Cashflow Made Simple: Josh’s Story with Soonr

Construction is an industry where even the best-run businesses can be held back by late payments. For Josh, the biggest pain point has always been clients who don’t pay on time. While many are good, the bad ones create major problems, such as:

• Chasing payments can be exhausting. Josh’s office manager would spend three days every week following up unpaid invoices.
• Debt piles up. Late clients force Josh to carry significant amounts of debt for long periods.
• Cashflow dictated decisions. Every year, Josh’s team plans their finances around expected cashflow, so when this changes, so does the plan.
• People are affected. Contractors and subcontractors become harder to motivate when they aren’t paid on time, creating flow-on effects for performance, retention, and recruitment.
• Opportunities can be missed. At times, the business has to turn down jobs or add strict contract conditions to protect themselves, simply because cashflow can’t keep up.

“Carrying cost is the biggest frustration in business, following the cashflow.”

When your cashflow tightens, the consequences go beyond the balance sheet. The team feels the pinch first. Late payments mean more stress paying contractors, a reluctance to take on more work, and even risks to project delivery.

Josh explains:

“Who wants to go to work when they’re not getting paid?”

The ripple effect on culture, performance, and future of the business is clear. When the team are paid late, morale drops. But when cashflow is strong, the opposite happens. People perform better, want to stick around, and are motivated to deliver quality work.

“If we can take away their fear and their stress, the financial stress of when they're getting paid, they’re going to perform far better for us at work than they’re going to perform in a stressed position.”

Josh needed a finance solution that could help smooth out the bumps when payments were late. Traditional short-term lending options weren’t the answer, interest rates of 14-20% were too costly.

“We’re looking at facilities even now, and the rates you pay are anywhere between 14%-20%. It's insane, and that’s just for short-term lending, just to get us over the bumps while we're waiting for payments to come in.”

That’s where Soonr comes in - a facility with a fixed, monthly fee, giving Josh confidence and control.

With Soonr on his team, Josh can:

• Reduce stress. No more sleepless nights worrying about how to cover payroll when customers pay late
• Pay the team on time. Staff and subbies are happier, more motivated, and more loyal
• Protect growth. The business can now take on more projects without the fear of cashflow bottlenecks

Josh sums it up well:

“Having some secured finance at a known rate where we’re able to tick that box is going to be a big difference.”

“If there’s a facility there that we can make sure they’re getting paid on time when they ask for it, it’s a great result for everyone.”

Josh highlights a reality many construction businesses face: cashflow is the hardest challenge, and late payments can cripple even the fastest-growing company.

With Soonr, Josh has a partner that helps him remove financial stress, supports his team, and allows him to focus on what he does best - building.