Contractor Business Loans for Montrose, CO Owners: Skid Steers, Trucks and Draw Gaps

Financing for Contractors: Machines, Wages and Materials Before the Draw

Contractor business loans cover the two halves of a builder's cash. Machines and trucks last for years and suit equipment financing or a term loan. Wages and materials run ahead of every progress payment and suit a line of credit. Construction counted 278 employer establishments in Montrose County, CO in 2023, with 1,937 employees and $121.6 million in annual payroll, about $62,787 per employee (our arithmetic; County Business Patterns 2023).

Most of those firms are small: 61.5% had fewer than five employees. Residential builders counted 64, 75.0% under five employees, and Nonemployer Statistics counted 317 residential builders without paid employees for 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024). For a crew that size, one late draw can mean the owner carries payroll personally.

Working Capital Loans for Construction Companies Waiting on Progress Payments

Illustration only, invented figures: a four-person framing crew earns an invented $29 an hour for 168 hours a month, a payroll of $19,488, and buys $23,000 of lumber and hardware for the next phase. That is $42,488 out the door before the general contractor's draw (our arithmetic). A working capital loan covers one such gap; a line of credit covers the same gap on every job.

Partners reading a builder's request look at the contract, the draw schedule, the general contractor or owner paying it, and the aged receivables. A signed contract with a named payer and a dated draw schedule tells a partner where the money comes from.

Construction Business Line of Credit for Remodelers and Finish Crews

Building finishing contractors, the Census group for drywall, flooring, painting and finish carpentry, counted 38 employer establishments in Montrose County, CO in 2023, and other specialty trade contractors 36 (County Business Patterns 2023). Remodelers and finish crews start several jobs a year and are paid at milestones, so the gap recurs. A construction business line of credit draws for each job's materials and wages and pays down at each milestone.

Lines for contractors can be secured by receivables, with a limit tied to eligible invoices, or unsecured with a personal guarantee. Either way, a partner can ask for a work-in-progress schedule showing contract values, billed to date and cost to complete.

How to Calculate the Working Capital Requirement for a Framing or Remodeling Company

A simple estimate: annual job costs divided by the days in a year, times the days between paying for labor and materials and being paid. Illustration only, invented figures: a contractor with $1,450,000 in annual revenue and job costs at 72% of revenue, waiting 55 days on average, needs about $157,315 tied up in jobs at any time (our arithmetic).

1. Add up job costs for the last twelve months from the books.
2. Divide by the number of days in a year to get the daily cost of running jobs.
3. Measure the days from paying costs to collecting the draw, including retainage held.
4. Multiply the two; compare the result with cash on hand and any line already open.

Construction Retainage Financing for Montrose County, CO Builders and Subcontractors

Retainage is the share of each payment a general contractor or owner holds until the project is finished. Illustration only, invented figures: 5% retained on a $240,000 subcontract is $12,000 earned but not paid until close-out (our arithmetic). That money sits on the receivables aging, sometimes for months after the crew has left the site.

Some funders count retainage receivable toward a line's borrowing base at a reduced rate, and some exclude it entirely. List retainage separately on a request, with the project, the amount and the expected close-out date, so a partner can value it on its own terms.

Contractor Working Capital Loan for Excavation and Site-Prep Crews

Excavation and site-prep crews carry the heaviest machines and the highest fuel and repair bills. Poured concrete foundation contractors counted 12 employer establishments in Montrose County, CO in 2023 (County Business Patterns 2023), and nonresidential builders 13. Illustration only, invented figures: a $58,000 dump truck with $8,000 down, financed over 60 months at an invented annual rate of 9%, costs about $1,038 a month (our arithmetic).

Machines go on equipment financing; fuel, repairs and wages between jobs go on working capital or a line. The article on skid steer financing terms compares term lengths for used machines.

Small Business Loans for a Construction Company With Fewer Than Five Employees

• The contract or bid, with the payer and the draw schedule.
• Aged receivables, with retainage listed separately.
• A work-in-progress schedule for open jobs, if the business keeps one.
• Recent business bank statements and the latest tax returns.
• Dealer quotes for any machine, with year and hours.

Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors counted 39 employer establishments in the county in 2023 and electrical contractors 26 (County Business Patterns 2023). Trades that size can send the same short list; partners read each request on its own purpose.

Residential Permits Authorized in Montrose County, CO, 2023 to 2025

The Building Permits Survey counted 321 new housing units authorized by building permits in Montrose County, CO in 2023, 270 in 2024 and 279 in 2025. Of the 2025 units, 207 were in single-unit buildings, 74.2% of the total (our arithmetic), and 60 in buildings with five or more units. The figures count new homes only, not remodels or commercial work.

Permits come before a financed build-out; the Montrose County, CO permits and zoning guide covers the steps. Buying land or financing a building from the ground up is real estate lending and falls outside this site.

For machine terms, read how long a contractor can finance a skid steer.

By Canyonmoor Lending Group · Updated October 22, 2026