The crew is paid on Friday; the commercial client pays in thirty days. Working capital fills the space between, and the trick is sizing it to the season rather than to the maximum.
Apply Now →Think of a landscaping year as four cash cycles, not one business. Spring is a spend phase: equipment tune-ups, seasonal hires, first loads of mulch and fertilizer. Summer is the highest billing and the highest payroll. Fall brings cleanups and installs. Winter is thin for mowing and, for many shops, a time to carry fixed costs on a smaller income.
Working capital is useful in the spend phases and the dip. It is much less useful as a permanent replacement for profit.
| Part of the year | What cash goes to | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Early spring | Seasonal crew onboarding, materials, equipment service | Spending ahead of the first full month of billing |
| Summer | Weekly payroll, fuel, subcontractors | Slow-paying commercial accounts holding the cash you already earned |
| Fall | Install materials, leaf and cleanup labor | Project jobs paid in stages while materials are bought at once |
| Winter | Insurance, truck notes, shop rent, maintenance | Lower income against costs that do not stop |
The least comfortable moment for a lawn care company is not the rush, it is the week in winter when mowing has slowed and the insurance bill, truck note and shop rent land together. Owners who plan for this in the fall, by setting aside part of the summer's margin, usually have an easier winter than those who wait for the pinch.
Working capital can be a backstop for that plan, but it works better as a supplement to savings than as the whole answer. Ask what share of the winter shortfall you can cover yourself and what share you would need to borrow. The second number is the one to size a request around.
Landscaping businesses that charge sales tax on taxable services or materials are told by the Comptroller by letter whether they file monthly or quarterly, and the combined state and local rate tops out at 8.25 percent. Employers with staff also owe quarterly unemployment wage reports and taxes by the last day of the month after each quarter ends. Neither of these pauses for a rainy week, so the cash set aside for them needs to survive a slow month.
Use the Comptroller and Texas Workforce Commission sites for your own filing facts; this page is not tax advice.
Funding runs from $25,000 to $5,000,000, with some applicants funded in as little as 24 hours. The application is about five minutes and uses a soft credit pull. Sole proprietors can apply. That is the extent of what we state as our terms; any individual offer will set out its own details, and you should compare it against other options before you accept.
Often early in spring when spending runs ahead of billing, and again in slow winter months when fixed costs continue.
Add up the payroll, materials and tax obligations that fall due before expected payments arrive, and subtract the cash you already hold. That gap is a better ask than the maximum.
No. Working capital covers operating costs. Equipment financing is tied to buying a particular machine or vehicle.
Yes, sole proprietors can apply.
No. Terms vary by offer and are shown in the offer itself.
Three months of business bank statements and a 5-minute application. FICO 500+ considered. $25,000 to $5,000,000, funded in as little as 24 hours.
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