A heavy-equipment business with a service invoice
Hauling and recycling companies spend money on steel. Roll-off trucks, front-loaders, containers, balers, conveyors and scales are expensive, and every one of them wears out under daily use. Revenue comes in smaller pieces: monthly service invoices to commercial accounts, per-pull fees on roll-off jobs and sales of sorted material. So the owner is paying for assets that earn slowly, and the assets have to be in service before the first dollar arrives.
Trucks and containers
- Roll-off and container trucks have large down payments and heavy maintenance schedules.
- Containers and carts have to be bought in volume before a customer can be served.
- Tires, hydraulics and brakes wear fast in stop-and-go routes.
- Fuel and insurance are paid continuously regardless of how full the route is.
In places like the Inland Empire, the Central Valley and the Los Angeles area, long routes and dense commercial traffic make for a wear-heavy duty cycle.
Material sales rise and fall
Recyclers that sell sorted cardboard, metal, plastic or other commodities may see the price they receive move from month to month. A business that has spent on sorting labor and storage space has to hold the material until the buyer pays, and a lower price can arrive after the cost is already spent. That makes planning difficult and increases the importance of cash on hand.
Billing cycles and the timing of cash
| Revenue type | When it is paid |
|---|---|
| Monthly commercial service | After the month, often on net terms |
| Roll-off jobs | On pull or on invoice |
| Commodity sales | After weighing and delivery |
| Municipal or institutional accounts | On the customer's own schedule |
A route expands in steps: you buy the truck, hire the driver, place the containers, and only then does the first invoice go out.
A worked example, for illustration only
For illustration, a small hauler picks up a group of new commercial accounts that requires one more truck and 40 containers. The truck down payment, containers, insurance and first month of driver pay come to $95,000. The first full month of service invoices might not be paid for another thirty to sixty days. Working capital covers that stretch so the route can start on time. These numbers are not our terms or a typical result.
How to apply
If a new account or a failing truck is waiting on cash, a funding decision based on your bank statements can help. The application takes about five minutes. We ask for roughly three months of business bank statements and use a soft credit pull; no tax returns are required. FICO 500 and above is considered, funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000, and money can arrive in as little as 24 hours. Sole proprietors can apply. Start your application.