A civil contractor in Melbourne: the next job without the wait

Working under head contractors

The business is a civil contractor in Melbourne, working under head contractors on contract terms. It’s a young company, built on the owner’s time as a sole trader.

The work is invoiced under the contract, and the terms run from the end of the month. A claim sent early in one month is paid at the end of the next.

That’s when the head contractor is on time. On a job done in the first week, the gap from the work to the money can run to the best part of two months.

A head contractor that pays late

In May 2024, the owner told the FundTap team the head contractor always paid, just always late. A large claim was already late, the owner explained, with a couple more due inside the month.

In the meantime the work carries on. The business pays for the crew, the plant and the next job’s costs while a big contractor’s accounts team works through its cycle.

What the owner wanted was simple: the work already done, paid for, so the next job didn’t wait on the last.

Funding the claims already in

They signed up in May 2024, connected Xero, and funded their first two claims that month. In June 2024 their funding limit went up as the claims got bigger.

The fee shows before they commit to each claim. The head contractor still pays the business directly, on its own timetable, and nothing changes at its end.

The next job starts on time

With a claim funded, the money for finished work is in the business while the head contractor works through its cycle. The crew is paid and the plant keeps running. The next job starts when it’s ready, not when the accounts team gets round to it.

The work has grown with it. They funded nine claims in 2024, 22 in 2025 and 17 so far in 2026, and October 2025 was the busiest month, with six. In July 2026 the funding limit went up again.

Picked claim by claim

Not every claim gets funded, and a claim that isn’t funded costs nothing.

In all, 48 claims have been funded since May 2024, and it’s the owner who says which.

The timeline

1. May 2024 Signed up with a large claim running late and more due inside the month.
2. May 2024 Connected Xero and funded their first two claims.
3. June 2024 Funding limit raised as the claims got bigger.
4. October 2025 Their busiest month so far, with six claims funded.
5. July 2026 Funding limit raised again, with more work on.
6. August 2026 Most recent claims funded, two that month.

In numbers

• 48 claims funded since May 2024, the owner deciding which
• 22 claims funded in 2025, up from nine in 2024
• 6 claims funded in October 2025, the busiest month so far
• 2 increases to their funding limit as the claims got bigger

Sound like your business?

The claim is in, the head contractor pays at the end of next month, and late at that. Fund the claim and get on with the next job.

Get paid now for work you’ve already done.

Invoice finance for construction and trades  •  All case studies