You won the contract. Now plan the cash.

Winning the contract is the hard part. It should not be the cash that stops you from doing the work. The way through is to size the money to the gap, not to the contract.

What an award is, and what it is not

An award means an agency chose you. It does not mean a lender will finance the job, and it does not tell you when you will be paid. Payment timing depends on the agency, the contract terms and how clean your invoices are. Treat the award as the start of a cash plan, not as proof of anything.

Size the gap, not the contract

Payroll and materials come due before the agency pays. So the money you need is the worst month of the job, not the full contract value. In a hypothetical $1,200,000 contract, the cash needed at the tightest point may be a fraction of that. Map your costs by month, map when payments are likely to arrive, and ask for the worst month.

Why invoices cannot fund day one

Mobilization comes before any invoice exists. Hiring, buying materials and starting work all cost money before there is anything to bill. So plan day-one cash separately. Work you have done but not yet billed can help close the gap later, but it cannot pay for the start.

What lenders check

• ◆A signed award or task order, plus any changes to it.
• ◆An active SAM.gov registration, for a federal award. A lapsed one slows the file.
• ◆Financial statements: the last two years and this year to date.
• ◆What you are owed and what you owe: current receivables and payables aging.
• ◆Clean, proper invoices that follow the contract's billing rules.
• ◆Owners and existing debts on paper.

Do these in order

1. 1

   Start the day the award is signed

   A file opened the week payroll runs short has the fewest options.

2. 2

   Map costs by month

   Put payroll, materials and subcontractors against the months they fall due.

3. 3

   Plan day-one cash separately

   Do not count on invoices to fund mobilization.

4. 4

   Check every invoice

   An improper invoice can restart the payment clock. Match each one to the contract's billing rules before it goes out.

5. 5

   Price the money into the job

   Financing has a cost. Know it before you start, and take it out of your margin on paper, not by surprise.

What makes a lender say no

• ◆You ask for the contract amount instead of the gap.
• ◆You wait until payroll is due.
• ◆You rely on invoices to fund the start.
• ◆Your invoices have errors.
• ◆You use a daily-pay advance on a long contract. The payments start before the agency pays.

The plain version

Government work is good work, and the pay cycle is slow. Plan for the slow part before it arrives. Ask for the gap, keep your invoices clean, and start early. We are a broker, and the lender decides. An award does not guarantee financing, and nothing here is an offer.