Business finance for roofing contractors

Why roofing cash flow is strained

Roofing sits where trade-contracting cash flow is toughest. You buy materials — tiles, membranes, lead, insulation — and hire scaffolding and crews up front, then wait to be paid on staged terms, with a slice held back as retention until the job is signed off. On larger or commercial work, payment can run 30 to 60 days or longer, while suppliers and wages will not wait. Weather adds delay you cannot control.

Where the cash gets stuck

The classic squeeze is working capital tied up in jobs in progress: materials and labour already spent on roofs not yet invoiced or not yet paid. Scaffolding hire runs whether or not the weather cooperates. Retention can lock up a meaningful share of a contract's value for months after completion. Take on a bigger contract and the strain grows before the reward arrives.

What roofing contractors use funding for

Typical uses include buying materials for a larger job before the first stage payment, covering scaffolding hire and crew wages across the build, bridging retention on completed work, and taking on a contract that would otherwise stretch cash too far. The point is to fund work that is already won and will be paid, smoothing the timing rather than chasing speculative spend. Use the working capital calculator to size the gap on a job.

What to weigh before borrowing

Tie repayments to your stage-payment and retention schedule, so money goes out as the contract pays in. Watch concentration risk — one big client paying late can hurt — and ask for the total repayable, not just a headline rate. Read how to calculate affordability and consider whether invoice finance suits staged billing. This is general information, not advice on your accounts.

How short-term company finance fits — no personal guarantee

Credicorp lends to the limited company, not to you personally — no personal guarantee, so your home is not pledged against the facility. As an exempt business lender it provides working capital to UK companies, not regulated consumer credit. A business loan or the flexible Credicorp Flex line gives a contractor a controlled pot to fund materials and payroll across a job, repaid as stages and retention come in. You can apply online.