Pool contractor funding at a glance

The key facts for a pool builder or service company owner, in one table.

Why pool contractors need funding

The pool trade has two business models. Builders run on large, staged jobs. Service companies run on small, recurring bills. Both have cash gaps, for different reasons.

Builders spend ahead of every draw

A pool contract is paid in stages: a deposit, then payments at excavation, steel and plumbing, shell, tile and coping, decking, equipment and interior finish. Each stage must be finished, and often inspected, before the draw is due. The builder has already paid the excavator, the steel crew, the concrete supplier and the plumber to get there. With several pools in the ground at once, the money out can run far ahead of the money in.

Delays hold the money

Rain stops a dig. A permit or inspection slips a week. A homeowner changes the tile. Each delay pushes the next draw while crew payroll and supplier bills keep coming. Final payments are often held until punch-list items are closed.

The season is short in much of the country

In colder states, contracts are signed in late winter, work peaks in spring and summer and the phones go quiet in late fall. Builders buy materials and add crews before the season’s cash arrives. In the Sun Belt the work is steadier, but summer storms and winter slowdowns still move the numbers.

Service grows by routes

The Pool & Hot Tub Alliance has put the number of residential pools in the United States at approximately 10.4 million. Every one needs chemicals, cleaning and repairs. A service company adds revenue by adding a technician, a vehicle and a route of accounts, often by buying accounts from another operator. The cost comes first and the monthly billing follows.

What pool contractor funding is used for

Pool contractors typically use funding for the following.

• Materials. Steel, concrete, plumbing, tile, coping, pavers, and pumps, filters and heaters.
• Subcontractors. Excavation, shell, electrical, decking and plaster crews that expect payment on completion.
• Payroll. Crews and technicians through weather delays and between draws. See payroll funding.
• Equipment. Excavators, skid steers, plaster and shotcrete rigs, trailers and service vehicles used as tools of the trade.
• Pre-season stock. Chemicals, parts and equipment bought in bulk before spring.
• Service route growth. Buying accounts, equipping a vehicle and hiring a technician.
• Renovation work. Resurfacing and remodel jobs that need materials before the customer pays.

Funding options and which fits which need

A gap between draws is short. An excavator works for years. Use a product that fits each.

Builders with a signed contract and spending due before the first draw can also look at contract bridge funding. Commercial pool contractors that invoice on terms can consider accounts receivable financing.

How lenders look at a pool contractor

Lenders in the network read a pool contractor through its bank statements and its calendar.

• Deposits. Builders show a few large deposits each month. Service companies show many small ones. Lenders look at monthly totals and how they repeat.
• Seasonality. A winter dip is expected in cold-weather markets. A prior-year summary showing the same pattern helps.
• Work in progress. Signed contracts and the draws still to come show where the next deposits will come from.
• Recurring revenue. Monthly service billing is steady and predictable. Lenders like to see it, even at a builder.
• Existing obligations. Equipment payments and any current advances are counted against deposits.

Apply while deposits are strong. A file sent in midsummer usually reads better than one sent in January.

Who qualifies

Our programs are built for established businesses: most clients have 1+ year in business and $20,000+ in monthly revenue. A builder with pools under contract, or a service company with a full route, usually fits.

The two models qualify on different strengths. A builder’s statements show a few large draw deposits a month, so lenders want to see that jobs finish and draws keep arriving, backed by a pipeline of signed contracts. A service company’s statements show many small payments, and the strength is how little they change from month to month. Companies that do both, build and maintain, often present the best file, because service billing fills the valleys between draws. Lenders decide on their own terms and no approval is automatic. For a large expansion with an SBA loan, the program is built for businesses with 2+ years in business and $250,000+ in annual revenue shown on two years of business tax returns. See how much funding a business can qualify for.

What to have ready

Bring the standard documents and the paperwork that shows what is coming next.

• A short application.
• The last 3 months of business bank statements (4 months in California, New York and Virginia).
• The legal business name and EIN.
• A photo ID for the owner.
• A job list with each contract’s draw schedule: what has been billed and what remains.
• Supplier and subcontractor bills now due.
• A count of recurring service accounts and total monthly billing.
• The dealer quote for equipment, or the seller’s account list for a route purchase.

Use statements from the company’s business account. Personal bank statements do not count. More in business bank statements for a loan.

Example scenarios

These examples are illustrative. They are not actual RAN Funding clients.

Six pools in the ground

Picture a builder with six pools under construction after a strong sales season. Two weeks of rain stall four of them just short of a draw. Supplier and subcontractor bills are due. The owner uses working capital to pay them and repays as the stages are completed and billed.

The spring ramp

Picture a builder in a cold-weather state with a full book of spring contracts and a thin winter bank balance. A business line of credit opened in the fall, while deposits were strong, pays for early materials and crew recalls.

The route purchase

Picture a service company offered 90 accounts from a retiring operator. A Business Term Loan funds the purchase and equipment financing covers a second service vehicle.

What it costs

There is no pricing on this page. What an offer costs depends on the product, the lender, the term and the contractor’s file. You see it all in writing first.

Faster funding usually costs more in total than bank financing. A pool builder should compare that with the cost of a stalled job. A shell crew that is not paid moves to another builder’s schedule, and getting back on it can take weeks. A pool that sits half-finished in a backyard produces an unhappy customer, a delayed final payment and lost referrals in the neighborhood. In a short season, a lost month does not come back. Put those next to the total amount repaid and the term.

The cost of money belongs in the job budget. If a job works only when every draw lands on time, the price is too thin. When you can plan months ahead, an SBA loan usually costs less in total. Check a payment against slow-season deposits with our calculators.

Mistakes to avoid

• Using one job’s deposit to finish another. It works until a draw slips. Fund the gap directly.
• Applying in the dead of winter. Open a line while statements are strong.
• Front-loading too many digs. Each new excavation adds weeks of spending before its draws.
• Buying a route without checking the accounts. Confirm billing history and expect some customers to leave.
• Carrying summer-sized payments into winter. Size any payment to off-season deposits, not peak ones. See why applications get declined.

How RAN Funding works

RAN Funding is a business financing company, not a bank. A pool contractor fills out one application for our lender network and works with one dedicated specialist.

1. Send the file. Application, business bank statements and your job list with draw schedules.
2. We map the draws. Your specialist shows lenders which payments are coming and when, and where the season stands.
3. Lenders decide. Decisions come in hours on complete files.
4. You choose. We go over the total amount repaid and the term, and how payments sit against the off season. Funds arrive in as little as 24–48 hours once approved, in time to keep crews on the job.

Call 1-877-522-6045, Monday–Friday 9am–6pm ET.

Common questions