Surveying for other firms
The business provides surveying services in regional New South Wales. At the moment its work comes as a subcontractor: other firms bring it in to do the surveying on their projects.
That means the work is done first and invoiced afterwards. The firm it did the work for pays on its own terms. The people and the equipment behind every survey are paid for well before the invoice is.
New staff before the invoices are paid
The business was growing, and growth in surveying costs money up front. More work means more equipment in the field and more people to run it, and both are paid for before the invoices for their work go out.
At sign-up in July 2024, the owner told the FundTap team that keeping up with the growth meant either buying more equipment or taking on new staff. The owner also mentioned new employees were due to start later in the year.
New people are paid from the start, while the firms that bring the business in pay on their usual terms. That gap is what they signed up to cover.
Funding the subcontract invoices
They signed up in July 2024 and connected Xero, then didn’t fund an invoice until April 2026. There was no charge for the wait. That April they funded their first invoice.
Since then the owner picks the invoice to fund. The fee shows before they commit, and the firm still pays the business direct, on its usual terms.
Keeping the growth going
Funding an invoice brings the firm’s payment forward to where the cost sits. That might be a new employee’s pay, or a piece of equipment that has to be bought before it earns anything. The business can pay for the people and the gear that more work needs without waiting on the last job’s invoice.
They have funded six invoices since April 2026, the most recent in September 2026.
The firms’ terms unchanged
The invoices to the firms still run on their terms. The owner chooses which invoice to fund and pays only the fee on that one. In a month with nothing funded, there’s nothing to pay.
The timeline
- July 2024 Signed up, with the work growing and new staff lined up to start.
- July 2024 Connected Xero, with nothing to pay until an invoice was funded.
- April 2026 Funded their first invoice.
- September 2026 Funded their most recent invoice, the sixth since April.
In numbers
- 6 invoices funded since April 2026
- 1 invoice funded in April 2026, their first
- Up front when new staff and equipment are paid for, ahead of the firms’ payments
Sound like your business?
The new hire starts before the firm pays for the last survey. Fund that invoice when the timing doesn’t line up, and let the others pay on their terms.
Fund a specific invoice when the timing doesn’t work. Pay nothing when it does.
Invoice finance for professional services • All case studies
