RAB Builders No Longer Stops Its Biggest Project to Fund Its Smallest

Ruvick runs a construction firm in the province. Materials are often cash on delivery. Labor is paid weekly. Billings arrive months after the work is done. For years, that gap meant pausing his biggest job every time cash ran low.

Ruvick is a contractor. His projects include government work like evacuation centers and gymnasiums, plus private builds. The company sits in the province, far from the Metro Manila lending corridor. That distance shapes everything about how he runs the business, including how he gets paid and how he buys materials.

The model is straightforward. Take the project. Buy the materials. Pay the crew. Deliver. Bill the client. Wait.

The waiting is where it gets hard.

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Before Jia

"Talagang tinitipid na lang namin, ma'am, para aabot na yun sa billing, or kaya maaabotan namin," Ruvick says. "Pero minsan, makakapos talaga."

That is the shape of it. You tighten everything. You stretch what you have until the next billing arrives. And sometimes it is not enough.

"Kasi may mga expenses na unexpected," he says. "Hindi naman talaga walang smooth flowing lang hanggang sa dulo."

Construction does not flow smoothly. Materials get added mid-project. A client asks for a finish that was not in the program of works. Labor gets added to hit a deadline.

"So talagang pahirapan talaga, ma'am," he says. "Honestly speaking lang, hindi naman madali. Lalo na pag magsabay-sabay."

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Cash on delivery, seven-day terms

The supplier side is unforgiving. Hardware stores in the province rarely extend terms.

"Meron din naman kaming mga konting terms lang naman dito, ma'am, yung mga hardware eh," he says. "Seven days or parang ganun. Yung iba nga, hindi nga nagpa-term. So cash on delivery na talaga."

Seven days. Or cash on the counter. Meanwhile the client's billing is weeks or months away.

So what do you do? You find the smallest billing you can collect, and you use it to fund the biggest project you have.

"Dati, ma'am, maghihintay kami ng billing nung isang project," Ruvick says. "Kunyari, meron akong malaki dito, tapos yung sa ibang department, meron akong medyo maliit lang na mga around 300 to 500,000 projects. Binibilisan na lang namin pabilyon para yung fund noon, yung sa billing na maliit, doon, ika-cover up namin doon sa malaki."

Read that again. He would rush a smaller project's billing just to cover the materials for a larger one.

"Maghihintay talaga kami," he says. "So, ma-stop muna yung malaking project namin. Ma-stop talaga ng mga around two to three weeks. So, dito muna kami sa maliit."

Two to three weeks of stopped work on his biggest job. Every cycle. Not because the work was not there. Because the cash was not.

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The evacuation center

One project shows what this costs. Ruvick was building an evacuation center. The program of works covered the basics. Then came the specialized items. Made-to-order stainless steel. Aesthetic paneling. None of it in the original budget.

"Hindi naman namin, hindi part na yun sa program, pero sinasabihan kami, lagyan yun ng ganito," he says. "So, napa-order namin agad, ma'am, napagawa. Kung wala si Jia, ewan ko kung natatapos yun na maaga."

"Kasi mahal-mahal din yun," he says. "Mga specialized made-to-order yun, mga stainless."

Without financing, those materials wait. And when materials wait, the project waits. And when the project waits, the next billing waits.

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What changed

Ruvick started financing with Jia. He uses his receivables to access working capital while waiting for clients to pay. Pending receivables financing works because the money is already owed. The work is done. The invoice is issued. The only question is timing. You pay us once you receive payment from your client, based on your agreed terms.

"Malaking pasalamat din, ma'am, na nakasali ako sa Jia," he says.

The materials problem changed first.

"Pag nung time na yun na nakapasok ako sa Jia, so yung mga materials, madali na lang namin kunin," he says. "Lalo na pag yung binibili namin sa outside dito sa province namin. Like, for example, nag-order din kami dyan sa, from Manila, lalo na pag mga specialized nga materials dun sa Cebu. So, madali namin nakuha within, wala nang one week, ma'am, darating na dito."

"Napabilis talaga yung gawaan namin," he says. "At least, merong nasasandalan."

Within one week, the made-to-order stainless arrived. The evacuation center kept moving.

The bigger change was the pausing. It stopped.

"Sa ngayon, pwede na namin masabay," he says. "Hindi na kasi ako nag-stop. Yung papahintuin namin itong malaki, hindi na. Kasi nakakatulong naman kayo."

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The app versus the bank

Ruvick has borrowed from banks. He describes the difference plainly.

"Kasi kami, lalapit kami ng bangko, nangihiram kami doon," he says. "So paperwork, harap-harapan doon sa managers. So tatakbo pa yan ng mga ilang weeks, or minsan buwan-buwan, ma'am, para maka-fund kami ng para sa project."

Weeks. Sometimes months. In person. With paperwork.

"Pero nung pumasok si Jia sa amin, madali lang," he says. "Nakakatulong kasi yung mga receivables namin, ina-attach namin sa apps ninyo. So madali lang pala."

He admits the first application felt heavy. Then it was not.

"Ang hirap pala mag-apply. Parang susuko na ako, ma'am," he says. "Kasi ang dami pa lang requirements. Pero sa simula pala, yung first step lang, medyo yung pag-submit ng mga documents. Pag yung naka-complete na ako ng start, uy, madali lang pala."

"Kasi hindi naman kami, dito kasi sa province, ma'am, hindi naman kami sanay yung mga ganyan na parang online-online lang," he says. "Kasi dito sa amin talaga, hands-on. Tapos yung mga documents, sinosubmit namin, talagang pupunta talaga kami sa mga offices."

Then he got in. And the process he was wary of became the process he now prefers.

"So pag meron namang receivable, kung may ano ako magkailangan, so lapit lang ako kay Jia," he says. "Alam ko na yung gawain na para makatulong sa project pagpabilis."

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Why Receivables Discounting Philippines Contractors Should Pay Attention

Most invoice financing companies Philippines contractors encounter are either too slow, too expensive, or not set up to handle the provincial reality of construction work. The bank wants a branch visit. The approval takes months. The credit line covers a fraction of what a project actually costs.

Invoice financing for SMEs Philippines contractors can access through Jia looks different. The underwriting is built on the payer and the payment history, not just the borrower's balance sheet. A contractor with lumpy revenue and no collateral doesn't fit a bank's model. But a billing from a government agency or a large private client is a strong asset.

Receivables discounting Philippines options that work for construction have to be fast, because the buying window for materials is short. Seven days, sometimes less. A financing facility that takes two weeks to approve doesn't solve the problem.

That's why the process matters as much as the product.

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What he would tell another contractor

Asked what Jia should improve, Ruvick had nothing.

"Sa akin, wala namang improvement kailangan, ma'am," he says. "Kasi meron nga kayong apps ngayon."

He is already referring other contractors.

"Sabihan ko sila na dito sa Jia, pag ginagawa lang ng mabuti yung trabaho ninyo, tapos may upcoming kayo na receivables, so kompleto lang yung mga licenses ninyo, so pwede kayo dito mag-apply for funding," he says. "Para makakatulong naman while waiting sa mga receivables nyo."

"Basta kompleto lang yung mga papeles ninyo," he says. "So talagang mapapabilis din ang trabaho nila."

That is the whole pitch. Do the work well. Have a real receivable. Keep your papers complete. Get funded while you wait.

If you run a construction firm and you keep pausing big projects to fund them with small ones, talk to us about the billings you are waiting on.

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