Contractors pay crews and suppliers before draws and final payments arrive, and they buy machines that must earn their keep across many jobs. Palmwick Lending, a small-business funding service in Kokomo, Indiana, helps builders and remodelers match those bills to a structure, and lending partners review each request and decide.
| Construction employers, county | 131 (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Residential builders, county | 35 (County Business Patterns 2023, NAICS2361) |
| Builders with under five on payroll | 62.6% (CBP 2023) |
| Homes permitted, county | 106 homes OK'd by permit in 2025 (Census BPS, county) |
The Contractor Cash Gap
Construction cash flow runs backwards. A contractor orders materials, schedules crews and rents or runs equipment, then bills on a draw schedule or at completion. Retainage, where part of each payment is held until the job is done, can stretch the wait further. The gap between paying out and getting paid is the core funding need, and it grows with every job you add.
Business Loans for Contractors: Matching the Need
- Contractor line of credit: draw for materials and payroll, repay when each draw lands, then draw again.
- Construction company working capital: a one-time amount for a specific job's start-up costs.
- Equipment financing: skid steers, excavators, trailers, trucks and tools.
- Term loans: a shop or yard improvement, or buying another contractor's business.
Partners commonly review the contractor's work-in-progress schedule, signed contracts, receivables aging, bank statements and existing equipment payments.
Supplier Accounts and Material Deposits
A contractor may buy materials on supplier credit, with payment due in 30 days, while the customer's draw arrives later. When jobs grow, the supplier balance grows with them. Some custom orders, such as windows, cabinets and trusses, require a deposit at order. A credit line covers both: draw for the deposit or the supplier invoice, repay when the draw lands. Partners commonly ask for supplier statements alongside the work-in-progress schedule.
Used Construction Equipment Financing
Partners can finance used machines. For used construction equipment financing, have the serial number, hour-meter reading, maintenance records and photos ready, plus the seller's details. A partner will want the term to end before the machine does. For how to finance construction equipment you will use only on some jobs, compare the payment with what renting the same machine would cost for the days you actually need it.
A Construction Business Loan Calculator, by Hand
The site's loan payment calculator works for any loan: enter the amount, a rate you have been quoted and the term to see the monthly payment, total interest and total repaid. For a contractor, the useful next step is by hand: divide the monthly payment by your average gross profit per job to see how many jobs a month the payment needs.
Hypothetical figures for illustration only. A remodeler with a $1,150 monthly equipment payment and an average gross profit of $2,300 per job needs half a job a month to cover the machine. If the machine is only used on one job in four, compare the total rental cost with the payment.
Gaps a Partner Looks For in a Contractor's File
- Jobs billed at a loss, visible when the work-in-progress schedule is compared with costs.
- Receivables older than 90 days with no explanation.
- Equipment payments that already take a large share of monthly deposits.
- Personal and business spending mixed in one account.
A contractor who can explain each of these, or show they do not apply, presents a clearer request.
Howard County, IN Builders in the Census Counts
County Business Patterns counted 131 construction employer establishments in Howard County, IN in 2023, with 1,197 employees and $87.2 million in payroll; 62.6% had fewer than five employees. Within that, 35 were residential building contractors (NAICS 2361), 80.0% of them with fewer than five employees, and 7 were nonresidential builders (2362). Specialty trades include 26 plumbing and HVAC contractors and 12 electrical contractors.
Nonemployer Statistics counted 484 construction businesses with no paid employees in 2024, including 180 residential builders. That is a separate program and year; the employer and no-payroll counts measure different businesses.
Residential permits show the pace of new home building: Howard County, IN authorized 138 new housing units in 2023, 194 in 2024 and 106 in 2025 (Building Permits Survey). Commercial work and remodels are not included in those totals.
Permits and Related Pages
Before bidding on work inside Kokomo, IN or leasing a yard, read the Kokomo, Indiana zoning and building permits checklist. Trade-specific detail is on the plumbing and HVAC page; county data is on the Kokomo, IN page, and every trade is listed on the industries page.
By Palmwick Lending · Updated