Payment terms are a pricing decision wearing accounting clothes. Here is what the abbreviations mean and how to choose terms that fit the size of your business.
Net 30 means the full amount is due 30 days from the invoice date; net 14 and net 7 shorten the window, and "due on receipt" means immediately, which in practice means the client's next payment run. EOM terms count from the end of the month instead: "net 30 EOM" on an invoice dated 5 March falls due 30 days after 31 March. EOM exists because many finance departments pay in monthly cycles, and it quietly adds up to a month to the real waiting time.
CIA (cash in advance) and CBD (cash before delivery) mean payment precedes the work or the goods - common for new relationships, custom manufacturing, and anywhere the supplier carries unrecoverable upfront cost. Stage payments and deposits are the service-business version of the same idea.
2/10 net 30 is a prompt-payment discount: two percent off if paid within ten days, otherwise the full amount at thirty. It looks small and is not - a client who can pay early but chooses not to is declining a very high effective annual return, which is why finance-literate clients take these discounts almost automatically.
Net 30 became the default because large companies pay in monthly cycles and their suppliers historically financed the gap. Nothing about that logic obliges a freelancer or a five-person firm to offer it. Payment on receipt or net 14 is entirely normal for small suppliers, and the time to establish it is at the start of the relationship - terms first stated on an invoice, after work is delivered, are terms the client never agreed to.
Large clients will often insist on their own terms regardless of what your invoice says; their supplier onboarding paperwork typically overrides it. That is a negotiation to have before signing, not a surprise to discover at day 45. If net 60 is genuinely non-negotiable, it is a financing cost, and your price for that client should reflect it.
Whatever terms you set, write them as dates rather than jargon on the invoice itself: "Due 24 September" is processed correctly by people who could not define EOM. The abbreviation is for the contract; the date is for the person keying in the payment.
Terms only exist if something happens when they pass. That does not require aggression - it requires a reminder sequence that starts promptly at the due date, and it requires that any consequences stated on the invoice, such as late payment interest or paused work, are actually applied. Suppliers who state net 14 and chase at day 60 have taught the client their real terms are net 60.
The same applies in the client's favour: if you offer 2/10 net 30, honour the discount without friction when payment arrives on day nine. Terms are a reputation you build in both directions, and clients talk to each other more than suppliers assume.
Review terms annually per client. Payment behaviour is data: a client who has paid net 14 reliably for a year can be offered more room if it wins more work; a client who strings out every invoice has told you what your next quote to them should cost.
These pages connect nearby invoice searches, business use cases, and template needs so visitors can find the right starting point faster.
Create 5 invoices every month for free, then upgrade as you grow.