Quarryfield Capital Group, a small-business funding broker in Hillsboro, Oregon, arranges equipment financing, working capital and credit lines for general contractors and specialty trades through lending partners. The 2023 Census count put 1,826 construction employers in Washington County, Oregon. Partners review contracts, bank statements and equipment quotes, make credit decisions and set rates and terms.
| Construction employers, county | 1,826 (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Under five employees | 1,141, or 62.5% |
| Specialty trade contractors | 1,081 establishments |
| Building contractors | 689 establishments |
| Construction businesses without employees | 2,420 (NES 2024) |
| Common structures | Machine financing, short-term cash, revolving lines |
How many builders and trades Washington County, OR counts
Washington County, Oregon had 1,826 construction employer establishments in 2023, employing 18,831 people with an annual payroll of about $1.57 billion (County Business Patterns 2023). Specialty trade contractors such as electricians, plumbers, framers and finishers made up 1,081 of them, with 13,637 employees. Building contractors accounted for 689.
Most are small. 1,141 construction establishments, or 62.5%, had fewer than five employees, and among building contractors the share was 73.3%. Separately, 2,420 construction businesses in the county had no paid employees at all in 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics 2024).
Equipment: the most frequent request
Compact excavators, skid steers, trailers, lifts and service vans are the backbone of a trade business. Equipment financing uses the machine itself as collateral, which often makes it the most accessible structure for a small contractor. Used equipment can be financed too, with partners looking closely at hours and condition.
Match the term to the asset's working life. A trailer you will run for ten years can sit on a longer schedule than a tablet-based estimating system you will replace in three.
Payroll before the draw arrives
A new contract often means a bigger crew before the first progress payment. Wages go out weekly; the draw comes after the work is inspected and the invoice is approved. Working capital or a revolving line covers that gap, and the length of the gap should set the length of the funding.
Our post on funding payroll before a contractor's first draw works through that situation step by step, including the cautions that come with using a merchant cash advance for wages.
Specialty trades and general builders are funded differently
The two halves of the sector look different in the 2023 counts. Washington County's 1,081 specialty trade contractors averaged about 12.6 employees each and carried about $1.13 billion in annual payroll, while its 689 building contractors averaged about 5.9 employees and $313.2 million in payroll (our arithmetic from County Business Patterns 2023). Nonemployer counts for 2024 show the same split from the other side: 1,460 specialty trade businesses and 942 building contractors with no payroll at all.
A specialty trade with a dozen people on the payroll feels a late draw in wages first, so a revolving line or working capital is often the first conversation. A small general builder is more likely to be asking about a machine, a trailer or the gap between paying subcontractors and being paid by the owner.
Retainage and slow-paying general contractors
Subcontractors often wait twice: once for the progress payment, and again for the retained portion held back until the project is complete. That retained money can sit unpaid for months after the crew has moved on. Partners will want to see the contract terms on retainage, because it affects how quickly any funding can be paid back.
When a single general contractor accounts for most of a subcontractor's receivables, partners also weigh the risk of that one customer paying late. Spreading work across several customers makes a file easier to fund.
A hypothetical payroll bridge
Consider a hypothetical framing subcontractor, used only to show the timing: the crew is paid every Friday, the first draw on a new contract is expected about six weeks after work starts, and retainage is held until completion. The funding question is not how much the job is worth but how many payrolls fall before the draw clears, and whether the draw, net of retainage, covers them. Sizing a bridge to that count, rather than to the contract value, keeps the payment schedule realistic.
Building permits as one signal
New housing units authorized by building permits in Washington County, OR were 2,660 in 2023, 2,273 in 2024 and 1,886 in 2025 (Census Building Permits Survey). In 2025, 1,646 were single-family units. Contractors who work mainly in new residential construction may want to keep that trend in mind when sizing equipment purchases.
Owners searching for Hillsboro building permit applications and lookups are usually checking a project's status; a permit record can also help show a partner that a contract is real. Our Hillsboro, OR page links to the city's website.
Construction funding options compared
| Need | Usual structure | What partners look at |
|---|---|---|
| A machine, trailer or van | Equipment financing or lease | Dealer quote, machine age, deposits |
| Payroll before a draw | Short-term cash or a revolving line | Contract, draw schedule, deposits |
| Materials ordered ahead | Line of credit | Deposits, receivables, credit history |
| A shop or yard improvement | Term loan | Tax returns, cash flow, estimate |
What partners look for in a contractor file
- Signed contracts and the draw or payment schedule.
- Bank statements long enough to show how draws land.
- Receivables aging, if invoices are outstanding.
- Equipment quotes, for equipment requests.
- Entity status and any license records partners ask about.
Contractor licensing and bonding questions are outside what we cover; check them with the appropriate state and local offices.
Contractors without employees
Owner-operators make up a large share of the trades. For a business with no payroll, partners lean heavily on bank deposits and the owner's credit, and equipment financing is usually the first door to try. The sector overview shows how construction compares with the county's other confirmed sectors.
By Quarryfield Capital Group · Updated