Since freelancing full time, my payment terms are 14 days. I picked 14 days as a reasonable balance between wanting to be paid promptly whilst also allowing for the fact that some clients have to sign off on payment or add it to their BACS file, and this may take a few days.
A few things I’ve noticed:
- Fellow SMEs are good at paying promptly, presumably because they understand the pressures that late payment can create.
- Large businesses will nearly always ask for 30+ days but will bring down their payment terms if they need you.
- Some companies have a weekly/monthly payment run, so if you miss that (e.g. it’s the first Monday and you invoice on a Tuesday) it can delay things.
- Insisting on short (14 days or less) terms filters out a lot of timewasters.
A lot depends on the power balance though – there aren’t many people who do what I do and are competent, available and freelancing, so I can push back on companies that ask for longer payment terms.