Read by Denym Bird6 min
Summary
Net 14 gets paid faster than net 30: in our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers, the same customer pays a 14-day invoice 9 days sooner than a 30-day invoice, with no rise in unpaid invoices. About 2 to 5 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time, which fits a tighter deadline.
- Net 14 vs net 30: The same customer pays a 14-day invoice 9 days sooner than a 30-day invoice, and the share still unpaid at 75 days does not rise.
- The cost of shorter terms: About 2 to 5 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time under 14-day terms, which fits a tighter deadline.
- Invoice size: Inside the same business, about 2 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time when the invoice is more than twice a customer's usual amount.
- Due dates: A weekend due date is followed by about 3 fewer invoices in every 100 paid on time, and only 1 credit invoice in 8 is paid on the exact due date.
You are setting up a new customer and the terms field is blank. Net 30 is what everyone seems to use, net 14 is what your cash flow wants, and you do not know whether the shorter number will cost you the relationship or just get you paid sooner.
In the video: Does net 14 get paid faster than net 30? (0:33), do shorter terms lower on-time payment? (1:22), are bigger invoices paid on time less often? (2:01), does a weekend due date cost you? (2:38), what to do (3:37).
Here is what our invoice data says about 14-day and 30-day terms, invoice size and due dates, measured on the same customers and inside the same businesses. On this page, payers are the people who owe Paidnice customers invoices.
Free: Payment reminder email templatesCopy the reminder emails for before, on and after the due date.Does net 14 get paid faster than net 30?
Yes: the same customer pays a 14-day invoice 9 days sooner than a 30-day invoice, with no rise in invoices still unpaid at 75 days, in our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers.
The test takes payers who received both 14-day and 30-day invoices from the same business and compares how long each took to pay. Businesses chose their own terms, so this is a pattern on the same payers and is not a controlled test.
The same customer pays a 14-day invoice 9 days sooner than a 30-day invoice
Days from invoice date to payment, payers who received both terms from the same business.
Source: our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers.
Shorter terms can look risky for the relationship. The data shows no rise in the share still unpaid at 75 days under 14-day terms. It does not measure whether payers leave.
Our payment terms examples cover the wording for net 14, net 30 and the rest.
Do shorter payment terms lower on-time payment?
Yes, by a small amount: about 2 to 5 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time under 14-day terms, which fits a tighter deadline, and the money arrives 9 days earlier.
A 14-day deadline is harder to hit than a 30-day one, so a few more invoices tip into “late”.
In Paidnice data, moving from 30-day to 14-day terms means about 2 to 5 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time and brings payment forward 9 days for the same customer.
Source: our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers.
Watch both numbers after a change: on-time can dip while days to pay improves. The credit control statistics hub has the full set, and how to reduce DSO shows where terms sit against reminders and late fees.
Is there data on net 30 vs net 60?
No: this analysis has no same-customer comparison of net 30 against net 60, so the page makes no claim about how net 60 invoices are paid.
If a large customer insists on net 60, the payment terms and conditions templates give you wording for the rest of the contract.
Are bigger invoices paid on time less often?
Yes, slightly: about 2 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time when the invoice is more than twice a customer’s usual amount, inside the same business, in our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers.
For the biggest fifth of a business’s invoices, about 3 fewer in every 100 are paid on time, with no rise in unpaid invoices. The gap for invoices more than twice the usual amount holds in 2 in 3 businesses.
About 2 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time when the invoice is unusually large
Same business, credit invoices, compared with the business's other invoices.
Source: our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers.
For a big one-off job, take a deposit or agree a payment plan before the work starts, rather than longer terms on the final invoice.
What do due dates do to payment?
A weekend due date is followed by about 3 fewer invoices in every 100 paid on time inside the same business, and only 1 credit invoice in 8 is paid on the exact due date, in Paidnice data.
The due-date patterns are covered in the best day to send a payment reminder. The table gives the number and the terms setting that responds to it.
| Pattern | What the data shows | Terms setting |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend due date | About 3 fewer invoices in every 100 paid on time inside the same business, in 2 in 3 businesses. In New Zealand about 8 fewer in every 100, in 4 in 5 businesses. | Pick an invoice date so the due date lands on a weekday. |
| Paid on the due date | 1 credit invoice in 8 is paid on the exact due date (1 in 5 in New Zealand). 19 in 100 are paid in the week after it, and 41 in 100 early. | Expect a tail after the due date, and send the first overdue reminder the next working day. |
| Day payments land | In the UK, 1 payment in 4 lands on a Friday. In New Zealand, 15 in 100 land on the 20th of the month. | UK: a Friday due date lines up with the day 1 payment in 4 lands. NZ: a due date on the 20th lines up with the day 15 in 100 payments land. |
| December due date | Inside the same business, invoices due in December are paid on time as often as invoices due in other months. | No need to lengthen terms for December. Days late do rise over the holiday shutdown, so keep reminders running. |
Source: our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers.
Net 14 keeps the weekday of the invoice date, so a Friday invoice falls due on a Friday. Net 30 shifts it by two days, so a Thursday invoice falls due on a Saturday. Check the calendar when you pick the number.
Which payment terms should a small business use?
Use the shortest terms your customers will accept. Net 14 is the term to test first: the same customer pays it 9 days sooner than net 30 with no rise in unpaid invoices, in Paidnice data.
A simple rule set from the numbers on this page:
- Test net 14 first with new customers. Move existing customers to net 14 later, where the relationship allows.
- Keep net 30 for large or slow-approving customers where a 14-day deadline would only turn paid invoices into late ones.
- Avoid weekend due dates. Shift the invoice date by a day rather than the terms.
- Take a deposit on unusually large invoices. About 2 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time when the invoice is unusually large, so collect part of it up front.
- Send the first reminder the working day after the due date. 1 invoice in 8 is paid on the due date itself and 19 in 100 in the week after it.
How to measure the effect of your payment terms in Paidnice
Paidnice shows average days to pay and on-time payment percentage on the dashboard, so you can see within a month whether net 14 brought your own payments forward.
- Change the terms in your accounting software. Payment terms are set on the invoice in Xero or QuickBooks Online. Start with new customers.
- Read the dashboard. Average days to pay, on-time payment percentage and days sales outstanding update as payments land.
- Check per customer. Each contact page shows that customer’s average days to pay.
- Set reminders to count weekdays. Reminder steps can count weekdays instead of days, so the first overdue reminder never lands on a Saturday. The quick start guide covers reminder policies.
The reports behind this are on accounts receivable reporting, or book a demo and we walk through your numbers.
How we measured
Every figure on this page comes from our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers, measured 75 days after the due date unless the section says otherwise.
- Data and base: invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers on Xero and QuickBooks Online. Credit invoices only: terms of 1 day or more, not paid on or before the issue date. On time means paid on or before the due date.
- Net 14 vs net 30: a same-customer comparison. We took payers who received both 14-day and 30-day invoices from the same business and compared the days from invoice date to payment, and the share still unpaid at 75 days. The same comparison shows about 2 to 5 fewer invoices in every 100 paid on time which fits a tighter deadline.
- Net 60: this analysis has no same-customer comparison of net 30 against net 60.
- Invoice size: compared inside each business. "More than twice the usual amount" means more than twice that payer's usual invoice from the business; "biggest fifth" is the top fifth of the business's invoices by amount.
- Due dates and December: compared inside each business, weekend due dates against weekday due dates and December due dates against other months. Days late rise over the holiday shutdown even though on-time rates do not change.
- Payment days: the Friday and 20th-of-the-month figures describe when payments land, not what causes late payment. Month-end due dates show no effect inside the same business.
- Limits of this analysis: businesses chose their own terms, so these are patterns measured on the same payers and inside the same businesses, not a controlled test.
FAQ
What happens if a company does not pay net 30?
The invoice is overdue from day 31: send a reminder the next working day, then escalate and, if your terms allow it, add a late fee. 19 in 100 invoices are paid in the week after the due date and 13 in 100 on the due date itself.
How do net 30 accounts work?
The customer receives goods or services now and has 30 days from the invoice date to pay. The same customer pays a 14-day invoice 9 days sooner than a 30-day one in Paidnice data, so net 14 brings cash in 9 days sooner. The payment terms examples post has the full definitions.
What does a net 15 payment term mean?
A net 15 payment term means payment is due 15 days after the invoice date. It sits between the 14-day and 30-day terms measured on this page, and we have not measured it on its own.
What does a net 60 payment mean?
A net 60 payment term means payment is due 60 days after the invoice date. This analysis has no same-customer data on net 60, so this page makes no claim about how it is paid. The definitions post covers what net 60 means.
Are bigger invoices paid on time less often?
Slightly: about 2 fewer invoices in every 100 are paid on time when the invoice is more than twice a customer’s usual amount, inside the same business, in our analysis of invoice data from over 1,000 Paidnice customers. Take a deposit on a big one-off job.
About the editorial team
Denym started Paidnice in 2022 after customers paying late left his own business short on payroll. He has led it to $1 billion collected on time across more than 1 million invoices, and writes about credit control, late fees and getting paid on Xero and QuickBooks.
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