Net 30 means payment is due thirty calendar days after the invoice date. Not thirty business days. Not thirty days after the client opened the email. Thirty calendar days from the date printed at the top of the invoice. That is the entire rule.
The word "Net" comes from old commercial usage and is short for "net of any settlement discount", meaning the full amount is due. The number after it is the count of days. So the family of terms looks like this:
- Due on receipt: the moment the client opens the email
- Net 7: 7 calendar days from invoice date
- Net 14: 14 days
- Net 21: 21 days (less common but still used)
- Net 30: 30 days (the unofficial B2B default)
- Net 45: 45 days
- Net 60: 60 days (common with enterprises)
- Net 90: 90 days (avoid where you can; murders cash flow)
When each makes sense
Due on receipt is the right term for one-off services with new clients, small amounts, or anyone you have been burned by before. Pair it with a 50% deposit at the start of the project and you are mostly insulated from late-payment risk on the front end.
Net 7 or Net 14 work well for recurring work with trusted clients. Most freelance retainers settle into one of these two because they keep cash flow predictable on both sides. A two-week cycle on a $4,000-a-month retainer means you are never carrying more than about a fortnight of receivables.
Net 30 is the unofficial standard in much of B2B. Larger companies run accounts payable on a roughly monthly cycle, so they prefer Net 30 because it aligns with their internal cadence. If you are negotiating with a corporate client, this is what they will counter-offer if you ask for anything shorter.
Net 60 and Net 90 are used by very large organisations whose internal systems make faster payment genuinely difficult. Walmart, the big telcos, some government departments. You generally cannot fight it. You can offset it by invoicing the instant work is done, calendaring a polite chase on day 31, and asking about a 2/10 early-payment discount (covered below).
EOM and similar variants
Sometimes you will see Net 30 EOM, short for "end of month plus 30 days". That means an invoice issued on 5 May is not due until 30 June, not 4 June. It is a hidden 25-day extension. Watch for it in long-form contracts and counter-propose plain Net 30 if you can.
Net 30 ROG is "receipt of goods": the clock starts when the buyer takes delivery, not when the invoice is issued. Mostly relevant if you ship physical goods. For services you can ignore it.
Early-payment discounts
You can encourage faster payment with an early-payment discount, often written as 2/10 Net 30. That means 2% off if paid within 10 days, otherwise the full amount is due in 30. On a $4,000 invoice, the 2% is $80 you give up to get paid 20 days earlier. Bigger businesses with disciplined AP teams use these routinely to smooth cash flow on both sides.
Late fees
If your contract or terms of engagement lists a late fee, you can apply it on overdue invoices. The freelance standard is 1.5% per month on outstanding balances. The fee is rarely a real moneymaker. It is a signalling device that says "this is a real obligation". Most clients pay before it is ever assessed. The longer story is in the late-fee essay.
Always show the actual date
Whatever term you choose, do not write "Net 30" on its own and call it done. Calculate the actual due date and print it next to the term. A client's AP system needs an absolute date; "Net 30" is just the rule, not the answer. The generator does this math automatically: pick a payment term and the due date updates inline.