Winning bigger jobs is how a contractor grows — and it is also how contractors get into trouble. A job twice your usual size means roughly twice the payroll, materials, and insurance carried before the first payment application is approved. Before you bid up, size your working capital honestly.
Many surety companies want to see working capital equal to 5–10% of your total backlog before they will bond you for it. That underwriting instinct is worth borrowing even on unbonded work: if a project will carry $300,000 in costs before your first draw, you want access to at least that much between cash and available credit — not because you will use all of it, but because weather, change orders, and slow approvals are certainties, not risks.
Materials suppliers will extend terms; your crew will not. Payroll is weekly, immovable, and the first thing that damages your business if missed. When you model a new job, map the payroll outlay week by week against the realistic payment schedule — including the 2–4 weeks it takes a GC or owner to process a pay application.
Grow your capital access before you grow your backlog. The contractors who scale smoothly are rarely the ones with the most cash — they are the ones who arranged financing while they still looked like a small, safe bet.
