Bonding capacity remains one of the most misunderstood growth constraints in construction. Contractors often assume that securing a surety bond is primarily a financial exercise; hit the right ratios, submit the right documents, and approval follows. But according to Gary Eastman, President of Swiftbonds and Axcess Surety, that assumption misses the point entirely.
“Sureties are making judgment calls about people, not just numbers,” Eastman explains. “Contractors tend to over-focus on capital while underestimating how closely we evaluate behavior, judgment, and leadership.”
With experience in the surety industry dating back to 2008, a tenure spanning recessions, COVID, labor shortages, and margin pressure, Eastman has watched contractors succeed and fail across every market condition.
The Three C’s: A Framework That’s Often Misapplied
The surety industry evaluates contractors through the Three C’s: Character, Capacity, and Capital. While most contractors understand the importance of financial standing, Eastman notes that character failures end deals faster than any balance sheet issue.
“You can have strong financials and still get declined,” he says. “If there are red flags around how someone conducts business, how they treat subcontractors, how they communicate when problems arise, that tells us more than their working capital ratio.”
On larger or higher-risk projects, sureties will sometimes speak directly with project managers rather than owners to assess whether a contractor truly understands the risks involved. For construction company owners, this should influence how they think about staffing bonded jobs, not just bidding on them.
Documentation: The Silent Deal-Killer
One persistent issue Eastman encounters is poor documentation. What begins as a minor project issue can escalate into a major bond claim simply because contractors fail to maintain adequate records.
“The documentation mistakes contractors keep repeating are preventable,” Eastman observes. “Strong documentation doesn’t just protect you legally, it demonstrates the kind of operational discipline sureties want to see.”
Technology as a Differentiator
Swiftbonds and Axcess Surety have built their operations around technology integration at every stage. From client acquisition through digital channels, to electronic bond fulfillment and ongoing relationship management, the companies have systematized what has traditionally been a paper-heavy process.
Combined with an in-house legal department and decades of experience, this approach allows them to make things easier for clients at every step, particularly contractors navigating bonding requirements for the first time.
Margin Discipline Over Revenue Growth
Perhaps the most counterintuitive insight Eastman offers is that bonding capacity doesn’t grow simply because a contractor wants it to. It grows because a business proves, over time, that it deserves trust.
“Bonded work isn’t about revenue growth,” he notes. “It’s about margin discipline. Sureties want to see that you’re not just chasing bigger projects, but that you’re managing them profitably and responsibly.”
This reframes how contractors should approach growth. Rather than viewing bonding as a checkbox on the path to larger projects, it should be understood as an ongoing relationship built on demonstrated competence.
Swiftbonds has provided bonds for clients completing over a billion dollars in construction projects, supporting jobs and services across the United States. That scale underscores both the importance of the bonding process and the opportunity it represents for contractors ready to meet the standard.
The Bottom Line
For construction company owners looking to increase bonding capacity or move into government work, the message is clear: bonding is personal. Sureties aren’t just reviewing financial statements, they’re evaluating leadership and the kind of partner a contractor will be when projects get difficult.
Strong bonding partners act as advisors, not paper-pushers. The contractors who treat the relationship accordingly are the ones who earn expanded capacity over time.
