Contract clauses

Are Net 60 payment terms normal for freelancers?

Common in large-company procurement, but it is not a law of nature — it is a term, and terms are negotiable. What matters more than the number is what starts the clock and whether late payment costs the client anything.

What the clause actually does

• Delays payment 60 days from a trigger that is often left vague. “Net 60 from invoice” and “Net 60 from acceptance” are very different: the second lets the client extend indefinitely by not accepting.
• Makes you an unsecured creditor of the business for the period. If they fail, you rank behind the banks.
• Compounds with revision and acceptance clauses. Unlimited revisions plus payment on acceptance plus Net 60 is not a 60-day wait — it is an open-ended one.
• Costs you real money. At 60 days, a freelancer running any float is effectively lending at whatever their overdraft costs.

The version that should worry you

Payment shall be made within sixty (60) days of the Client's acceptance of the Deliverables. Acceptance shall be at the Client's sole discretion.

The clock does not start until an event the client alone controls, and there is no deadline for them to accept or reject. In practice this is not Net 60; it is “paid when they feel like it”.

A version worth signing

Payment is due within thirty (30) days of the date of invoice. Deliverables shall be deemed accepted unless the Client provides written notice of specific, material defects within ten (10) business days of submission. Overdue amounts accrue interest at [rate] per month, and the Contractor may suspend the Services on ten (10) days' written notice of non-payment.

How to ask for it

If they will not move off 60 days — and large companies often genuinely cannot — trade it rather than swallow it. Ask for the clock to start on invoice rather than acceptance, add deemed acceptance after a fixed window, and add a suspension right. Those three together are usually easier to get than shortening the term, and they matter more.

This page explains what a clause does in general commercial terms. It is not legal advice, and what is enforceable varies by jurisdiction — for anything turning on that, ask a lawyer where you are.