Payment terms that actually get you paid

Net 30 is the default on most invoices, and on most of them nobody chose it. It arrived with the template. Payment terms are one of the few things on an invoice you fully control, and they change how long you wait for money.

What the common terms mean

• Due on receipt. Payable now. Clear, but many finance departments cannot process a payment the day it arrives, so in practice it means “in the next payment run”.
• Net 7, Net 14, Net 30. Payable that many days after the invoice date. The number is a negotiation, not a law.
• Net 30 EOM. Thirty days from the end of the month the invoice falls in. An invoice sent on the 2nd waits nearly sixty days. Read this one carefully before agreeing to it.
• 50% upfront. Half before work starts, half on delivery. The simplest protection on a first engagement.

Put a date, not a duration

“Net 30” asks the reader to do arithmetic and gives them room to do it generously. Due 10 October 2026 does not. Show the date prominently and, if you like, the term in smaller type beside it. When you chase, you are pointing at a date that has passed rather than arguing about when the clock started.

Shorter terms, sent sooner

The gap between finishing work and sending the invoice is time you are financing for free, and it is entirely yours to close. An invoice sent the same day at Net 14 is paid faster than one sent a fortnight later at Net 7, and the client experiences the first as more organised, not more aggressive.

Late fees are leverage, not income

A late payment charge is worth stating because it gives you something to waive. Most of the time you will not enforce it; occasionally saying “I will hold the late fee if this is settled this week” is exactly the nudge that gets the payment approved. State it as a percentage per month and keep it reasonable.

Say how to pay

Bank details, mobile money number, whatever you accept, on the invoice itself. Every email asking how to pay is a delay you created. If a reference is needed for the payment to be matched, say which one, and make it the invoice number.