Tradie Wage Weeks: LOC & Working Capital Loans to Smooth Staff & Subbie Pay (2025)

Wage week cashflow finance for tradies – Switchboard Finance

Insights · Tradies with crews

For: Tradie bosses with staff & subbies

Wage weeks · Rain days · Cash gaps

Tradie Wage Weeks: LOC & Working Capital Loans to Smooth Staff & Subbie Pay

Invoices monthly, wages weekly. The math never quite lines up.

Once you move beyond solo and start paying wages and subs, “wage week” becomes the most stressful day of the month. This guide builds on Tradie Finance Australia and The Tradie Cash Flow Trap to show how a simple cash plan around wage weeks can protect your Cashflow without you tipping in savings every time it rains.

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Week	Money out	Money in	Cash gap risk
Week 1	Wages, subs, fuel, materials	Small invoices, deposits	Usually okay if last month paid on time
Week 2	Wages + suppliers + PAYG	Maybe one larger payment	ATO and suppliers still want their cut even if clients drag their feet
Week 3	Wages, fuel, repairs	Progress claims and invoices “processing”	Rain days or slow certifiers can push this into negative
Week 4	Wages, super, subs	Couple of big payments finally land	Catch-up week — or the one that tips you into the overdraft
Goal: smooth wage weeks so crew is paid on time, even when clients, certifiers and weather aren’t playing nicely.

Real example: A plumbing business with six staff had solid work and profit on paper, but every second wage week the director was moving money from a personal offset. Once we mapped wage weeks properly, it was obvious the business — not his personal savings — should be covering the gaps.

Why wage weeks hit harder once you hire

When it’s just you and a ute, a slow payer is annoying. Once you’ve got a crew, a slow payer plus a wet week can knock thousands out of your buffer overnight. The crew still wants their pay, fuel still goes in the tank and the ATO still wants PAYG and super on time, no matter what your client is doing.

We see the pattern all the time in 5 Cash Flow Warning Signs and The Tradie Cash Flow Trap: the work is there, but wage weeks are funded from personal savings instead of smart business finance.

• Invoices and progress claims land in lumps, not neat weekly chunks.
• Wet weather and delayed sign-offs push income into next month.
• You end up acting as an interest-free bank for clients and builders.

Real example: A carpentry crew doing townhouse frames had two builders pay late in the same month. Wages, subs and fuel still went out weekly, so the director put $8k of personal savings in just to keep everyone happy — and had nothing left for a ute upgrade.

Using LOC & working capital loans to back wage weeks

The fix isn’t another credit card — it’s a small, boring Business Line of Credit sitting behind wage weeks, plus a short-term Working Capital loan when you know the next few months will be tight. These are the same tools we break down in Business Loans for Tradies and the Business Cashflow System.

We look at your wage pattern, then match limits and terms — not the other way around. A simple Cash Flow Forecast and recent Bank Statements are often enough to structure things properly instead of guessing and hoping the account stays in the black.

How the LOC works week-to-week

• LOC limit sized around 4–6 weeks of fixed wage and fuel costs.
• Draw only when cash is tight in a particular week.
• Clear it as invoices and claims land, so the limit is free again.

Where working capital fits in

• Short lump sum for a known tight period (e.g. hiring two more chippies).
• Fixed repayments spread over the next few months of work.
• Keeps the LOC free for genuine wage-week surprises.

Real example: A South East Melbourne sparky with eight staff set up a modest LOC linked to wage weeks and a small working capital top-up when adding vans. Within three months he’d stopped using personal cards for wages completely.

A simple wage-week ladder for growing tradies

Wage-week stress usually shows up when you jump from “just me” to “me plus three or four on the payroll”. A simple ladder helps you know when to move from surviving on jobs to backing the business properly with finance.

It ties in with the borrowing ranges we outline in How Much Can Tradies Borrow in 2025? and the upgrade paths in the Tradie Upgrade Ladder and Tradie Loan Pack.

Step 1

1–2 staff, utes on finance

Map wage weeks, lock in a small LOC, and make sure your Low Doc Vehicle Finance repayments still leave room for wages and fuel.

Step 2

3–6 staff, subbies + rain days

Add a working capital buffer and keep the LOC for genuine wage-week spikes so you don’t stall gear upgrades or fall into the traps we see in The Tradie Cash Flow Trap.

Step 3

Crew boss with multiple sites

As you grow towards builder-style turnover, we can bolt on invoice finance and bigger limits through the Tradie Hub and Business Owners Finance Hub.

Real example: A concreting crew followed this ladder over 18 months — from sole trader, to four staff, to running two pours a day. Each time they added people or gear, we adjusted the LOC and working capital instead of waiting for a crisis to hit first.

Summary · Tradie wage weeks

Your crew gets paid every week — your finance should match that rhythm

Wage weeks will always show up. The difference is whether they smash your buffer or run off a simple structure built around LOC and working capital. If this sounds like your month, start with the frameworks in Tradie Finance Australia, Cash Flow Warning Signs and the Business Cashflow System.

Quick example: One electrical business in Victoria turned constant wage-week anxiety into a predictable pattern in under a quarter — just by sizing limits properly and plugging into the same cashflow trio we use across the Tradie Hub.

See LOC Options for Tradies Map Your Wage Weeks with Switchboard

Tradie wage weeks — FAQs

Can I set up wage-week finance on a Low Doc basis?

In a lot of cases, yes. If the work is solid and the numbers stack up, a well-structured Low Doc Loan or low doc LOC can work for established tradies with crews, especially when we can clearly see the pipeline of work and wage costs.

Do I need employees, or can this work if I just use subbies?

Both can work. Lenders mainly care that your wage or subbie spend is consistent and that your Turnover supports the limits you’re asking for. Having a mix of employees and subbies is very common in the tradie space.

What paperwork do lenders look at for tradie wage-week LOCs?

Most will focus on recent Bank Statements, ATO position and how your wage and subbie costs track against income. It’s more about real-world cash in and out than a glossy business plan.

How long do I need to be trading before this makes sense?

You’ll usually get the best result once you’ve got at least 6–12 Months Trading behind you as a crew boss. That gives brokers and lenders enough Trading History to size LOC and working capital limits properly.

Will a LOC or working capital loan hurt my future borrowing capacity?

Used properly, it can actually support your Borrowing Capacity because repayments are predictable and wage weeks are under control. It also helps when you’re later applying for bigger utes, trucks or yellow gear like we cover in How Much Can Tradies Borrow in 2025?.

This article is general information only and doesn’t take into account your specific circumstances. Always speak with your accountant or adviser — and check official ATO guidance at ato.gov.au — before making finance or tax decisions.