The crew showed up. The work got done and passed inspection. The invoice went out weeks ago.
And you still haven’t been paid.
If you run a subcontracting business, you know this cycle better than anyone. Payroll is due every Friday whether the general contractor has paid you or not. Materials have to be bought up front. Fuel, equipment rental, and the next job’s deposit all come out of your pocket long before that receivable turns into actual money in the bank. For a lot of Texas subs, the hardest part of the job isn’t the work. It’s the wait.
That wait is exactly what invoice factoring for construction subcontractors is built to fix.
Why Subcontractors Wait Longer Than Almost Anyone
Construction has a payment problem that most industries don’t. You sit at the bottom of a long chain.
You can’t bill until you’ve hit a milestone or the billing cycle closes, often the 25th of the month. Then the general contractor bundles your invoice with everyone else’s and sends it up to the owner. The owner takes 30, 60, sometimes 90 days to pay the GC. And plenty of contracts include a “pay-when-paid” clause, which means the GC doesn’t cut your check until that money comes down the line. Add retainage on top of it, where 5 or 10 percent of every invoice gets held back until the whole project closes out, and a real chunk of what you’ve earned can sit locked up for months.
None of that stops your bills from coming due.
So you float it. You dip into savings, run up the company card, or pass on the next job because the cash to staff it is tied up in work you’ve already finished. Turning down good work because you’re waiting to get paid for good work already done. That’s the trap.
How Construction Factoring Actually Works
Factoring is simple, and it isn’t a loan. You’re not borrowing against your business or putting up collateral. You’re selling an invoice you’ve already earned.
Here’s the process at K.W. Receivables:
- You submit the invoice. Once the work is complete or the milestone is billed, you send us the invoice through our free online tools.
- You get cash right away. We purchase that receivable and put funds in your hands, instead of you waiting a month or more for the GC to pay.
- We handle the collection. We manage getting paid on the invoices we buy from you, and we check the creditworthiness of your customers up front. Their ability to pay is our concern, not yours.
That last point matters more than it sounds. We look at the strength of who owes the money, not just your credit history. A newer subcontractor with a solid GC on the other end of the invoice is in good shape with us, even if the bank already said no.
Your Lien Rights Are Real. They Also Take Time.
Texas gives subcontractors strong lien rights, and you should protect them. But anyone who has actually filed knows the truth: the notice deadlines are strict and easy to miss, the paperwork is unforgiving, and going down that road can put you at odds with a general contractor you’d like to work with again next year.
A lien is leverage. It is not cash in your account this week.
Factoring is the quieter option. You get paid now, you keep the relationship intact, and you keep your lien rights in your back pocket where they belong. For most subs, that’s the trade they actually want.
Why Texas Subcontractors Work With K.W. Receivables
We’ve been doing this since 1991, right here in the Houston area, and we understand how Texas construction gets paid. When you call, a real person answers. No voicemail maze, no far-off call center that has never heard of a fund-trapping notice or a draw schedule.
A few things that set us apart:
- One flat, fixed fee off the face value of the invoice. You know your cost before you sign anything.
- No hidden charges. No application fees, no account maintenance fees, no termination fees, no minimum-volume penalties.
- No long-term contract. You factor the invoices you choose, when you choose. You’re never locked in.
- We’re family owned. You deal directly with the people who make the decisions, and we move fast.
Point is, you did the work. You shouldn’t have to wait three months and float everyone else’s cash flow to see the money.
If slow-paying general contractors are holding your business back, let’s talk. Call K.W. Receivables at (281) 446-5444, or apply online and get a straight answer fast.