Builders pay on the 20th
The business plasters and paints around Auckland. Some of the work is for households, and the rest is for builders and other businesses.
Terms differ from customer to customer. The household jobs are on their own terms, while the builders and the other businesses mostly pay on the 20th of the month after the invoice.
A job finished and invoiced early in the month waits the longest: the rest of that month, and then on to the 20th of the next.
Wages and materials in between
The crew’s wages fall due long before the 20th, and the materials for each job are bought before the first coat goes on. In a growing business, more work means more of both out the door before any of it is paid.
When they signed up in October 2022, the owner described the business to the FundTap team as growing, with a mix of household and business work.
Most of the time the 20th comes around and the builders pay. The gap is the payment that runs past it. The owner explained that when a payment ran longer than the 20th, it was the wages and the materials that felt it.
Funding the builders’ invoices
They signed up in October 2022 and connected Xero. In November 2022 they funded their first invoices, two that month.
The owner picks the invoice that’s holding up the wages or the next materials order and sees the fee before committing. The builder still pays the business directly on the 20th; nothing about the invoice changes for them.
“...this will help the business a great deal.”
From an email to the FundTap team, October 2022
Room to take on more work
The business was growing when it signed up, and the funding grew with it. The funding limit was raised in January 2023 and again in February 2023 as the work built up.
With the wages and the materials covered when a payment ran long, the next job didn’t have to wait on the last one. 2023 was their biggest year, with 31 invoices funded, and May 2023 the busiest month at seven.
Picked when a payment runs long
They don’t fund everything. 2025 was quieter, with 10 invoices funded, and the months with nothing funded cost nothing. In 2026 they’ve funded 22 to September.
Since November 2022 they’ve funded 91 invoices, picked for the weeks when the wages and the materials couldn’t wait for the 20th.
In a public review, the owner described the service as very useful for tradespeople, with a straightforward set-up and clear explanations throughout.
The timeline
- October 2022 Signed up and connected Xero, with the business growing and the builders paying on the 20th.
- November 2022 Funded their first invoices, two that month.
- January 2023 Funding limit raised as the work built up.
- February 2023 Funding limit raised for the second time.
- May 2023 The busiest month so far, with seven invoices funded.
- September 2026 Most recent invoice funded, with 22 funded in 2026 to September.
In numbers
- 20th of the month after: when the builders and other business customers pay
- 91 invoices funded since November 2022, picked for the weeks when the wages couldn’t wait
- 2 increases to their funding limit in early 2023, as the work grew
- 31 invoices funded in 2023, their biggest year, with May 2023 the busiest month
Sound like your business?
The builders pay on the 20th of next month and the crew is paid this week. Fund the invoice that covers the wages and let the builder pay as normal.
Get paid now for work you’ve already done.
Invoice finance for construction and trades • All case studies
