Net 15 vs Net 30 vs Due on Receipt: which is right for you?
Your payment terms set the rhythm of your cash flow. Here's how to pick the right terms for your work, your clients, and your bank balance.
Your payment terms aren't just a formality in the footer. They're a cash flow decision you make once and live with every month.
What these terms actually mean
Due on Receipt means the client owes you the moment the invoice lands in their inbox. No grace period, no ambiguity.
Net 15 gives them 15 calendar days from the invoice date.
Net 30 gives them 30 days.
The difference sounds small until you're a freelance designer who invoiced a €4,800 logo project on the 3rd and needs to cover software subscriptions, contractor payments, and a tax instalment on the 28th. A 12-day slip on a Net 30 invoice isn't a minor inconvenience. It's a shortfall.
When Due on Receipt makes sense
Due on Receipt works best when the power balance is in your favour or the engagement is short and transactional.
Good fits:
- Small, fast-turnaround projects (a €400 social media asset pack, a single-page brochure)
- Clients you've worked with repeatedly who always pay fast
- Situations where the deliverable is fully in your hands until payment (a digital file, an unlocked font licence)
Where it backfires: Enterprise or corporate clients will often just override your terms internally and pay on their own 30- or 45-day cycle anyway. Insisting on Due on Receipt with a €20k branding client you want to retain is a negotiation you don't want to have.
When Net 15 is the sweet spot
Net 15 is underused by most freelancers. It's short enough to keep cash moving but long enough that a busy accounts-payable contact doesn't feel ambushed.
For a freelance designer billing €2k–€8k per project, Net 15 hits a useful middle ground:
- Mid-project milestones: Invoice the 50% progress payment on Net 15. If the client is engaged and the work is proceeding, payment is rarely a problem.
- Smaller studios and startups: They often pay faster than their terms suggest. Net 15 signals that you expect prompt payment without being aggressive.
- Retainer kick-offs: The first invoice for a new retainer relationship can be Net 15 to establish the rhythm before shifting to Net 30 if the client prefers.
One number worth knowing
Invoices sent with shorter stated terms get paid faster on average, not because the client is suddenly more motivated, but because the term anchors their internal processing priority. Net 15 on the invoice face means it looks urgent when someone is sorting their inbox.
When Net 30 is the right call
Net 30 is the professional standard for most agency and corporate work. If your client is a company with a real finance team, they will process your invoice on a payment run, and that run might be fortnightly or monthly.
Use Net 30 when:
- Your client is a mid-to-large company with structured AP workflows
- You're billing above €5,000 and the relationship is ongoing
- You've negotiated a monthly retainer (invoice on the 1st, paid by the 30th is a clean cycle)
The risk you're carrying: On a €6,500 logo-plus-brand-guidelines project, Net 30 means you might not see the final payment until 6 weeks after you delivered (if approval and invoicing lag by a week). That's normal. The answer isn't to fight it; it's to structure your invoices so deposits and milestones reduce the tail risk.
How most designers handle payment terms
- Terms are typed manually into each invoice, often inconsistently.
- Chasing late invoices means writing individual emails and tracking replies in a spreadsheet.
- Following up feels awkward, so it gets delayed or skipped entirely.
- Switching terms for one client means remembering to change them every time.
How ZenPay handles it
- Payment terms presets (Due on Receipt, Net 15, Net 30, Net 60, custom days) set once and applied per invoice in two taps.
- Auto-reminders fire N days before and after due date in your name, with your editable email template.
- Per-invoice payment tracking shows exactly which invoices are overdue and by how many days.
- Default terms set at account level, with per-invoice overrides when a client negotiates something different.
How to decide: a simple framework
Ask yourself three questions before you set terms on any invoice:
- How much cash buffer do you have? If you're running lean, shorter terms protect you. If you have three months of runway, you can afford to be generous with a key client.
- How big is this client? Large companies have AP systems that won't bend for a small supplier. Match their reality or spend energy fighting it.
- What's the project structure? A single-deliverable project with no ongoing dependency should use shorter terms. A phased project with a retainer component can carry Net 30 because you're issuing invoices more frequently.
One last move: use deposit invoices
Whatever terms you pick for the final invoice, a 30–50% deposit on Due on Receipt removes your biggest risk. You're not waiting 30 days for 100% of a project value. You're waiting 30 days for the remaining 50–70%, with a deposit already in your account.
The right payment terms aren't universal. They're a function of your cash position, your client's size, and how much leverage you have in the relationship. Start with what protects your cash flow, then adjust based on what the client relationship is actually worth.
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