Freelance payment terms that actually get you paid

TL;DR

• Write the rule in a sentence, then convert it to a day on every invoice: “Due 18 June 2026.” Match Net 7, 15, or 30 to the invoice type and their actual AP, not to hope. Deposits are due now, not Net 30. Late fees only if you disclosed them and will send them. Reminders do more work. This is practice, not legal advice.

Key takeaways

• Terms are a sentence, then a calendar due date on every invoice.
• Net 7, 15, and 30 are choices. Match them to invoice type and AP.
• Deposits are due immediately or in a few days. They are not Net 30.
• One complete payment method. One billing entity. One rule across proposal and invoice.
• Invoice the day the work is billable. Late sending is the usual “terms problem.”

This post is for a freelancer setting terms so money actually moves. The question: what do you put on the invoice and in the email? What every freelance contract should include is the companion for the written agreement. Not legal advice. Not tax advice.

How do you write payment terms?

Write the rule in plain language. Then convert it to a calendar day on every invoice.

Examples:

• “Due 7 days after the invoice date (due 11 June 2026).”
• “50% due 3 June before work starts. Balance due 24 June on delivery.”
• “Monthly retainer invoiced on the 1st, due on the 8th.”

The words “Net 15” can stay if their finance team uses that language. Do not let it be the only due date. How to send your first invoice makes the same point: specific dates get paid. Slogans get filed.

Count calendar days unless you both wrote “business days.” If you invoice on a Friday, Net 7 is the next Friday. If a due date lands on a weekend or a bank holiday in their country, say “due the next working day” once. Then put that working day on the invoice.

When should you use Net 7, Net 15, or Net 30?

These are habits, not moral ranks.

Net 7. Good for small invoices, deposits, and clients who already trust you. Cash comes back while the work is still in their head. Bad for companies whose AP cycle cannot turn that fast.

Net 15. The default I use for most project balances. Long enough for a human to approve. Short enough that the project is not ancient.

Net 30. Common in companies. Often the best you will get from a real AP queue. Plan cash as if the money arrives on day 35.

Net 45 / 60. You can accept this. You should not pretend it is fine for a solo cash flow. Raise the fee, require a deposit or a PO, or decline.

Match the term to the invoice type:

• Deposits: due immediately or in a few days. A deposit on Net 30 is a contradiction. See should freelancers ask for a deposit).
• Milestone and final project invoices: Net 7 or 15 unless they are a company that only does 30.
• Retainers: a fixed day each month. Not “Net 30 from whenever I remembered to bill.” Ops for that: how to invoice a retainer client.

If they ask you to match their standard terms, ask what those terms actually are. “Our standard is Net 30” is a starting offer. You can trade: Net 30 in exchange for a larger deposit, or a PO before you start.

Where does the due date go?

Top of the invoice. Near the total. In the email subject or first line.

“Invoice 1048 · due 18 June 2026 · €2,400”

Not “Please find attached.” Not a paragraph about how much you enjoyed the collaboration.

The invoice template is the field list. Terms are two sentences, not a wall.

Include:

• Invoice date (the day you send it, unless you both agreed something else)
• Due date as a day
• How to pay (enough detail that they do not reply)
• What the payment is for (line items a stranger can approve)

If you use Brisk, the invoice is a live page. Card, bank, Apple Pay, and Google Pay can sit on it. Multi-currency when the fee is not in your home currency. Status stays visible. Free covers three invoices a month. Pro is $6/mo, with reminders and view tracking so you know they opened it.

How do deposits work as a term?

Write the split before they ask.

“50% due before work starts. 50% due on delivery of the agreed scope.”

Or milestones: “30% to start. 30% when the first draft is accepted. 40% on handoff.”

Delivery means the scope you wrote, not their internal launch, not “when the CEO has sat with it.” If they need a week of review before they consider it delivered, build that week into the date.

Do not start on a promise. If a company cannot pay a deposit, get a PO, a shorter first milestone, or a written start date that assumes their cycle.

Should you charge late fees?

Only if you will send them.

A late fee you never charge is decoration. A late fee you spring on a client who never saw it is a fight.

If you use one:

• Put it in the agreement and on the invoice from day one.
• Make it simple. A flat amount after X days, or a modest monthly percentage. Pick one. Keep it explainable in one sentence.
• Send the reminder first. Then the fee on the next notice if you still mean it.

This is not legal counsel. Some places restrict what you can charge. Some clients will refuse the clause. Then you have a choice: drop the fee and keep a short due date plus reminders, or walk.

I care more about the reminder than the fee. Most late payments are buried, not evil. A calm note on the due date, then another a few days later, clears more invoices than a scary footer. Tone and timing: how to get paid faster without awkward conversations). Copy: late invoice reminder emails.

If they are routinely late, change the terms on the next project. Deposit up. Net 7. Or pause work.

What do you put in the proposal vs the invoice?

Proposal (commercial, not theatrical):

Payment: 50% deposit due on acceptance (invoice sent the same day). Balance due 14 days after the final invoice, which I send on delivery of the scope above. Due dates will be written as calendar days. Late invoices get a reminder on the due date and again after 7 days.

Invoice footer:

Payment due 18 June 2026. Please pay this invoice, not a previous quote. Bank details and card payment are on this page.

That is enough.

Why do payment terms fail?

You invoice late. Terms cannot save a bill you sent three weeks after delivery. Send the same day.

You used their nickname as the billing name. Finance rejects it. Confirm the legal entity during onboarding.

You offered three payment methods and none of them are complete. Missing IBAN, missing reference, a PayPal email you do not check. One complete method beats four broken ones.

You said Net 15 in the proposal and Net 30 on the invoice. They will pick the longer one.

You accepted “we’ll pay when the campaign launches.” That is their marketing calendar. Your due date is independent unless you tied it in writing.

You keep working on an overdue invoice. That trains them. Pause extras.

How do you deal with company AP?

Big companies will ask for a PO number, a vendor form, a portal upload, and Net 30.

Do the portal. Put the PO on the invoice. Still write a calendar due date. Still send a reminder. Their process is not your silence.

Ask who to chase if the portal is quiet. Get a name.

If their cycle is 30 days from *approval*, not from invoice date, ask how long approval takes. Then send the invoice the hour the milestone is met, with a complete description.

A retainer should not inherit project vagueness. Invoice day and due day are part of the retainer. The payment term is “due on the 8th,” not “whenever the month felt closed.” If the retainer is unpaid, the next month is not reserved.

Can you change terms on a live invoice?

No. You can tighten terms on the next engagement. You cannot quietly shorten a live invoice you already sent.

If you need money faster on an open bill, ask. “Can you pay this one by Friday? I can resend with an updated date if that helps your records.”

For a new SOW: “From August I’m on Net 15 and a 40% deposit. Happy to keep working together on that basis.”

Firm. Not a speech about respect.

Set the due date. Send the invoice. Follow up on that date. If you do that in Brisk, the page keeps the instructions and the status in one place.

FAQ

What payment terms should a freelancer use?

A sentence plus a calendar due date. Net 7 for deposits and small bills. Net 15 for most project balances. Net 30 when that is their real AP. Deposits due now.

Is Net 30 a good freelance payment term?

It is common for companies. It is not a compliment. Plan cash as if the money arrives later, and take a deposit so you are not funding the whole job.

How do I write a due date on a freelance invoice?

Write the day: “Due 18 June 2026.” Put it near the total and in the email subject. Do not leave “Net 15” as the only date.

Should freelancers charge late fees?

Only if the fee was disclosed from day one and you will actually apply it. Reminders on the due date, then a few days later, do more work than a scary footer.

What if a client wants Net 60?

You can accept it. Raise the fee, require a deposit or a PO, or decline. Do not take 60-day terms on a first project because you were glad they replied.

When should I send the invoice if I want the terms to work?

The day the work is billable. Terms cannot save a bill you sent three weeks after delivery.

Key insights

Payment terms are not a personality test. They are a date and a method. Give them a task they can finish.