What Does Net 60 Mean on an Invoice?
Net 60 means an invoice is due for payment 60 calendar days after the invoice date, twice the wait of the more common Net 30. It's typically requested by larger customers with more negotiating leverage, and it puts a much longer cash-flow gap on the supplier.
What Net 60 Means
Under Net 60, the customer has 60 calendar days from the invoice date to pay in full. An invoice dated 3 March is due on 2 May. As with Net 30, the count is always from the invoice date itself, and every invoice under the term gets the same window regardless of when in the month it's raised.
Who Typically Asks for Net 60?
Net 60 is most common where the buyer has significant purchasing power: large retail chains, government agencies, and bigger manufacturers negotiating with smaller suppliers. It's rarely the supplier's first choice — it's usually a term a buyer requests, and a supplier accepts, in order to win or keep a larger account.
Cash Flow Risk for Suppliers
Because Net 60 doubles the wait of Net 30, it doubles the amount of working capital a supplier has tied up in unpaid invoices at any given time. A supplier carrying several large Net 60 customers can end up funding two months of stock, wages and overheads before the first dollar comes back in, all while still needing to place new orders and pay its own suppliers on shorter terms.
Net 60 vs Net 30
| Term | Wait for payment | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Net 30 | 30 days | Default term for most trade accounts |
| Net 60 | 60 days | Larger buyers with more negotiating leverage |
A supplier who can't avoid offering Net 60 to win a large account doesn't have to fund the full 60-day gap itself. PaidTerms Capital pays the invoice upfront regardless of the term the customer is on, and collects the customer's repayments over an agreed schedule instead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Net 60 common in New Zealand?
It's less common than Net 30, but it does appear, particularly with larger buyers such as retail chains, government agencies and bigger manufacturers.
Can I negotiate Net 60 down to Net 30?
Often, yes, especially for a new customer relationship or a smaller order. It's worth asking rather than assuming the buyer's stated term is fixed.
Does Net 60 include weekends and public holidays?
Yes, like Net 30 it counts calendar days, not business days.
What's the risk of accepting Net 60?
The main risk is cash-flow strain: the supplier funds two months of costs before being paid, which can be difficult to sustain across multiple large accounts at once.
How can a supplier offer Net 60 without carrying the cash-flow gap?
By using a service like PaidTerms Capital, which pays the supplier upfront and takes on collecting the customer's repayments over the agreed term.
Offer Net 60 Without Funding It Yourself
See how PaidTerms Capital pays suppliers upfront, regardless of the term offered to the customer.
Read next: Net 30 vs Net 60, or the hidden cost of offering trade credit.
