Mowing for the council
The business mows commercial grounds across Auckland. Most of its work comes from council contracts, cut to a schedule, with the rest for commercial customers.
Each contract runs for a term and then comes up for renewal. The work is invoiced once it’s done, and the council pays on the 20th of the month after. Now and then it lands a little later, but it always lands.
Mowing follows the grass. Summer is flat out, winter slows right down, and the crew, the fuel and the parts are paid for either way.
A slow renewal, then the wait
When the contracts came up for renewal, the paperwork dragged on. The business was behind by the time it was settled, and the next purchase order had only just been confirmed.
That order meant work, but it also meant another wait. The mowing would be done and invoiced, and the council would pay on the 20th of the month after. The running costs wouldn’t wait that long.
At sign-up, the owner told the FundTap team a slow renewal had set them back and the next purchase order was only just in.
Funding the council invoice
They signed up in September 2024 and connected Xero. In October 2024 they funded their first invoice, for council mowing already done, with the fee in front of them before they accepted it.
The council pays the business on the 20th of the month after, as the contract sets out, and FundTap has nothing to do with that side.
A replacement mower in summer
The point of the funding is to keep the mowing going when a cost lands before the council’s money does. The sharpest example came in December 2025, in the middle of the growing season.
Mowers were down and the supplier couldn’t get parts. Rather than fall behind on the contracts, the owner funded an invoice and bought another mower.
“...the problem is that someone can’t supply me with parts... so I’m going to have to buy another mower.”
From a call with the FundTap team, December 2025
Winter, when the grass slows
They have funded 13 invoices since October 2024, 11 of them in 2025. Nothing has been funded since December 2025, and the quiet stretch has cost the business nothing.
If a summer bill lands ahead of the 20th again, they fund an invoice. Until then there’s nothing to pay.
The timeline
- September 2024 Signed up and connected Xero, with a slow contract renewal behind them and the next purchase order in hand.
- October 2024 Funded their first invoice, for council mowing already done.
- May 2025 Their busiest month so far, with two invoices funded.
- December 2025 Funded an invoice and bought a replacement mower when parts couldn’t be had.
In numbers
- 20th of the month after: when the council pays for the mowing
- 13 invoices funded since October 2024, picked when a bill landed before the council paid
- 11 invoices funded in 2025, their busiest year so far
Invoices funded each month, as a table
| Month | Invoices funded |
|---|---|
| October 2024 | 1 |
| November 2024 | 1 |
| December 2024 | 0 |
| January 2025 | 1 |
| February 2025 | 1 |
| March 2025 | 1 |
| April 2025 | 1 |
| May 2025 | 2 |
| June 2025 | 1 |
| July 2025 | 0 |
| August 2025 | 2 |
| September 2025 | 0 |
| October 2025 | 0 |
| November 2025 | 1 |
| December 2025 | 1 |
| January 2026 | 0 |
| February 2026 | 0 |
| March 2026 | 0 |
| April 2026 | 0 |
| May 2026 | 0 |
| June 2026 | 0 |
| July 2026 | 0 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 0 |
Sound like your business?
The council pays on the 20th of the month after, and the mower needs replacing now. Fund the invoice for the mowing you’ve done and keep cutting.
Get paid now for work you’ve already done.
Invoice finance for construction and trades • All case studies
