A spouting contractor: Christmas wages, covered the day they signed up

A roofing and spouting business in the central North Island had just won a big contract. It was a week before Christmas, the wage run was due, and most of what they were owed wasn't due to be paid until the 20th.

Most of their work goes out on 20th-of-the-following-month terms. That's normal in the trade, and it works until a big job lands. This one came with a wage bill before Christmas and a supplier who'd agreed a discount for being paid early.

The gap

Wages, materials and the supplier were all due before the customers paid. The bank was the obvious first call, and the owner had been asking around.

“I had done a bit of research and talked to a couple of people about you guys, and I was like, I'll leave the bank for now, we'll give it a crack.”

They weren't only thinking about Christmas, either. “I'm wondering if we just do that now and then we've got everything set up for later on if we need it.”

The first day

• 8:40amSigned up and connected Xero.
• 12:02pmApproved.
• 5:24pmMost of the invoices they'd picked were due on the 20th, two days away. James moved those due dates out by three days so the whole batch could be funded.
• 5:49pmFunded. The wages went out that night.

How they use it now

Christmas wasn't a one-off. Since that first day they've funded 251 invoices on 14 separate days, about once a month and usually in the run-up to a wage day. In the weeks the timing works on its own, it sits there and costs nothing.

Their customers still pay them directly, the same as always. None of them has heard from FundTap.

When the limit got tight

By September the business had grown into its limit. A wage day was coming, a couple of customers were paying late, and the owner wanted a back-up.

“I have wages today and hopefully the late payers will get it through today but just want a backup plan for wages if I don't get it all.”

They'd half expected a stack of paperwork. “If there's a heap of paperwork and stuff to do... I'm thinking I might try the bank instead. But if I just chuck it through, you guys will have a look.”

It was one request in the portal and a look at the latest numbers. The limit was raised that day, and the wages went out.

About this story. Anonymised: business and owner details are withheld. Timings and counts are from FundTap's records to 30 September 2026. Quotes are from calls and emails with the FundTap team, lightly trimmed.