Net 30, Net 14, late fees, EU late-payment rights and copy-ready wording — the terms that turn an invoice from a polite request into a deadline. Written for freelancers and small businesses in Europe and the US.
Put three things on every invoice: a due date in plain words, the payment method, and the late-fee rule. "Payment due by 9 November 2026, by bank transfer. Late payments incur interest of 8% per year plus the statutory €40 recovery fee." That one sentence does more for your cash flow than any reminder email, because it removes every excuse: the date is not negotiable, the method is not a mystery, and the cost of delay is stated before the delay happens. Most late invoices are not malice — they are ambiguity. A due date written as "Net 30" alone still leaves the client to count days from a date they may not notice; a calendar date does not.
Fact: under the EU Late Payment Directive (Directive 2011/7/EU), the default payment period for business-to-business transactions is 30 days, and a creditor is entitled to statutory interest plus a minimum fixed sum of €40 as compensation for recovery costs — without needing to send a reminder first (source: Directive 2011/7/EU, EUR-Lex). In other words, EU law already backs you; your invoice wording just needs to claim that backing clearly. This guide is general information, not legal advice — contract and national rules vary.
Net 30 is the corporate default: large companies run monthly payment cycles, and a Net 30 invoice slots into them. Use it for established clients and larger companies. Net 14 or Net 15 is the freelancer sweet spot: fast enough to protect your cash flow, standard enough that no reasonable client objects. Net 7 fits small one-off jobs and clients with a history of drifting. Due on receipt sounds tough but is often ignored, because it reads as a suggestion rather than a date — always pair it with a calendar date. 50% upfront is the right call for new clients, large projects and custom work: it filters out non-serious buyers and guarantees you are never fully out of pocket. State the split on the first invoice ("50% due on acceptance, 50% due on delivery") so the second invoice surprises nobody.
A useful rule: your terms should be shorter than your own obligations. If your rent and suppliers are due monthly, Net 60 terms mean you are financing your clients for two months out of your own pocket. Match incoming terms to outgoing ones, and shorten terms the moment a client pays late twice — loyalty is earned by paying on time, not by receiving endless patience.
A late fee only works if it was agreed before the invoice went overdue. State it on the invoice and, better, in your contract or quote: "Late payments incur interest of 8% per year, calculated daily from the due date, plus the statutory €40 recovery fee." Keep the rate defensible — an eye-watering penalty looks unenforceable and poisons the relationship, while a modest, clearly stated rate gets paid without argument. In the EU, the statutory interest for business debts is the European Central Bank reference rate plus 8 percentage points, and the €40 fixed sum applies per invoice; your contract rate can sit alongside those rights.
Early-payment discounts — "2/10 Net 30" means 2% off if paid within 10 days, otherwise the full amount in 30 — can genuinely speed up payment, but they cost you 2% of revenue on every invoice that takes them. Use them tactically: when you need cash this month to pay your own bills, or for a client whose volume justifies it. Never offer them by default to every client; you are training your best payers to expect a discount for doing what they already do.
"Payment due by 9 November 2026, by bank transfer to the account shown above."
"Late payments incur interest of 8% per year from the due date, plus the statutory €40 recovery fee (EU Directive 2011/7/EU)."
"50% due on acceptance of this quote, 50% due on delivery. Work begins on receipt of the first payment."
"Monthly retainer, invoiced on the 1st, due within 14 days. Paused if the previous month's invoice is unpaid."
"We reserve the right to pause delivery until overdue balances are settled. Late fees continue to apply during any pause."
"Please quote invoice number INV-2026-014 on all payments so your payment is matched the same day."
Most online invoice tools want your client list, your rates and your revenue history on their servers — that data is their business model, whether they sell it, mine it or simply hold it where a breach can reach it. A browser-only tool like ours builds the PDF on your device: your clients' names, your prices and your payment terms never leave the tab. For a document that literally states what you charge, that difference is not cosmetic. If a tool needs an account before it shows you a single invoice, ask what it gains from the account — the answer is usually your data. Our safety guide walks through the check: open the Network tab, generate a document, and watch whether anything uploads. With ours, nothing does.
Day one after the due date, send a short, polite reminder with the invoice re-attached — most late payments are forgotten invoices, and the reminder fixes them in a day. Day seven, apply the stated late fee and mention it in writing. Day fourteen, shorten future terms to Net 7 or payment upfront, and pause new work until the balance clears; continuing to work for a non-payer rewards the behaviour. Throughout, keep every document: the quote, the invoice, the delivery note, the reminders. A signed delivery note plus the invoice is a complete paper trail if the dispute ever reaches a debt-collection letter or a small-claims filing. And for the next client, the lesson is already written into your terms: upfront for new relationships, Net 14 for everyone else, fees stated before they are ever needed.
Net 30 means the full invoice amount is due 30 days after the invoice date. Net 14 means 14 days, Net 60 means 60 days. The number is always the number of days the buyer has to pay.
For most freelancers, Net 14 or Net 15 with a late fee is the sweet spot: fast enough to protect cash flow, standard enough that clients accept it. New clients can be asked for 50% upfront; long-term clients who always pay on time can keep Net 30.
Yes, if the fee was stated on the invoice or agreed in advance. In the EU, the Late Payment Directive (2011/7/EU) also gives creditors a statutory right to interest and a fixed €40 recovery sum for business-to-business debts, on top of what the contract says.
For business-to-business transactions in the EU, the default payment period is 30 days unless the contract says otherwise, and a creditor is entitled to statutory interest plus a minimum fixed sum of €40 as compensation for recovery costs, without needing to send a reminder first.
A small early-payment discount (for example 2% if paid within 10 days, known as 2/10 Net 30) can speed up cash flow, but it costs you margin on every invoice. Use it only when cash timing matters more than the discount, such as when you need to pay your own suppliers.
State the due date in plain words ('Payment due by 9 November 2026'), the payment method, and the late-fee rule ('Late payments incur interest of 8% per year plus the statutory €40 recovery fee'). Vague wording like 'payment on receipt' without a date is the most common reason invoices drift.
First, send a polite reminder the day after the due date with the invoice attached. Then apply the stated late fee, shorten future terms to Net 7 or payment upfront, and pause further work until the balance clears. Persistent non-payment is a contract matter — keep every invoice, reminder and delivery note as evidence.