Working Capital for Texas General Contractors

Texas jobs move on their own schedule

Texas keeps contractors busy in a very specific rhythm: hail can shred a roof schedule in Fort Worth, Gulf humidity can slow exterior finish work in Houston, and Austin or Dallas permitting can push a clean project behind the calendar before the last punch item is even started. The buyers we see most often are owner-operators, estimators, and office managers at roofers, remodelers, commercial general contractors, and specialty subs handling tenant improvements, multifamily turns, restaurant buildouts, and storm-restoration work. They usually do not need a giant balance-sheet loan; they need cash that keeps one or two live jobs moving while the draw schedule catches up.

The Texas part is never just the field work

Texas contractors also work inside a regulatory patchwork that every local operator knows by feel. The state leans hard on city permitting, local inspections, and trade-specific licensing, so a job can be ready in the field while paperwork is still moving through the office. If the scope touches electrical, HVAC, or plumbing, we want the licensing trail clean: electricians doing non-exempt work must be licensed and work through a licensed electrical contractor, HVAC contractors are licensed through TDLR, and plumbing is regulated by the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. That matters in Texas because the cash gap is often created by compliance as much as by construction. We see working capital used for material reorders, overtime, temporary crews, permit fees, lift rentals, and the gap between a customer deposit and the next progress draw.

How we usually structure the money

For Texas contractors, General Contractor Working Capital usually looks like a short-term loan or revolving line rather than equipment debt or a lease. The point is speed and flexibility: cover payroll this Friday, buy the framing package next week, and keep the superintendent on site instead of letting a job stall for lack of cash. When the file is underwritten like an SBA-style deal, the benchmarks are familiar: 24 months in business, a 640+ FICO floor, a 1.25x DSCR target, 2 to 6 months of bank statements, and a 30 to 45 day path to approval and funding. Pricing on that channel commonly lands in the 8% to 11% APR range with 2% to 3% origination fees. The money itself is usually tied to payroll, subcontractor invoices, lumber, drywall, roofing bundles, mobilization, fuel, permit costs, and change-order labor.

What we want in the file

Eligibility in Texas comes down to whether the file tells a clean story. We want the entity documents, EIN, ownership breakdown, recent P&L and balance sheet, current accounts receivable aging, open job schedule, backlog, insurance certificates, and two to six months of business bank statements. If the company handles electrical, HVAC, or plumbing scope, we also want the state licensing records or the sub's credentials lined up before funding. That paperwork matters because it tells us whether the Dallas remodel, the Houston storm repair, or the San Antonio tenant improvement is backed by a contractor who can actually finish what was sold. Once the file is organized, working capital becomes less about explaining the need and more about proving the job is already there.