# Permit lead time

A term used when buying sign.

How long a municipality takes to approve a sign, which sits between the sale and the cash.

A signed order is not revenue until the permit clears, and in some jurisdictions that is months and not weeks, so a strong order book can sit unbilled while the shop pays for materials and labor. It is also a moat: a shop that knows a city's process wins work a competitor prices blind. Ask for the gap between order date and install date by city, because the slow ones tell you where the [working capital](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/working-capital) is trapped.

Part of: Buying a Sign Company (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-sign-company)

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-sign-company/terms/permit-lead-time
Not dated: The same editorial definitions as the glossary, inside a trade.

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt