Contractors (all trades)
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Industry guide
Funding for HVAC contractors
HVAC has two businesses inside it: high-ticket installs where you buy the unit before you are paid, and steady service work that pays by card at the door. The install side is where the cash gaps live, and the shoulder seasons are when they bite.
How the money moves in this trade
On a residential install you typically buy the condenser and air handler from a distributor on terms (often net-30 with a credit limit), pay the crew on Friday, and collect on completion, sometimes through a consumer-financing partner that pays you in days. Commercial work runs on progress billing with retainage. Service revenue is card-heavy and daily. The squeeze: a strong install month uses up distributor credit and payroll before the completion payments land, and the slow shoulder months (spring and fall) arrive right after.
Two worked scenarios
Scenario A: distributor limit maxed in July
A hypothetical contractor has five installs scheduled, $34,000 of equipment to buy, and a distributor limit of $20,000. Options for the $14,000 gap:
| Option | Cost over the gap | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ask the distributor for a temporary limit increase | Usually none | The first call to make; distributors extend limits in season |
| Line of credit draw for 45 days (hypothetical 14% APR + 2% draw fee) | about $522 | Repaid from completion payments |
| Short advance (hypothetical 1.20 factor, 2% fee, 12 weeks) | $3,080 total cost; $1,400/week | Weekly debits continue into the shoulder season |
Scenario B: two new vans and a shoulder-season hire
Vans are equipment: finance them over their life, not from operating cash. The technician hired in September will not be billable until the heating season; a small line sized to two months of salary bridges that, and is repaid in December.
Hypothetical numbers, labeled as illustrations; not quotes.
What fits what
| Need | Usually fits | Usually doesn’t |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment for installs beyond distributor limits | Distributor limit increase; line of credit | Advance repaid through the shoulder season |
| Vans and tools | Equipment financing | Working capital advance |
| Commercial retainage and progress billing | Invoice financing | Fixed daily debits |
| Shoulder-season payroll | Line opened in season | Emergency advance in October |
Questions specific to this trade
- Does my distributor offer seasonal terms or early-pay discounts that beat any financing?
- If I use a consumer-financing partner for homeowners, how fast does it fund me and what is the dealer fee?
- Will a UCC filing from an advance conflict with my distributor’s credit agreement?
- Can the equipment lender include installation tools and ladders in one facility?
Watch for. Daily debits sized on July deposits are the classic HVAC failure in October.
What Fast Mula is and isn't. Fast Mula helps you compare business-funding structures and submit one inquiry. Nothing on this site is an offer, approval, guaranteed rate, or guaranteed timeline. Any funding depends on a provider's own review, and terms vary by state.
Common questions
Can an HVAC startup get equipment financing for a van?
Often yes with a down payment and a clean personal file, because the van secures the loan. Distributor credit for equipment is harder without trade references.
Should I offer homeowner financing?
It can raise close rates on installs and pay you within days, at a dealer fee per job. Compare that fee against the cost of carrying the receivable yourself.
Related
Seasonal financing
Plan the shoulder months.
Equipment financing
Vans and tools.
Plumbing contractors
Service trucks and GC draw schedules.
Electrical contractors
Switchgear deposits, retainage, bonding.
Industry underwriting
Why your trade affects your offer.
HVAC contractors? See what fits your jobs
Tell us about the work, the billing cycle, and the gap.