Phone (319) 422-3298 or complete the request form; Sprucehollow Financial then routes the contractor’s request to funding partners for their decisions.
Equipment financing for machines and trailers, working capital and credit lines for materials, payroll and change orders: matched here to the costs a building or trade contractor carries.
At a glance
- Construction (NAICS 23), Des Moines County, IA
82 employer establishments (CBP 2023)
- Specialty Trade Contractors (NAICS 238), Des Moines County, IA
55 employer establishments (CBP 2023)
- Construction with a ZIP 52601 address
41 employer establishments (ZBP 2023)
- Housing units authorized by permit, Des Moines County, IA
81 in 2025 (Building Permits Survey)
Business loans for contractors in Burlington, IA: material orders ahead of the first draw
A contractor buys lumber, block or wire before the first draw is approved, and a homeowner's job deposit may not cover the whole order. Working capital carries that gap: the money goes to the supplier now and comes back when the draw or the next progress payment clears.
| NAICS code and title | Employer establishments | Fewer than 5 employees |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Construction (incl. heavy and civil engineering) | 82 | 49 (59.8%) |
| 236 Construction of Buildings | 23 | 12 (52.2%) |
| 238 Specialty Trade Contractors | 55 | 35 (63.6%) |
| 2361 Residential Building Construction | 17 | 10 (58.8%) |
| 238220 Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors | 13 | 6 |
The 2023 ZBP count for construction at ZIP 52601 is 41 employer establishments. Separately, Nonemployer Statistics counted 267 construction businesses (NAICS 23) in Des Moines County, IA in 2024 with no paid employees.
Construction business loans in Burlington, IA: scissor lifts, scaffolding and crew payroll
Scissor lifts and scaffolding sets are the access equipment that lets a crew work above the ground floor without renting by the week. Both carry serial numbers or set tags, and both fit an equipment agreement. Crew payroll is the other half of the heading, and the harder one, because it comes due every two weeks whether or not a draw has cleared.
Illustration only, invented figures: a framing contractor carries $11,500 of crew payroll every two weeks and waits 30 days for a draw. Depending on where the first payday falls, 2 or 3 payrolls land inside the wait, which is $23,000 to $34,500 the contractor fronts before the draw arrives.
Contractor financing options in Burlington, IA: equipment trailers and supplier accounts
Contractor financing options line up with what is being paid for:
- A used tilt trailer, financed as titled equipment under equipment financing
- A supplier account on net-30 terms, which is trade credit from the yard rather than a loan
- A working capital advance against a signed contract, for a job that starts before its first draw
- A line of credit for repeated small gaps across several jobs
- A term loan for a single larger purchase, such as buying out a retiring partner's share of the equipment
A partner can combine them. A contractor with a trailer on an equipment agreement can still hold a credit line; the partner can look at the total of the payments against the business's deposits.
Heavy equipment financing in Burlington, IA: compact excavators, augers and bid costs
Heavy equipment covers compact excavators, skid steers with auger attachments for post holes and footings, and the backhoe in this page's title. Bid costs sit next to them: estimating hours, plan sets and bid bond fees that are spent before anyone knows whether the job is won.
Illustration only, invented figures: a used backhoe priced at $68,000 financed for 60 months at 9.25% costs $1,419.83 monthly. Those payments total $85,189.80, including $17,189.80 of interest. A partner may ask for the machine's hours and an inspection before it sets the term.
Builder line of credit in Burlington, IA: concrete saws, mixers and pour schedules
A builder line of credit suits the small, repeated costs of concrete and flatwork: a walk-behind saw, a towable mixer, blades, forms, and the laser level that sets grade on every pour. Ready-mix is paid when it is delivered, and the pour schedule shifts with inspections and site readiness, so the draws on the line move with it.
Each pour on the calendar is a draw on the line, and each customer check that clears brings the balance back down. Interest runs only on the drawn amount, which keeps the cost tied to how much of the line is in use.
General contractor loans in Burlington, IA: tool trailers and change orders
A general contractor carries the costs of everyone on the job. Tool trailers are equipment; change orders are the cash problem, because the extra work is done and the subs are paid before the owner signs off on the added amount.
Residential permits give builders a sense of the pipeline. Building permits issued across Des Moines County, IA covered 81 new privately owned housing units in 2025, up from 55 in 2024 and 51 the year before (Census Building Permits Survey). The 2025 count leaned on multifamily work: 59 units sat in buildings with five or more units, and 19 were single-unit homes.
See the Burlington, IA page for more county and ZIP figures.
By Sprucehollow Financial · Updated
