Invoice Payment Terms Explained: Due on Receipt, Net 15, and Net 30
Payment terms are the sentence on an invoice that says when the money is due. Due on Receipt means pay when the invoice arrives; Net 15 means pay within 15 calendar days of the invoice date; Net 30 means within 30. The code alone is not enough — print the actual due date beside it, because a date is what a customer puts in a diary. FreeInvoices prints the due date you set and never invents terms you did not agree.
The three terms you will actually use
| Term | What it means | Invoice Nov 6 is due |
|---|---|---|
| Due on Receipt | Payment is due when the customer receives the invoice | Nov 6 — on arrival |
| Net 7 | Pay within 7 calendar days of the invoice date | Nov 13 |
| Net 15 | Pay within 15 calendar days of the invoice date | Nov 21 |
| Net 30 | Pay within 30 calendar days of the invoice date | Dec 6 |
Days are calendar days, not business days, unless your agreement says otherwise — that is the standard reading of Net terms in most commercial practice, and the reason a Net 30 invoice issued just before a holiday month can feel much longer than a month of workdays. If you count differently, say so in words on the agreement, not just on the invoice. And note what the count starts from: the invoice date, not the service date and not the day the customer happens to open the e-mail. Invoice date vs. service date vs. due date separates the three dates with a worked timeline.
Requesting terms is not the same as agreeing them
This is the part most guides skip. Printing Net 15 on an invoice for work that was agreed with no terms at all is a request, not a contract term the customer accepted in advance. In practice it still works most of the time — a clear due date on a professional document is a strong nudge, and most customers pay to the date printed. But if a payment is ever disputed, the terms that carry weight are the ones agreed before the work started: in the quote, the e-mail thread, or the signed agreement. The professional habit takes one sentence up front — “Invoices are Net 15 from the invoice date” in your quote — and then the invoice simply repeats what was already agreed.
What to print: the code and the date
- Always print a calendar due date. “Due: Friday, November 21” needs no decoding. “Net 15” alone makes every reader do arithmetic, and some will do it from the wrong start date.
- Keep the code as the second signal. “Payment terms: Net 15 — due Nov 21” serves both the accounts system (which files by term) and the human (who files by date).
- Name how to pay in the same breath. Terms say when; the notes should say how — bank transfer details or the payment method agreed, plus the invoice number as the reference. A willing customer who cannot find the account details is a late payment you caused.
- Match the invoice to the agreement. If you quoted Net 30, do not invoice Due on Receipt because cash is tight this month. Changing terms on the document after the deal is how trust — and repeat work — ends.
Choosing terms that fit the work
There is no universally correct term — there is a term that fits the size of the job, the relationship, and your own bills. Due on Receipt suits small, one-off jobs for new customers, where the work is already delivered and there is no ongoing relationship to protect. Net 15 is the working default for most freelancers and small operators: long enough for a customer to process, short enough that a problem surfaces while the job is still fresh. Net 30 is standard with larger organizations whose payment runs are monthly — expect it, plan cash flow around it, and do not read it as disrespect. What matters more than the number is consistency: the same terms, agreed the same way, printed the same way, so your payment log can tell you at a glance which invoices are actually late rather than merely unpaid.
Late fees and discounts: only if agreed first
Two common additions deserve the same honesty rule. A late fee you never mentioned before the work is, in many places, unenforceable and everywhere relationship-expensive; if you charge one, it belongs in the upfront agreement with its rate and start date. An early-payment discount (written “2/10 Net 30” — 2% off if paid within 10 days, otherwise Net 30) is a legitimate tool for large invoices, but do the arithmetic first: 2% to be paid 20 days early is an expensive way to borrow your own money. Neither belongs on an invoice as a surprise. The invoice checklist shows where terms sit among the other essential fields.
- Cost: 100% free; no paid plans.
- Registration: no signup or account required.
- Output: download a PDF invoice without a watermark.
- Due dates: you set the date; the maker prints it and never invents terms.
Set the terms on your next document deliberately: agree them in the quote, then open the maker, set the due date to match, and write the term and the date in the notes exactly as agreed.