Steelwork for the high-end builds
The business fabricates steel for construction companies in Otago and Southland, the ones building at the high end of the market. It works as a sub-contractor: the builder runs the project, and the fabricator supplies the steelwork.
Sub-contract work is invoiced to the builder, not to the homeowner or the developer. The builders generally pay on the 20th of the month after the invoice arrives.
That’s a normal arrangement in construction. It just puts a long stretch between buying the steel and being paid for it.
The steel is paid for first
A fabrication job starts with material. The steel is ordered and paid for, the work is done, and only then does the invoice go to the builder. From there it’s a wait until the 20th of the following month.
When they signed up in May 2025, the owner explained to the FundTap team that the builders they work for generally pay on the 20th of the month after the invoice.
A job invoiced at the start of the month waits the longest, with the next job’s steel to buy in the meantime.
Funding the builder’s invoice
Their broker introduced them to FundTap, and they signed up in May 2025. That same month they chose a builder’s invoice and funded it, the first of three they have funded.
The fee is shown before they commit, so the owner can weigh it against the job. The builder still pays the business on the 20th, as the contract says.
Ordering the next job’s steel
With the invoice funded, the money for that job arrived before the builder’s 20th. The next job’s steel could be ordered on the fabricator’s timing rather than the builder’s.
Three builder’s invoices in all, funded between May and July 2025, each one with a long wait attached. Nothing has been funded since, and that has cost them nothing. The account sits ready for the next job where the 20th is too far away.
The timeline
- May 2025 Introduced by their broker and signed up, with builders paying on the 20th of the month after.
- May 2025 Funded their first invoice, a builder’s invoice with a long wait on it.
- June 2025 Funded another builder’s invoice.
- July 2025 Funded a third builder’s invoice, the most recent in the records.
In numbers
- 20th of the month after: when the builders pay a sub-contractor’s invoice
- 3 builder invoices funded between May and July 2025, chosen job by job
- 1 invoice funded in May 2025, the first month, with the builder paying as normal
Sound like your business?
You’ve paid for the steel and fitted it, and the builder’s 20th is a long way off. Fund that invoice and order the next job’s material.
Get paid now for work you’ve already done.
Invoice finance for construction and trades • All case studies
