Painters are usually last on site and too often last to be paid. On a new build, your work comes right before handover, which means you’re waiting on the builder’s final claim before your own invoice gets looked at. On strata and commercial repaints, retention and monthly payment cycles stretch things further. Meanwhile paint, wages and access gear are paid as you go. Fast painting business loans help you stop funding everyone else’s cash flow.
Why painters get squeezed on cash flow
Last trade in. On residential builds, painting sits near practical completion. If the builder is waiting on their own final payment, you’re waiting too.
Paint is not cheap. Premium paints, primers, sealers and fillers for a full house or a strata complex add up to a large bill, often on a trade account due at the end of the month.
Access costs. Two storey homes and apartment buildings need scaffold, swing stages or an EWP. That’s weekly hire or a big purchase.
Retention and monthly claims. Commercial and strata jobs often pay monthly, with retention held until defects are cleared.
Wages every week. A crew of three or four painters is a serious weekly commitment, whether or not the claim has been paid.
If slow claims are your main headache, our progress payment gap finance page goes into how a loan bridges them.
What painters use business loans for
- Paint, primers and materials for large jobs
- Airless spray rigs, sanders and extraction gear
- Scaffold, a scissor lift or EWP
- Crew wages while claims or retention are outstanding
- A new van or ute with racking
- Paying an ATO or BAS debt
- Taking on a strata repaint, commercial fitout or multi unit job
Secured finance for painters who own property
If you own a home, an investment property or land with equity, a fast second mortgage is usually the quickest option. It sits behind your existing home loan and doesn’t need financials. A first mortgage suits a property without a loan on it, and a business bridging loan works if you’re waiting on a property to sell or refinance. In Victoria, caveat loans are also on offer.
Bad credit is considered, terms are typically 1 to 12 months and some loans fund in as little as 24 hours.
Unsecured finance for painting businesses
No property? An unsecured cash flow loan may suit painters with an ABN, 6+ months of trading and business bank statements. It’s sized to turnover. See cash flow loans for tradies for how they work.
Clearing an ATO debt
When builders drag their feet, it’s often the tax bill that suffers. A fast loan can clear it and stop penalties building. Our ATO debt loans for tradies page covers the details, and your accountant can help with the tax side.
Upgrading your gear and vehicles
A good spray rig can cut days off a job, and owning a scissor lift means you’re not at the mercy of hire availability. A fast business loan can fund the equipment so you can quote more competitively and finish sooner.
Taking on bigger painting contracts
Strata repaints, school holiday programmes and small commercial jobs can keep a crew busy for months. They also mean big paint orders, extra painters and monthly claims. A fast loan lets you take them on without stretching every account.
Example: a painter waiting on a builder’s final payment
Hypothetical example. A painting contractor in Hobart finishes internal and external painting on three homes for the same builder. The builder pays 45 days after practical completion, the paint supplier wants the account settled, and a strata repaint is due to start next week. She owns her home. A $60,000 second mortgage over three months pays the supplier, funds the strata job’s first month and covers wages. She repays when the builder pays.
What to have ready
- Photo ID and ABN
- Details of the property you’ll use as security
- Business bank statements if you’re applying unsecured
- The job details and how you’ll repay
Key facts: painting business loans
- Borrow: $20,000 to $5 million
- Security: home, investment property, land, or unsecured with 6+ months of trading
- Speed: as little as 24 hours for some property loans
- Term: property secured loans typically 1 to 12 months
- Suits: residential, commercial, strata and industrial painters
- Pricing: every loan is priced on your circumstances, at the sharpest rate available for your situation
These loans are for business purposes. See if you qualify in about 60 seconds and a lending specialist will call you back.
