Parts have to be on the shelf before a field crew asks for them, and the purchase order often pays later. Apply in five minutes; funding can arrive in as little as 24 hours.
Apply Now →An oilfield equipment supplier or machine shop sells valves, fittings, pump parts, wear items, fabricated components and repair work to service companies and operators. The Permian Basin in West Texas and far southeastern New Mexico is the highest-producing oil field in the United States, with an average of about 4.2 million barrels a day in 2019, and the Eagle Ford formation stretches across much of Texas. Both areas have field crews that need the right part quickly.
A supplier close to those areas lives with a simple rule: if the part is not in stock when the crew calls, the crew buys from someone else.
Because the cash spent to stock the shelf leaves the account long before the customer's payment returns. Three things stack up:
Every one of those steps is a delay between a dollar going out and a dollar coming back.
| Stage | What the supplier has spent | What it has received |
|---|---|---|
| PO accepted | Nothing yet, but stock may need topping up | A promise |
| Parts bought or fabricated | Material, machine time, labor | Nothing |
| Delivered to the yard or site | Freight and handling | Nothing |
| Invoice accepted | All of the above | Payment, on the customer's schedule |
A shop that machines couplings, shafts or custom parts depends on lathes, mills and inspection tools. Down time on a key machine can stall every order behind it.
Bar stock and forgings are bought before cutting, so large orders require large up-front spending.
Machinists are hard to find, and shops keep them on payroll through slow weeks to avoid losing them.
A supplier typically has two kinds of customers. Walk-in and will-call buyers pay at the counter, which is the simple, fast side of the business. Account customers, such as service companies and operators, order larger amounts and pay later. As a supplier grows, the account side grows faster than the counter side, and so does the cash tied up in receivables. Owners who watch the ratio can see a gap coming before it arrives, and decide whether to tighten terms, stock less or bring in working capital.
Warehouse space, forklifts and delivery trucks add to the list. They are part of the cost of being the supplier who has the part today.
For illustration only, with round numbers that are not our terms: a supplier receives a $50,000 order and has to buy $30,000 of stock to fill it. The customer pays weeks after delivery. In the meantime the supplier still has rent, payroll and other orders to fill. Without working capital, it has to choose between filling the big order and keeping the rest of the shelf stocked.
Funding of $25,000 to $5,000,000 is available through a five-minute application that starts with a soft credit pull. Sole proprietors can apply.
Yes. Inventory and parts are common uses of working capital.
Start the application. Sole proprietors can apply, and many small shops begin that way.
Yes. Payroll during receivable gaps is one of the most common reasons for working capital.
Equipment is a permitted use, at the owner's discretion.
As little as 24 hours for approved applications.
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.
Apply Now →It takes about two minutes and it will not affect your credit score.
No obligation • No impact to your credit score
