Company at a glance
Business name: Summit Air and Mechanical
Owner: Dwayne Taylor
Location: Tennessee
Industry: HVAC installation and service
Time in business: more than 30 years
Average monthly deposits: between 150,000 and 295,000 depending on season
Average daily balance: between 28,000 and 36,000 in peak periods
Personal credit: FICO ranged from the mid 600s to just over 700 across the relationship
The backstory
Summit Air is a veteran contractor that wins large projects while running steady service work. The work is healthy. The cash timing is not always friendly. Payroll, materials, fuel, vans, and warehouse rent come due long before checks arrive. Some clients pay in thirty to forty five days.
The owner spends most days in the field. He prefers quick phone calls and text, often sends statements by fax, and does not use online banking. That matters. Many funders insist on instant verification links that he does not want to set up.
He also had a few specific pressure points:
- A church retrofit where he needed a used work van and upfront materials
- A federal parts change that forced an urgent swap of components in existing inventory
- A townhome development that required staging about 85,000 of mini split systems in a five thousand square foot warehouse at 2,500 per month for roughly six months
Through all of this he still had crews to pay and service calls to cover.
What BusinessFunds dot com did
Funding Specialist: Rick Brazee
Listen first
Rick pulled three months of banks, looked at the pattern of payroll and deposits, and noted average daily balances near 30,000 with monthly deposits in the 150,000 to 295,000 range. The file also showed long time in business and FICO scores that moved between 662 and 704. The issue was timing, not demand.
Build a plan around real life
Instead of a one time lump, Rick set up a mix of flexible working capital and right sized renewals. Draw funds to buy materials or cover payroll when a project kicks off. Pay it down as invoices land. When a new contract hits or an equipment requirement pops up, renew with terms that match the install schedule.
Remove friction
Since the owner does not use online banking, Rick coordinated month to date statements sent directly by the banker to underwriting. When a funder asked for a live confirmation, Rick scheduled a short three way call with the bank officer. That became the repeatable path.
Rick and the team also handled the small things that stall deals. Password resets when a portal login blocked a line draw. A quick explanation when month to date looked light because a six figure reimbursement had not posted yet. A brief pause and reschedule when a snow day shut down jobs or when the owner had a one day surgery.
Stay close and be patient
The notes show voicemail boxes full, call backs from job sites, and texts like call when ready or out of town send today. Rick kept the cadence simple. Short reminders. Clear next steps. No pressure. When the owner was disgruntled about an incumbent offer and wanted lower payments with a longer schedule, Rick steered the conversation to a buyout and restructure rather than stacking debt.
Timeline of key moments
Early relationship
- First working capital and a small line are set up to cover materials and short cash gaps
- Owner learns to request draws and sees that early paydown reduces total cost
Expansion year
- Revenue trends up with months near 197,000, 209,000, and 248,000
- Larger approvals are secured with weekly payments that fit cash inflows
- A bureau record from an old file appears and Rick guides the owner on how to request clarity and keep moving with programs that weight current cash
Project heavy year
- Two large jobs run at the same time with pay terms of thirty to forty five days
- Add ons are timed to delivery dates so storage costs are financed only during staging
- Underwriting wants instant verification and Rick gets it waived by sending month to date directly from the banker and scheduling a short confirmation call
Renewal season
- Personal credit shows in the mid 600s then improves again toward 704
- A renewal pays down the existing balance and sets terms that match the six month townhouse schedule and the parts upgrade mandate
- Owner texts about tapping the remaining twenty thousand available and sends bank statements by fax over the weekend
Recent touch points
- Missed calls are followed by texts and a quick voice message to the office line
- When a competing broker teases one hundred thousand at an unreal payback, Rick calls it out and keeps the owner focused on real offers that match the books
Challenges and how we solved them
No online banking
Many funders require a link the owner does not want to use. We built a repeatable method with month to date sent by the banker and a short confirmation call. Decisions stayed fast without forcing new tech habits.
A day in the field leaves little admin time
Voicemail gets full. Weather delays happen. We worked by text and short emails with a single checklist. When a signature was needed, we timed it to the gaps between job sites.
Old bureau noise
A historic item surfaced. We helped the owner request the record from the bureau and focused on funders that care more about current cash and less about long past noise.
Payment pressure and program fit
When the owner asked for lower payments and longer terms, we compared weekly and monthly flows in plain language and used a mix of flexible capital and scheduled renewals. No stacking. No surprises.
Results
- Projects stayed on schedule
Materials were purchased on time for both the church retrofit and the townhome development. Crews never sat idle. - Cash use matched cash return
Draws were timed to deliveries and installs. Longer terms were used only when staging carried into the next month. - Renewals became easy
Underwriters learned the file, the banker sent month to date without drama, and approvals moved faster each season. - Flexibility was protected
By avoiding unnecessary layers of debt and choosing structures the owner could comfortably service, personal credit and approval options stayed healthy.
In their words
Owner
I am in the field most days. I do not have time for apps and logins. Rick told me exactly what to send and when. When I had to stage about eighty five thousand in mini splits, the funds were ready and my crew kept working.
Funding Specialist
Rick Brazee, BusinessFunds dot com
Contractors do not struggle with demand. They struggle with timing. We listened to when payroll, materials, and checks actually move and we fit funding to that pattern. Finance the next milestone. Renew when the books say go.
What other contractors can copy
- Map your next ninety days on a single page. Materials, payroll, delivery, invoice, expected pay dates.
- Time your bank verification to mornings when deposits have posted.
- If you do not use online banking, ask your banker to email month to date directly and be available for a five minute confirmation call.
- Keep one point of contact so the story stays consistent for underwriters.
Bottom line
Across multiple seasons, Summit Air and Mechanical used flexible working capital and well timed renewals to keep jobs moving, capture supplier discounts, and smooth the gap between delivery and install. BusinessFunds dot com did the heavy lifting with underwriting, worked within the owner’s preferences, and kept funding matched to actual work in the field.
