How a construction firm settles big tax bills and keeps suppliers paid on time

How a fast-growing construction materials, waste and contracting group uses Bluechain to settle large HMRC tax bills and pay key material and plant suppliers on card, without pulling cash out of the business before it's ready.

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Construction

Construction materials and contracting group, North of England.

A fast-growing construction materials, waste and contracting group.

A growing group operating from four depots across the North of England, supplying materials, handling waste and delivering contracts. Its biggest cash calls are HMRC tax bills and up-front payments to the material and plant suppliers that keep its sites moving.

Construction
Business size: Four depots
Uses: Pay by card, on a Mastercard commercial card

100%

of HMRC and supplier payments made in full and on time

7-figure

tax bills settled without dipping into cash reserves

One platform for tax and supply-chain payments, with no loan applications and no security needed.

Construction workers doing earthworks with wheel loader and rubble truck

The challenge

Big, lumpy cash calls.

Operating across four depots, the group faces some of the largest, lumpiest cash calls in the business: six and seven-figure HMRC tax bills, and big up-front payments to the aggregate, cement and plant suppliers that keep sites moving, often well before that material is sold on or a project is invoiced. Meeting both in full and on time, without starving the business of the cash it needs to grow, was a constant balancing act.

The solution

Tax and suppliers paid on card.

Large HMRC tax bills are now paid through Bluechain on a Mastercard commercial card instead of straight from the bank, and materials and plant suppliers, including aggregates, cement and plant hire, are paid the same way. HMRC and suppliers are paid in full and on time, and the group settles its card on its own statement cycle, once materials are sold through or projects are invoiced.

Director, construction materials group.

“

Our tax bills and supplier payments used to mean pulling cash out of the business exactly when we needed it for growth. With Bluechain, we settle HMRC and pay our key suppliers on card, and that cash doesn't leave until our own statement's due, so we can keep investing in fleet, depots and new contracts with confidence.

The impact

Cash free to fund growth.

Six and seven-figure tax bills are settled without dipping into working capital, and suppliers are paid on time, keeping materials and plant moving onto site. Cash stays available to fund growth, from new depots and fleet to new contracts, and the finance team runs tax and supply-chain payments from one platform instead of juggling separate arrangements.