Standard payment terms, country by country

Standard payment terms are 30 days from the invoice date for business invoices in the UK, the US and Canada, and 7 or 14 days on most small business invoices in Australia, where trade customers also commonly use 30 days or end of month terms. In New Zealand, many trade accounts pay on the 20th of the month after the invoice. Whatever the country, the terms that hold are the ones the customer agreed before the work started.

What was counted

The set is the 11 invoice examples on this site, counted on 21 October 2026, plus the payment terms stated in the 31 quote and proposal examples. Seven invoices are Australian and four are country versions of a tax invoice, one each for the UK, the US, Canada and New Zealand, each written with that country’s tax label and banking details. The days were worked out from each invoice’s printed issue and due dates, and the wording was read from its payment notes.

Eleven invoices is a small set, and it was written to show the convention in each country rather than to measure it. The statutory column comes from government pages, cited below the article.

Australia: short terms, agreed in the quote

Five of the seven Australian invoices are due 14 days after issue: the tax invoice from a produce supplier, the final invoice for an event, a freelance illustrator’s invoice, a monthly HR retainer and a plumber’s invoice that is now overdue. The builder’s progress claim is due in 7 days, and the joinery deposit invoice is due on the day it is issued, because the timber is ordered when it is paid.

The quotes behind them say the same thing earlier. Of the 31 quotes and proposals, 20 name a period for the balance: 13 say 14 days and 7 say 7 days. A typical line is the roofing quote’s “the balance is invoiced on completion, on 7 day terms”. The payment terms the customer sees on the invoice are the ones they accepted on the quote, which is the order that makes them enforceable. The Australian Government’s business.gov.au guidance on payment terms makes the same point: payment terms form part of the sales contract, so they belong in the contract and on every invoice, and it names 7, 14, 21 or 31 days as typical business credit periods.

For Australian conventions in more detail, including end of month terms, the Australian invoice payment terms post and the net 30 page cover the common wordings.

The UK: 30 days, with interest set by law

The UK example from a Bristol design studio says “Payment terms are 30 days from the invoice date”, and its notes go on to say that if payment is late the studio may claim statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, at 8% a year above the Bank of England base rate. That is the UK’s distinctive rule: the interest and fixed compensation exist by statute for business to business debts, so a supplier does not have to have written them into the contract first. GOV.UK guidance also sets the default: if no payment date was agreed, the law treats payment as late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or the goods or services are delivered, whichever is later. The UK VAT invoice example shows both lines in place.

The US and Canada: net 30

The US example from an Oregon photography studio says “Payment terms: net 30”, and the Canadian research firm’s invoice says “net 30 from the invoice date”. Net 30 is the default most US and Canadian business customers expect. For US federal government buyers, the Prompt Payment rules published by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service require payment within 30 days of receiving a proper invoice, after which interest penalties apply. Private customers are not bound by those rules, so their terms come from the contract.

New Zealand: the 20th of the month following

The New Zealand tree care invoice is dated 13 October and due on 20 November, 38 days later, because the customer’s account terms say payment is due on the 20th of the month following the invoice. Monthly terms suit customers who pay suppliers in one run each month. For the supplier, they mean an invoice raised on the first of the month waits almost seven weeks.

Choosing your terms

1. One off jobs for households: 7 or 14 days, with a deposit where the job needs materials.
2. Business customers who pay in a monthly run: 30 days, or the 20th of the month following, matched to their cycle.
3. Put the terms on the quote first, then print the exact due date on the invoice.
4. Write interest into the quote’s terms if you intend to charge it, except in the UK where statute gives it to you.
5. Remind before the due date, not after. A reminder schedule does more than a late fee.

How to chase an unpaid invoice covers what to do after the due date passes, and late payment fees in Australia covers what can be charged.

In the product

Invoices in the proposals module carry their own due date and status (draft, issued, sent, viewed, overdue, paid, void), and an invoice turns overdue the day after its due date. Each invoice can take a reminder preset: gentle, standard or firm, at most six reminders at least 20 hours apart. An invoice created at acceptance without a deposit is due in 14 days. The invoice reminders page lists each schedule, and the guide to setting invoice reminders shows where to choose one.