Your Fit: Dealer-Fee / Direct-Pay Financing
Your answers point toward a dealer-fee or direct-pay program: your jobs start fast, and speed plus direct contractor payment may be worth the fee.
Why this result
This result appears when jobs start same-day or next-day, when waiting on homeowner funding isn't realistic, or when promotional programs are central to how you sell. This is not a failed result — it's a different tool for a different workflow.
How the money flows
Homeowner applies at the point of sale → approvals are often advertised as same-day → you're authorized to start → the lender pays you directly — in many programs after the job is complete and the homeowner signs off → a dealer fee is deducted from the project.
Main advantages
- [✓] Same-day approvals fit emergency and fast-turnaround work
- [✓] Lender pays the contractor directly — no homeowner-held funds
- [✓] Value-heavy promotional programs (the fee is what funds them)
Main limitations
- [▵] The dealer fee is charged on revenue but comes out of profit — run the calculator on your real margin
- [▵] Payment in many programs waits on completion and sign-off — plan cash flow accordingly
- [▵] Single-lender credit boxes may decline homeowners a marketplace would match
When this model is the wrong tool
- [✗] Thin margins on large scheduled projects where the fee bites hardest
- [✗] A sales process built around deposits and progress draws
Questions to ask before you sign anything
- What is the exact dealer fee for each promotional plan, in writing?
- Exactly when am I paid — staged, at completion, or after sign-off?
- What happens if the homeowner disputes completion?
- What credit range does the program approve?
- Can I pass any portion of the fee through pricing under the program rules and my state's law?
Recommended next step
Before joining, run your average job through the dealer-fee calculator and get the fee schedule and payment timing in writing.
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Related guides
- Dealer-Fee Cost Calculator
- Same-Day Contractor Financing: What Speed Costs
- Dealer Fees vs. No Dealer Fees
This fit result is educational only. It is not financial, legal, accounting, or lending advice, and it is not a loan offer or approval. How results are scored: our methodology.