Article
Payment terms on invoices explained (Net 7, Net 14, Net 30)
What invoice payment terms mean and when freelancers should use Due on Receipt, Net 7, Net 14, or Net 30, plus how to set a clear calendar due date.
Short answer: for most freelancers, Net 7 or Net 14 is plenty. Always write the actual date it’s due, not just “Net 14”, save Net 30 for clients whose finance team won’t budge, and get a deposit or milestones agreed if you do end up waiting a month.
Payment terms are the part of the invoice that tells the client when the money is actually due. They sit right next to the total, and they should be impossible to miss. This matters more than it looks, because the moment your terms get vague like “whenever you can”, “no rush”, etc., you have quietly volunteered to become your client’s unpaid lender. The client’s payment team then prioritizes your payment to be paid last amongst the list of other invoices they have. Clear terms are not about being strict, they are about giving the other side a concrete date to act on.
They also shorten the whole payment cycle, which is why they keep coming up in how to get paid faster and cash flow habits for freelancers. Get the terms right and half of your efforts spent on chasing disappears even before it starts.
What “Net” means
“Net” is simply the number of days after the invoice date that full payment is due. That is the whole idea, dressed up in accounting language.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Due on Receipt | Pay as soon as the invoice arrives |
| Net 7 | Due 7 days after the invoice date |
| Net 14 | Due 14 days after the invoice date |
| Net 15 | Due 15 days after the invoice date |
| Net 30 | Due 30 days after the invoice date |
| Net 60 | Due 60 days after the invoice date |
The due date clock starts on the invoice date, not the day the client opens the invoice or the delivery day unless you added that into the agreement. Regardless of the term you add you should always print a calendar due date as well (“Due 12 September 2026”). “Net 14” on its own, buried in the fine print, is far too easy to skim past and sometimes the client would have to put in effort to calculate the due date which can cause errors and delay payment.
Net 15 explained
Net 15 means payment is due 15 days after the invoice date. It lives in the gap between the freelancer friendly Net 7 or Net 14 window and the slower Net 30 corporate default. Some accounts payable teams use Net 15 as their default and for others it is simply a compromise you land on when they refuse Net 7 but you refuse to wait a full month.
For freelancers, Net 15 is a reasonable ask when:
- The client’s process needs roughly two weeks to approve and batch pay
- You want something a touch softer than Net 7 without giving away thirty days
- You are billing mid size companies that already print Net 15 on their POs
Still print the calendar due date. A “Net 15” invoice dated 1 September should also say “Due 16 September 2026”, and it is worth confirming whether they count from the invoice date inclusively, because that one day argument is more common than you would think. If they pay on fixed weekly runs, ask which run your due date needs to hit, so your bill does not miss the batch by a single day and slide another week.
End of month (EOM) terms
EOM (end of month) terms tie the due date to the end of a calendar month rather than to a set number of days from the invoice date. The exact wording varies, which is precisely where people get caught out:
- Net 30 EOM: due 30 days after the end of the month in which the invoice was issued
- Due EOM: due on the last day of the invoice month
- EOM + 15 / Net 15 EOM style variants: due a set number of days after month end
EOM terms can stretch your cash further than a plain Net 30, depending on when in the month you bill. An invoice dated 2nd March on generous EOM terms might not fall due until well into April. Even if a client requires EOM language you need to calculate and print the real calendar due date on every invoice. In order to protect yourself and avoid long payment gaps especially when using EOM terms, you should send invoices to collect deposits before the work is started and/or have payment milestones where the client receives invoices for the amount of work completed. Whatever you do, do not accept a casual “pay EOM” without pinning down which EOM formula they actually mean.
Copy paste payment terms examples
You can drop language like this straight onto the invoice or estimate:
- “Payment due within 14 days of invoice date (Due 22 September 2026).”
- “Due on Receipt. Please pay upon receiving this invoice.”
- “Net 30 from invoice date. Due 8 October 2026. A 40% deposit was invoiced separately at kickoff.”
- “2% discount if paid within 7 days; otherwise Net 14.”
- “2/10 Net 30: 2% discount if paid within 10 days; otherwise payment due within 30 days of invoice date.”
Which terms freelancers should use
Net 7 or Net 14 (default)
For most freelancers and small agencies, Net 7 or Net 14 is the healthy default. It is short enough to keep cash actually moving, but long enough that no reasonable client feels rushed. If you only remember one recommendation from this post, make it this one.
Due on Receipt
Due on Receipt is usually for small, trusted jobs, or situations where the client already expects to pay on the spot, like an event day, small HVAC business fixing issues on the day of, providing lawn services, catering businesses, photography businesses, etc.
Net 30 (corporate reality)
Net 30 is commonly used by corporate accounts payable teams. If your client is a corporate account they usually would require you to have a Net 30 for their smooth functioning. You can accept it for the right client, but do not carry the whole risk yourself, ask for a deposit or bill in milestones so you are not financing an entire project on their timeline.
Net 60
Net 60 is rarely freelancer friendly. You should in almost all cases prefer not to use such a payment term. Unless the work would yield a huge payout, you have the pocket to finance the work and most importantly the client is trustworthy and reliable enough to justify the wait is when you use such payment terms. Otherwise treat it as a red flag rather than a term.
Deposits, milestones, and early pay discounts
Terms are not only about the final due date. A few extra levers change the whole shape of the risk:
Deposit before work starts
A deposit of 30 to 50% before work starts protects your cash flow on new or large jobs, and moreover it acts as a trust test. A client who hesitates to pay a modest deposit is telling you something about how the final invoice is going to go.
Milestone invoices
Milestone invoices spread the risk across a project by billing the client for percentage of work completed or milestones delivered. By implementing this you can fund the future project expenses from client payments rather than you having to finance the whole project. It facilitates the smooth operations of completing the project on time and also prevents losses by not having to rely on one final payment that lands when your leverage is at its lowest.
Early pay discount
An early pay discount can pull money forward benefiting both parties. The classic accounting form is 2/10 Net 30: 2% off if paid within 10 days, otherwise the full amount is due in 30. A freelancer friendly variant is 2% if paid within 7 days, otherwise Net 14. It is better to lose 2% than keep waiting for the money.
If implementing any of these things it is important that you mention them in the agreement or estimate before you start, then mirror them on each invoice. The client should be aware of them and not feel ambushed when the time comes to pay the invoice.
Late fees and reminders
Late fee clause
A modest late fee note (a monthly percentage or flat fee, where it is allowed) is less about actually collecting penalties and more about priority. When a finance team has ten invoices and time for six, the ones with consequences tend to get paid first. Check your local rules before you add one.
Reminder sequence
Pair your terms with a calm reminder sequence: a note on the due date, another a few days later, then a firmer follow up. A sample cadence lives in how to set up and send payment reminders. Using invoice apps like Trueinvoice you can set automatic reminders so the tone stays consistent without you having to remember or rewrite the same slightly awkward email each time. More about this and the wordings used in get paid faster.
How to set terms once and reuse them
Decide your default (say Net 14), implement them in every proposal and invoice you create. Only negotiate longer terms when a client’s process genuinely requires it. Renegotiating terms on every single job quietly teaches clients that everything about you is flexible, including your due dates.
In invoice apps like Trueinvoice, you can set a default due days so every new invoice or estimate you create inherits the right due window automatically. See configure invoice defaults.
FAQ
What does Net 30 mean on an invoice?
Net 30 means payment is due 30 days after the invoice date. Always pair it with an actual calendar due date so there is no ambiguity.
What payment terms should freelancers use?
Net 7 or Net 14 is a strong default for freelancers. Use Net 30 when a client’s accounts payable process requires it. When using Net 30 it is better to protect yourself by asking for a deposit or payment milestones for the percentage of work completed on that invoice.
Is Due on Receipt the same as Net 0?
Effectively yes. Due on Receipt means the client should pay as soon as they receive the invoice. It still helps to show a calendar due date which is often the invoice date itself.
Should I add late fees to my payment terms?
A clear late fee clause can push your invoice up the priority list. Keep it reasonable, state it on the invoice or contract before work starts, and check the eligibility based on where you operate from.