Payment Terms for Contractors: Due on Receipt, Net 15, or Net 30

Payment terms are not a slogan at the bottom of an invoice. They are the date the customer agreed to pay. If you never said a date, you do not have terms. You have a hope. Pick the date before you do the work, write it on the estimate, and repeat it on the invoice.

Match the terms to who is paying

• Due on receipt. Fits a homeowner service call or a finished small job, when you want to be paid before you leave or the same day. Say "due on receipt" or put today's date. Do not also say net 30.
• Net 15. A short window for customers who need to move money but should not be floating your materials for a month. The due date is 15 days from the invoice date, not from whenever they open the email.
• Net 30. Common with property managers and general contractors, and only if you agreed to it. Do not offer net 30 on a driveway repair because it sounds professional. You will feel it when two jobs overlap.

A deposit is not a payment term for the final bill. It is a stage. The deposit is due to start. The final balance has its own due date, when the work that earns it is done. Write both.

Put one date on the invoice

The customer should not have to interpret "net 15." Put the calendar date on the bill, and you can name the term next to it if you want. One date. If the invoice is already past that date when you send a reminder, say that. Do not send a fresh net 30 on a bill that was due last week. That resets the clock in their head.

Late fees are a separate decision

Some contractors add a late fee in the notes. Whether you can charge one depends on what the customer agreed to before the work, and on local rules. Do not invent a percentage on the reminder. If a fee was part of the original agreement, the invoice can say so. If it was not, a clear reminder with the amount and a pay link will do more than a surprise penalty.

This is not legal advice. If you want terms that hold up on larger jobs, ask your attorney what to put in the agreement. On the invoice itself, EZ Invoices lets you set a due date the customer sees next to the amount and the pay link.