Your $85,000 switchgear deposit is due in 30 days. The first draw may clear after day 55. Map supplier due dates against pay-app funding before you place the purchase order. Ordering without that calendar turns your checking account into the GC's credit line.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Why do materials hit before cash arrives?
Supplier terms often run net-30 while progress billing waits on review and owner funding. Retainage can also reduce the first check.
Public contractor discussions on AIA billing keep repeating that first-payment gap.
What belongs on the materials cash map?
Deposit date, order date, supplier due date, pay-app submit date, expected funding date, and payroll Fridays in between.
Ops reference: guide to construction invoicing.
What funding comparisons are fair?
Supplier deposits, owner-allowed stored-materials billing, reserves, lines of credit, and eligible SBA 7(a) working capital are distinct from selling future receipts.
Hubs: https://mcafax.com/notebook/construction-business-loans , https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/7a-loans (SOP 50 10 8.1), https://mcafax.com/notebook/equipment-financing-vs-merchant-cash-advance for product separation, https://mcafax.com/notebook/stop-mca-broker-calls for caller screening.
When should you refuse the schedule fantasy?
If the materials due date and payroll overlap exceed available liquidity, change procurement timing, contract billing language, or job acceptance before you mobilize.
Worked example
All names and numbers are made up.
Ridge Electrical faced an $85,000 switchgear deposit due net-30 on March 31, submitted the first pay app on March 20, expected funding May 5, and needed about $18,000 on each of five payroll Fridays ($90,000 labor) inside the same gap. Total bridge pressure: $85,000 materials plus $90,000 labor before cash arrived.
What should you finish before the purchase order?
- Write supplier due dates next to expected draws
- Confirm stored-materials billing rules in the subcontract
- Separate billed from cash received
- Stress-test payroll across the longest lag you have seen with that GC
- Gather documents before any lender call
Field note: AIA-billing threads keep describing first draws that land after supplier net-30 dates. The fix starts with a calendar, not a phone pitch.
Before you act, align the cash dates, the written quote or program page, and the next payroll. Keep equipment loans and leases separate from any offer that buys future receipts.
Use https://mcafax.com/notebook/construction-business-loans for contractor context and https://mcafax.com/notebook/where-to-get-business-funding when you compare funding paths.
