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A line of credit bridges the gap between doing commercial work and getting paid for it. This is what the banker needs to see before saying yes.

A RocketLevel guide for restoration owners, backed by decades of experience in the trade. About a 7-minute read. General information, not financial or lending advice: DSCR thresholds, advance rates and fees vary by lender, so talk to your banker and accountant before you apply.

Commercial large loss is written on Net-60 or Net-90 terms and often lands later than the terms say, while payroll, rentals, and subcontractors come due in 14 to 30 days. Siteline's 2026 State of Subcontractor Billing Report, a May 2026 survey of 492 construction finance and operations professionals, found 43 percent of subcontractors waiting more than 90 days to collect final payment and retainage. It is the stretch the line has to carry and, as the borrowing-base section below explains, the point where those same receivables drop out of your base.

That timing gap is structural, and a commercial line of credit is the tool built to bridge it. The page on Access to Capital: How to Finance Growth and the Cash-Flow Lag covers why the line exists and when to reach for it. This guide is narrower: it walks you through the actual banker transaction, the file you carry in, the math the bank runs, and how to come out with an approval instead of a polite no.

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Frame the line the way the banker needs to hear it

Walk in framing the line as a tool to bridge receivables on a profitable, growing book, not as a way to survive a slow stretch. Those are two very different conversations to a lender. The first says you have more good work than your cash cycle can carry and you want to fund the gap between billing and collecting. The second says you might not make payroll. Bring the numbers that prove the first story: a book of work that pays, receivables that are real and collectible, and a clear picture of the gap between when you spend and when the carrier pays.

The underwriting file to walk in with

Bankers lend on a file. Have it assembled before the first meeting so you look like the organized operator the loan committee wants to approve. Carry in:

• Three years of business tax returns and three years of personal tax returns. The bank reads both because a small-business line almost always involves you personally.
• A year-to-date profit and loss statement and a balance sheet. Current, reconciled, and consistent with the returns.
• An accounts receivable aging report and an accounts payable aging report. In restoration your accounts receivable (A/R) is often your single biggest asset, and the aging tells the bank whether it is fresh or stale.
• A business debt schedule. Every existing loan and lease, with balances, payments, and terms, so the bank can see what already claims your cash.
• A Personal Financial Statement on Small Business Administration (SBA) Form 413 or the bank's own equivalent. This is your personal balance sheet, and it carries real weight on a small-business line.

Expect a personal guarantee. On a line this size the bank will almost always ask you to personally stand behind it, which means your personal assets are in reach if the business does not pay. On the SBA-backed options further down this page it is not even discretionary: 13 CFR 120.160(a) provides that "holders of at least a 20 percent ownership interest generally must guarantee the loan." That is normal, but know it going in, and ask three questions before you sign: is the guarantee unlimited or capped at a stated dollar figure, is it joint and several with any partner, and what performance would let you have it released later. Ask about release at signing, because lenders rarely raise it first.

The math the bank runs: Debt Service Coverage Ratio

The single number most likely to make or break the decision is the Debt Service Coverage Ratio, or DSCR. It answers one question: does the business throw off enough cash to comfortably cover its debt payments?

The formula is straightforward: