Net 30 vs Net 15 vs Due on Receipt: What Agencies Should Use

"Net 30" means payment is due 30 calendar days after the invoice date. "Net 15" means 15 days. "Due on receipt" means pay now. The number is the count of days you are financing your client's work for free.

For most small agencies, defaulting to net 30 because it looks professional is a mistake. It is a buyer-friendly term inherited from big-company procurement, and it can leave you a full month out of pocket on payroll you already covered.

Quick summary

• Net 30 = due in 30 days. Net 15 = 15 days. Due on receipt = pay immediately.
• The longer the term, the longer you fund your client's project from your own cash.
• Net 30 is standard for large B2B buyers, not a rule for small agencies.
• Best default for most agencies: a deposit up front, then net 15 or due on receipt on the balance.

What net 30 actually means

Net 30 is a trade-credit term: the full invoice amount is due within 30 days of the invoice date, with no early-payment discount unless you state one.

It counts calendar days, not business days, unless your contract says otherwise. So an invoice dated the 1st is due the 31st, weekends included.

"Net 30" says nothing about a deposit, late fees, or accepted payment methods. Those are separate terms you set in the contract and on the invoice.

Net 15 vs net 30 vs due on receipt

Term	Due	Best for	The tradeoff
Due on receipt	Immediately	Small one-off jobs, new clients	Can feel aggressive to large buyers
Net 15	15 days	Most small-agency project work	Slight friction with corporate AP
Net 30	30 days	Large clients with formal AP cycles	You finance the work for a month
Net 60 / Net 90	60-90 days	Enterprise only, if you must	Severe cash-flow drag for a small shop

The pattern: longer terms win bigger clients but cost you cash flow. Match the term to who is paying, not to what sounds impressive.

The cash-flow math nobody shows you

Say you deliver a $6,000 project. You paid a contractor $2,500 during the work.

On net 30, you are out that $2,500 for up to a month before the $6,000 arrives. Run three projects at once and you are financing $7,500 of other people's work on your own balance sheet.

On net 15 with a 50% deposit, you collect $3,000 up front, cover the contractor immediately, and wait at most 15 days for the rest. Same revenue, far less risk.

This is why getting paid late is rarely a client problem. Long terms plus no deposit is a setup that guarantees a cash gap.

Should you offer an early-payment discount?

A common term is "2/10 net 30": take 2% off if you pay within 10 days, otherwise the full amount is due in 30.

It works, but price it honestly. A 2% discount for paying 20 days early is the equivalent of roughly a 37% annualized interest rate you are paying the client.

Offer it only if a faster cash cycle is worth more to you than the margin, or if a specific client reliably drags net 30 to net 50 and the discount nudges them.

When net 30 is the right call

Net 30 is not always wrong. Use it when:

• The client is a large company whose accounts-payable system runs on 30-day cycles and cannot pay faster.
• You have a deposit and milestone payments in place, so net 30 only applies to a small final balance.
• The contract value and relationship justify financing the gap.

In those cases, net 30 is a deliberate decision with the cost in view, not a default you picked because it looked standard.

Not for you: when net 30 is a trap

Avoid defaulting to net 30 if:

• You are a solo operator or small team where one late payment threatens payroll.
• The client is new and unproven. Start with a deposit and due-on-receipt, then extend terms once they have paid on time.
• You already struggle to chase invoices. Longer terms mean longer, more awkward chases.

Here is the line most "net terms" guides will not write: for a small agency, net 30 with no deposit is the single most common cause of a cash crunch, and it is entirely self-inflicted.

Frequently asked questions

What are net 30 payment terms?

Net 30 means the full invoice amount is due within 30 calendar days of the invoice date. It is a trade-credit term that lets the client pay later, which means you carry the cost of the work until they do.

Does net 30 include business days or calendar days?

Net 30 counts calendar days by default, including weekends and holidays, unless your contract explicitly states business days. An invoice dated June 1 is due June 31 (so July 1) under standard calendar-day counting.

What does "$6,000 net 30" mean?

It means $6,000 is owed in full within 30 days of the invoice date. No discount applies for early payment unless the invoice also states one, such as "2/10 net 30."

How do you calculate a net 30 due date?

Add 30 calendar days to the invoice date. For an invoice dated June 1, the due date is July 1. Most invoicing tools calculate and display this automatically when you set the term.

Related guides:

• Why your agency gets paid late (and the 3 fixes)
• How to write a client contract for your agency
• How to write an agency proposal that wins