws mapped to receivables with full rests between is the evidence that counts. Asking before the behavior changes just refreshes the decline.
THE STANDING PACKAGE.
This is what converts a banking relationship from annual begging into standing capacity: monthly or quarterly financials with the P&L, the balance sheet, and the AR and AP agings, the current WIP schedule with a one paragraph explanation of any big over or under swing, the 13 week forecast, and once a year the full picture of backlog, bonding program, and where the company is going. Sent on schedule, unprompted.
An increase gets approved when it reads like math. Ninety days of clean line behavior, financials that have been sent unprompted, and a specific number tied to a specific need: backlog is up 40%, mobilization cash need is $X per job, we're requesting $Y. Bring the WIP and the 13 week forecast to the meeting, because bankers approve increases that look like arithmetic and decline the ones that look like hope.
At $3M and up a second bank is cheap insurance, because banks change appetite, get acquired, and tighten construction exposure for reasons that have nothing to do with you. The structure that works is a primary bank holding the operating accounts and the main facility, plus a secondary bank with a smaller facility or an equipment line that also receives your quarterly package. Two relationships, both fluent in your WIP, rather than four.
FLAT MONTHLY FEE. NO SURPRISES.
Three tiers, priced by your trailing twelve month revenue. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No hourly billing, no payroll, and no add-ons.
| Last 12 months revenue | Monthly fee |
|---|---|
| Up to $1M | $1,900 to $2,900 |
| $1M to $3.5M | $2,600 to $3,900 |
| $3.5M to $6.5M | $3,800 to $5,700 |
| $6.5M to $9.5M | $5,100 to $7,100 |
| $9.5M to $12.5M | $6,100 to $8,500 |
| $12.5M to $15.5M | $7,400 to $11,000 |
| $15.5M to $18.5M | $9,400 to $13,500 |
| $18.5M+ | Quoted individually |
Range reflects the three tiers below. Which one you're in depends on how much of the work you want off your desk. No payroll. No hidden line items.
You stop guessing.
You get the CFO work. Job costing built against the way you estimate, a 13 week cash forecast, monthly WIP, and a meeting every month that ends in decisions rather than a report.
Your bookkeeper keeps doing the books.
You stop touching the books.
Everything in Core, and we run the bookkeeping and the controllership as well. Nobody in your office is answering coding questions or chasing a reconciliation at month end.
We do the books. No payroll.
Every job shows its margin while it's still running.
Everything in Executive, plus the job costing and WIP platform set up, loaded with your cost codes, and managed for you every month. You never have to learn it.
We do the job costing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED.
