Net 30 meaning: payment terms explained, with a due date calculator

Net 30 means the client has 30 calendar days from the invoice date to pay the full amount. An invoice dated October 5, 2026 on net 30 terms is due on November 4, 2026 and is late from November 5, 2026. Use the calculator for any date and any common term.

By Aleksandr Ulanov · Published October 26, 2026

What net 30 means

“Net” is the full invoice amount, with no deductions. “30” is the number of days the client has to pay it. The count starts on the invoice date and uses calendar days, so weekends and holidays count. Day 30 is the last day to pay; the payment is late from day 31.

Some contracts count from the day the client receives the invoice or the work instead. If yours does, the contract wins. When nothing is agreed in Europe, the law counts from receipt of the invoice (see the limits below), which is one more reason to write the due date itself on the invoice.

Net 30 EOM means 30 days after the end of the month of the invoice. An invoice dated October 5, 2026 on net 30 EOM is due on November 30, 2026, 56 days after the invoice date. Not every client reads “EOM” the same way, so print the date.

Net 15, net 60, due on receipt and 2/10 net 30 compared

Every term below, for an invoice dated October 5, 2026:

2/10 net 30 gives the client 2% off for paying within 10 days; otherwise the full amount is due after 30. For the client, skipping the discount means paying 2% to keep the money 20 days longer, which works out to about 37% a year. Offer it only if your margin can carry the 2%.

Due on receipt asks for payment as soon as the client has the invoice. It sets no fixed day, so it gives you no clear date to chase. A short fixed term, such as net 7, does.

Is net 30 allowed? Limits by country

General information, not legal advice. The rules below are for invoices between businesses; consumers have their own rules.

United States. Payment terms between businesses are a matter of contract, and net 30 is the common default. If the client is a federal agency, the Prompt Payment rules make payment due on the date in the contract, or, when the contract names none, 30 days after the agency receives a proper invoice (5 CFR 1315.4).

European Union. The Late Payment Directive sets the floor for every member state. If the contract fixes no date, interest runs after 30 calendar days from receipt of the invoice. A contract between businesses may not set more than 60 calendar days “unless otherwise expressly agreed in the contract and provided it is not grossly unfair to the creditor”. Statutory interest is the central bank's reference rate plus at least eight percentage points, and the supplier can claim a fixed €40 for recovery costs. In 2023 the Commission proposed replacing the directive with a regulation with stricter limits. As of October 2026 the proposal is still waiting for the Council's position, so the directive's rules apply.

United Kingdom. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies. Gov.uk sums it up: “If you agree a payment date, it must usually be within 30 days for public authorities or 60 days for business transactions.” A longer term is allowed if it is fair to both sides. Without an agreed date, the payment is late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice or you deliver, whichever is later. A Commercial Payments Bill that would change the rules on payment terms has passed the Lords and is in the Commons; it isn't law as of October 2026.

Germany. Under § 286 (3) BGB, a client who owes payment is in default “spätestens”, at the latest, if they haven't paid within 30 days after the due date and receipt of the invoice. A reminder after the due date, or a calendar date for the payment, can start the default earlier. Under § 271a BGB, a term of more than 60 days from delivery (or from receipt of the invoice, if later) is valid only if it was expressly agreed and is not grossly unfair to the supplier. For consumers the 30-day rule applies only if the invoice points it out.

Netherlands. Article 6:119a of the Dutch Civil Code (BW) lets businesses agree up to 60 days, and more only if it is expressly agreed and not manifestly unfair to the supplier. When the client is a company above the small-company limits of article 2:397 BW and you are a freelancer or a small company, the term may not exceed 30 days, and a longer term is void. Without an agreed date, statutory commercial interest (wettelijke handelsrente) runs from 30 days after the client receives the invoice.

How to write net 30 on an invoice

Write the term and the date. “Net 30” alone leaves the client to do the arithmetic, and clients outside the US often don't know the term. A date leaves nothing to interpret. Put it near the total, where the accounts team looks.

English

• Payment terms: net 30. Please pay by November 4, 2026.
• Terms: 2/10 net 30. Take 2% off if you pay by October 15, 2026; otherwise the full amount is due by November 4, 2026.
• Payment is due on receipt of this invoice.

German

• Zahlbar innerhalb von 30 Tagen ohne Abzug, spätestens am 04.11.2026.
• Bei Zahlung bis zum 15.10.2026 gewähren wir 2 % Skonto, danach zahlbar ohne Abzug bis zum 04.11.2026.
• Zahlbar sofort nach Rechnungserhalt ohne Abzug.

Dutch

• Te betalen binnen 30 dagen na factuurdatum, uiterlijk op 4 november 2026.
• Bij betaling uiterlijk op 15 oktober 2026 mag u 2% betalingskorting aftrekken. Anders dient het volledige bedrag uiterlijk op 4 november 2026 te zijn voldaan.
• Direct te betalen na ontvangst van de factuur.

Invoicing a consumer in Germany? Add that they will be in default if they don't pay within 30 days after the due date and receipt of the invoice, because § 286 (3) BGB applies to consumers only when the invoice says so. The invoice templates show where the terms go: the freelance invoice template, the contractor invoice template for US clients and the UK invoice template.

When net 30 has passed

Send a short reminder within a week of the due date, then a firmer one two to four weeks after it. Our overdue invoice email templates give you four emails to copy, from a friendly nudge before the due date to a final notice.

A late fee is only yours to charge if your contract allows it, and in the US within your state's limits. Statutory interest needs no clause: in the UK it is 8% a year above the Bank of England base rate, plus a fixed £40, £70 or £100 depending on the debt. Gov.uk adds that you “cannot claim statutory interest if there's a different rate of interest in a contract”. In Germany a business client in default owes 9 percentage points above the base rate and a flat €40 (§ 288 BGB). In the Netherlands it is the statutory commercial rate, the ECB's refinancing rate plus 8 points, and at least €40 in collection costs.

Net 30 terms and “net 30 accounts”

A “net 30 account” is a supplier account that lets a business buy now and pay within 30 days. Many search results for “net 30” are about these accounts and about building business credit. It's the same term, seen from the buyer's side. This page is about the terms you give your own clients.

Set your terms once

In Clockaroo you set your payment terms once, and every invoice gets its due date from them, printed as a date in your client's language (English, German or Dutch). You can change the date on any invoice, give a recurring invoice its own terms, and switch on automatic reminders for when the date passes.

Start free Free for one person with up to 5 invoices a month. Team $9 per person a month.

Need one invoice right now? The free invoice maker has fields for the due date and your payment terms and makes a PDF, no sign-up.