$146,000 In fixed costs can come due from December to March while deposits trickle in. For a roofing, concrete or paving contractor, the deciding factor is weather-limited revenue against fixed overhead. Build the winter budget from last winter's actual deposits, set up any credit early, and decide which crew you keep.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
Why does winter break cash even in a good year?
Because the bills do not take the winter off. Payroll for the people you keep, insurance, equipment payments, the yard, phones and software all keep running. Revenue depends on dry, warm days and on owners who will start work in January.
Concrete contractors online keep debating whether to take winter off or keep pouring with heat and blankets. Roofers say keeping work steady all year is the hardest part of the business. Both groups are describing the same math: fixed costs every month, revenue only on good-weather weeks.
What numbers should the winter plan start from?
Last winter's bank deposits, not this year's backlog. The SBA business guide notes that cash-method records show cash flow clearly: https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/manage-your-finances
- Pull deposits for last December through March, month by month.
- List every fixed cost for those four months: core payroll and payroll taxes, insurance, equipment notes, rent, fuel for the units you keep running, and software.
- Subtract. The worst month and the running total tell you how much cushion you need.
- Mark when spring deposits really started last year, not when the first job started.
How big is the gap on a real-sized shop?
All names and numbers are made up.
Blue Line Concrete keeps three core crew members over winter at $24,000 a month in payroll and payroll taxes. Insurance runs $3,800 a month, equipment notes $6,200, and the yard, phones and software $2,500. That is $36,500 a month, or $146,000 for December through March.
Last winter's deposits for those months were $92,000, mostly in December and late March. The gap is $54,000. Blue Line set aside $30,000 from October receipts. That leaves $24,000 to solve before the first spring draw.
It closed the rest three ways. One core crew member moved to a January-February layoff with a spring rehire date, saving $16,000. The owner asked the equipment lender in writing about any seasonal payment option on one note. That tradeoff has its own post: https://mcafax.com/notebook/contractor-seasonal-equipment-payments . A line of credit request went in during November, sized for the remaining $8,000 plus a spring buffer.
Why set up credit in November, not February?
Because the file looks different. Ask each lender which months of bank statements and financials it will review. In November those months show peak-season deposits. In February they show the trough you are trying to cover.
Know what each product is for. An SBA Seasonal CAPLine finances the seasonal build-up, not slow-month overhead, as explained here: https://mcafax.com/notebook/sba-7a-seasonal-capline-slow-season . The SBA 7(a) page lists the program: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/7a-loans
A merchant cash advance is a sale of future receivables with a different cost structure, and repayment pulled from thin winter deposits can squeeze harder. Compare shapes first: https://mcafax.com/notebook/sba-loan-vs-merchant-cash-advance
Which crew do you keep, and for how long?
Keep the people who are hardest to rehire and who can bill winter work: estimators, a foreman who can run repair calls, a mechanic who can service the fleet. Put a date on every layoff and rehire so the plan has an end.
Then check the costs that follow payroll. Ask your insurance agent which premiums are calculated from payroll, and whether a lower winter payroll estimate changes deposits or audit timing. Get the answer in writing before you count the savings.
Contractor funding basics: https://mcafax.com/notebook/construction-business-loans . Compare paths: https://mcafax.com/notebook/where-to-get-business-funding
