The order-to-cash timeline
Consider a small Riverside manufacturer making parts for a customer in one of the city's industrial parks. Riverside's economy is largely light industry, and the city produces items such as automotive parts, electronic equipment, gas cylinders and medical devices, so this kind of shop is common. The calendar for one order often looks like this:
- Week 1: the purchase order arrives and the shop buys material, usually paying the supplier within days.
- Weeks 2 to 4: labor, utilities and machine time go into the order, with payroll falling due every two weeks.
- Week 5: the parts ship and an invoice goes out.
- Weeks 6 to 9: the customer pays on its own schedule.
The shop is out of pocket for a couple of months on every order, and a larger order makes the hole deeper. Working capital exists to cover that hole.
The same gap in other Riverside trades
| Trade | Money goes out for | Money comes in when |
|---|---|---|
| Food supplier or packing house | Crates, labor, refrigeration, fuel | Buyers settle after delivery |
| Engineering or accounting firm | Salaries, software, office | Clients pay invoices after the work |
| Restaurant or retail near downtown | Weekly stock orders, hourly crew | Daily, but unevenly across the week |
| Auto repair | Parts, then technician hours | At pickup, or net terms for fleets |
What working capital should and should not be used for
Good uses are the ones that turn back into cash: buying material for a confirmed order, bridging a slow-paying invoice, covering payroll through a seasonal dip, or buying inventory ahead of a busy stretch. Poor uses are the ones that do not: paying down a loss that will repeat, or funding a long-term asset that a term structure would suit better.
For illustration, a shop with a $90,000 confirmed order might need $40,000 for material and labor before the first dollar arrives. That figure is a way to size the request by the actual gap rather than by the largest number available. It is not our terms.
How to apply from Riverside
We fund $25,000 to $5,000,000, in as little as 24 hours once approved. We consider FICO scores of 500 and up, review about three months of business bank statements and do not require tax returns. The application takes about five minutes with a soft credit pull, and sole proprietors can apply.
If your gap is recurring rather than one-off, a business line of credit is worth a look. For a single known purchase, see term loans. Owners in Corona, Moreno Valley and Menifee can use the same application, and the wider picture is on the Inland Empire page.