Capital for licensed contractors — matched to how your jobs actually pay.
Funding Expansion matches licensed contractors with business-funding options — including working capital, equipment financing, merchant cash advances, invoice factoring, and lines of credit — based on monthly deposits and job-payment timing, not a bank-style tax-return package. Offers vary by funder and qualification. Apply to see options; nothing here is an approval.
Business funding for contractors — a match, not a rubber stamp
Funding Expansion reviews a contractor file and shops it to a network of funders. Some products are working-capital advances. Some are equipment financing. Some are invoice factoring. Some are lines of credit. A merchant cash advance is a purchase of future receivables, not a loan.
Nothing on this website is an approval, a commitment, or a specific commercial-financing offer. If you receive an offer, the official disclosure that comes with that offer is the document that states cost, term, and payment — not this page (California SB 1235 / DFPI).
What we are not
- Not a bank and not an SBA desk
- Not a lender. Expansion Inc is an ISO / marketplace. We match files to third-party funders.
- Not a guarantee that you will be approved
- Not a rate sheet
- Not a walk-in branch (see footer)
Capital products contractors actually use
We match files to product types. The fit depends on why cash is tight — not on which product is advertised as fastest. Every product is subject to qualification. There are no separate product pages on this site; the five structures live here.
Working capital
Working capital is cash used to run jobs — payroll, materials, subs, insurance — when those costs hit before the customer or GC pays. A contractor can be profitable on a job and still be cash-poor in week three: the crew is weekly, the draw is not. A one-job materials float (yard wants COD, first pay app is unpaid) is a different shape than the same gap repeating every month. The repeating version is often a line-of-credit conversation, not a new lump sum. Working capital is not automatically an MCA, and it is the wrong tool for buying a truck. If the business is losing money with no path to a completed, payable job, more capital is often the wrong tool — we will say that on a call.
Equipment financing
Trucks, lifts, trailers, compressors, dumpers, and shop machines belong on an equipment structure when one is available. The asset typically secures the facility and is still useful after this job cycle. Do not treat a short, revenue-based advance as an equipment loan. A truck you will drive for years should not be repaid as a frequent debit against this month's deposits. Equipment financing is also the wrong tool for Friday payroll — that is working capital.
Merchant cash advance
An MCA is typically a purchase of future receivables, not a loan. Repayment is often a share of sales or a scheduled ACH. It can be a speed option when other structures are not available. Daily or frequent debits can be a poor fit for lumpy draws, insurance checks, and retainage — that is a real trade-off, not a footnote. Compare any official disclosure on a specific offer. Do not call an MCA a business loan, and do not use it as the default way to buy a long-lived truck.
Invoice factoring
Factoring advances against invoices you have already billed, when those invoices are eligible. It is not the same as a working-capital lump sum, and it is not an MCA. The advance is tied to a named receivable and to the account debtor — a creditworthy GC or owner — not to "work we hope to bill." Advance rates and reserves vary by funder and by that debtor; we are not publishing a percentage on this page. Retail homeowner and cash jobs usually have nothing a factor can underwrite.
Business line of credit
A line is built for repeating gaps: draw, repay, draw again. Many contractors use it for the gap between jobs rather than stacking one-off advances every time retainage or a slow pay app hits. Availability and draws are subject to qualification. A line you will only redraw and never repay is not a line — it is a stack. If you need a single, defined amount you will not reuse, say that; a working-capital advance may be the closer shape.
Product fit
Use-case only. Cost belongs on a specific offer's disclosure.
| If the problem is… | Product type often discussed | Usually a poor fit when… |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll, materials, or subs due before a draw or customer payment | Working capital | You are buying a long-lived asset, or covering ongoing losses rather than a timing gap |
| The same gap keeps repeating across jobs | Line of credit | You need a single amount you will not redraw |
| A truck, trailer, lift, or shop machine | Equipment financing | You are floating payroll with an equipment product, or buying the truck with a short receivable purchase |
| Slow-paying B2B invoices from a creditworthy customer | Invoice factoring | The work is retail / cash / homeowner and there is no invoice a factor can underwrite |
| Speed matters and other structures are not available on the file | Merchant cash advance (purchase of future receivables — not a loan) | Revenue arrives in a few large, irregular checks that will not line up with frequent debits |
Licensed trades we work with
Each block below is the cash-flow story for that trade — not a chip and not a license-code badge. Listing a trade is not a promise that a program exists for every license or every state. An active license does not guarantee approval.
Roofing contractors (C-39 in California)
Roofing cash flow is a sequence: bid, buy, tear off, pay the crew, wait. Yards often want COD. Labor is weekly. Dump fees do not wait for a supplement. Insurance restorations add adjuster photos, line-item estimates, supplements, and two-party checks — the tarp goes up before the claim is "approved enough to pay." Retail reroofs wait on the homeowner or an HOA. Commercial roofs wait on pay apps and retainage. Storm weeks pile labor, hotel, fuel, and materials into a short window; that is a real working-capital use case, not a special "storm product," and weather is not underwriting. Winter in many California markets slows production while insurance, rent, and a core crew still bill. Working capital or a line is commonly discussed to float the lag. Equipment financing is the usual path for crew trucks and dump trailers. An MCA is a speed option, not the default, because daily debits can collide with lumpy insurance checks. An active C-39 is a license signal, not a CSLB endorsement and not an approval.
HVAC contractors (C-20 in California)
HVAC shops run two calendars. Service calls can look like a register. Change-outs do not: condensers and furnaces are ordered and staged before the install is paid, and the busy season is when the yard wants cash and the crew is already booked. Pre-season inventory — equipment sitting in the shop before the first heat wave or cold snap — is a working-capital problem, not an equipment-financing problem, until you are actually buying a truck, a recovery machine, or a long-lived tool. Warranty callbacks and permit holds delay the last check. A line often fits repeating seasonal swings better than a new lump sum every spring. Do not use a short receivable purchase to buy install equipment you will still own in three years, and do not use equipment financing to cover Friday payroll. An active C-20 does not create an offer.
Electrical contractors (C-10 in California)
Electrical jobs are material-heavy. Copper, panels, gear, and fixtures often leave the supply house before the inspection that unlocks the next draw. Tenant-improvement and commercial work sit on pay apps, retainage, and GC pay-when-paid. Service calls are closer to cash; contract work is not. Permit and inspection delays are timing problems, not proof the job is unprofitable. Working capital is commonly discussed for a defined materials float. A line is the usual conversation when the same retainage pattern repeats. Equipment financing belongs on a van, a bender, or a meter-test kit you will still own later — not on this week's copper. Frequent daily debits against a monthly GC check are a known mismatch. A C-10 number is not an approval.
Plumbing contractors (C-36 in California)
Plumbing splits the same way: emergency service can cash in a day; a repipe, slab leak, or remodel does not. Fixture packages and specialty parts are often COD and sit on the truck before rough-in is billed, let alone paid. New construction follows the GC calendar — draws, inspections, retainage. A water heater, jetter, or camera you will use for years is an equipment conversation. Friday payroll on a three-week remodel is working capital. Do not collapse those into one product. Lumpy construction deposits plus a frequent ACH is a hard fit. An active C-36 is a signal that the company is a real shop. It is not a CSLB endorsement and not a reason this page can say a funder will make an offer.
General contractors (B in California)
General contractors sit in the middle of everyone else's timing. Subs and material yards want weekly money. Owners pay on a draw schedule. Retainage and pay-when-paid hold cash that is already earned. Mobilization — temp power, fencing, first lumber, first sub — happens before the first approved pay app. Change orders sit. Taking a larger job than last quarter's deposits can float is a working-capital question; stacking advances to paper over a thin bid is not. A line is often discussed when the same retainage gap repeats across jobs. Factoring only belongs on a named, creditworthy invoice a factor will take — not on a hope that the owner will sign next month. A B license is not an approval.
Also named here (no separate URL): solar, painting, landscaping, tree service, flooring, concrete, drywall, and other licensed contractor trades. Same rule: a license class is who we work with, not a program promise.
Apply as a licensed contractorWhen contractors usually look for capital
These are timing problems, not proof a funder will make an offer.
- Mobilization — materials and labor before the first draw.
- Payroll between draws — weekly crew, monthly (or slower) payment.
- Insurance and adjuster lag — common in roofing; the crew still starts.
- Retainage and pay-when-paid — money already earned, not yet released.
- Equipment — a truck or machine that should not drain operating cash.
- A slow B2B invoice — factoring may fit; a lump-sum advance may not.
- Growth — a larger job than last quarter's deposits easily float.
- Seasonal inventory — common in HVAC; equipment in the shop before the phones ring is not the same as a guaranteed busy season.
If the business is losing money with no path to a completed, payable job, more capital is often the wrong tool. We will say that on a call.
Talk through the job — 949-776-5333 Send a messageCarlsbad, California — not a fake branch
Funding Expansion is based at 2588 El Camino Real, Suite-F516, Carlsbad, CA 92008. That suite is a mailbox-style address, not a retail storefront. There is no walk-in branch behind the suite number.
We are based in California. Whether we can shop a file in your state depends on the funder. California licensed contractors are a core audience because that is where we are and because CSLB licensing is a clear operating signal. Offers are not limited to San Diego County. An active CSLB license is a trust signal, not an endorsement and not an approval.
Public phone: 949-776-5333
Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. PT
A Carlsbad team that matches files — not a slogan
Funding Expansion is the company behind this page. The longer story — who we are, how we work with licensed contractors, and what we will not claim — lives on our about page. This homepage does not invent years in business, funder counts, or "contractors funded" tiles.
About Funding ExpansionQuestions contractors actually ask
What does Funding Expansion do?
Funding Expansion matches licensed contractors with business-funding options — including working capital, equipment financing, merchant cash advances, invoice factoring, and lines of credit — based on monthly deposits and job-payment timing, not a bank-style tax-return package. Offers vary by funder and qualification. Apply to see options; nothing here is an approval.
Which contractor trades do you work with?
Roofing (C-39), HVAC (C-20), electrical (C-10), plumbing (C-36), and general contractors (B) are the trades this page is written for, along with other licensed trades such as solar, painting, landscaping, tree service, and flooring. An active license is a signal the company is a real shop. It is not an approval and not a CSLB endorsement.
Is a merchant cash advance a loan?
No. An MCA is typically a purchase of future receivables. It is repaid as a share of sales or as a scheduled debit, depending on the funder. It is not a bank loan and it is not the default tool for buying equipment.
What is the difference between working capital and equipment financing?
Working capital floats the job — payroll, materials, subs — until a draw or customer payment lands. Equipment financing is for a truck, trailer, lift, or machine that should not be repaid out of this week's deposits. Mixing them is usually the wrong shape.
How much can a contractor apply for?
Amounts depend on the funder and the file. This page does not publish a range. Nothing here is an offer.
Do I need tax returns or collateral?
Many programs in this category review recent business-bank deposits and operating history rather than a bank-style tax-return package. Some products (especially equipment financing) use collateral. Some do not. Requirements vary by funder. This page cannot say you will skip tax returns or collateral.
Will I be approved?
No public page can tell you that. Qualification is offer-specific. Apply to see options, or call 949-776-5333.
How fast is funding?
Timing varies by product, funder, and how complete the file is. We do not publish a guaranteed clock.
Do you only work with California contractors?
We are based in California. Whether we can shop a file in your state depends on the funder.
Apply to see options
If you hold a contractor license and cash is tight because of how the job pays, start an application. Review is real. Approval is not automatic.
Apply to see options About Funding Expansion 949-776-5333 Send a messageOffers vary by funder and are subject to qualification. Nothing on this page is an approval, a commitment, or a specific financing offer. If you receive an offer, read the official disclosure before you sign. A merchant cash advance is a purchase of future receivables, not a loan.
