Fieldcroft Business Capital, a small-business funding broker in Great Falls, Montana, arranges equipment financing, working capital and credit lines for contractors and specialty trades through lending partners. In 2023 Cascade County, MT counted 290 construction employer establishments. Partners review each request, decide, and set rates and terms.
| Construction employers, county | 290 (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Under five employees | 195, or 67.2% |
| Specialty trade contractors | 176 establishments |
| Building contractors | 100 establishments |
| Owner-only construction businesses | 669 (NES 2024) |
| Usual structures | Equipment, working capital, line of credit |
Builders and trades across Cascade County, MT: the Census counts
Cascade County, MT had 290 construction employer establishments in 2023, with 1,689 employees in the March pay period and $129.3 million in annual payroll (County Business Patterns 2023). Of those 290, 195 (67.2%) had fewer than five employees, a higher small-firm share than the county's 50.6% across all sectors.
| Subsector | Establishments | Employees | Annual payroll | Fewer than 5 employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction, all (NAICS 23) | 290 | 1,689 | $129.3 million | 67.2% |
| Building construction (236) | 100 | 328 | $23.9 million | 79.0% |
| Specialty trade contractors (238) | 176 | 1,284 | $98.7 million | 61.4% |
Separately, the county had 669 construction businesses with no employees in 2024, 440 of them specialty trades, with $56.6 million in combined receipts (Nonemployer Statistics 2024). Those figures come from a different program and year and are not added to the employer counts.
Equipment: the most common contractor request
Compact excavators, skid steers, mini loaders, trailers, compressors and service trucks are the usual asks. Equipment financing lets the machine secure the deal, which often makes it easier to place than unsecured funding. For a one-person outfit buying its first larger machine, a dealer quote and a few months of bank statements are the starting point.
Rent-or-buy is a fair question. If a machine sits on your jobs most weeks, a payment can cost less than repeated rentals; if it is needed twice a season, renting may still win. Our post on buying equipment for a Great Falls, MT business walks through loan, lease and cash.
Payroll between draws
Specialty trade contractors in the county paid $98.7 million in payroll in 2023. Wages go out every week, but progress payments arrive after inspection and approval, sometimes with retainage held back to the end. Working capital covers a single gap; a line of credit suits a contractor who runs several jobs at different stages.
Before taking either, map the draw schedule against payroll. Funding sized to the real gap costs less than funding sized to a round number.
Building permits and residential work
Cascade County, MT authorized 253 new privately owned housing units in 2025, 223 in 2024 and 151 in 2023 (Census Building Permits Survey). In 2025, 153 units were single-family homes and 76 were in buildings of five or more units. Residential permits are not the whole construction market, since commercial, remodel and public work do not appear in them, but the trend matters to framers, electricians, plumbers and finish trades.
Building permit requirements themselves are set by the city, the county and the state, and they are outside what we advise on.
Construction structures compared
| Need | Structure that usually fits | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| A machine or truck | Equipment loan or lease | End-of-lease buyout cost |
| Wages before a draw | Working capital | Payment schedule longer than the gap |
| Several jobs at once | Line of credit | A drawn balance stuck at the limit |
| Shop or yard expansion | Term loan | Collateral and personal signatures |
| Urgent cash, card sales | Advance against receipts (not a loan) | Total remittance and daily debits |
What partners look at for contractors
- Bank statements showing deposits from draws and customer payments
- A work-in-progress or job list, and signed contracts for larger requests
- Equipment quotes with make, model, year and hours
- Existing equipment liens and UCC filings
- The entity's standing with the Montana Secretary of State
Agriculture and trucking work fall outside what we arrange, even when a contractor does some of each. The county figures page shows how construction compares with other sectors, and the industries overview lists the rest.
Contractors without employees
The county's 669 nonemployer construction businesses in 2024 had $56.6 million in combined receipts (Nonemployer Statistics 2024). For a one-person outfit, the first equipment purchase or the first hire is often the first time a partner looks at the business. Clean bank statements that separate business and personal money, a current entity record, and a dealer quote make that first request far easier to place.
A note on residential versus commercial work
Partners read construction businesses differently depending on the customer. A remodeler paid by homeowners in installments has a different cash cycle from a subcontractor paid by a general contractor on a monthly draw. Tell us which pattern describes most of your revenue; it changes which structures are worth asking for.
By Fieldcroft Business Capital · Updated