Net Payment Terms

D03 - Vendor Contract Quality

Definition

The contractual specification of when payment is due after an invoice is received — Net 30, Net 60, and Net 90 being the most common structures, with material cash flow implications for both the paying company and the receiving vendor.

Favorable payment terms are negotiable in most vendor relationships and rarely negotiated at smaller companies. A company paying Net 30 on $2M in annual vendor spend when Net 60 is achievable is accepting an unnecessary cash flow constraint.

Indicators

• Your vendor contracts' payment terms were never formally negotiated. They reflect the vendor's default terms.
• You don't know, without checking, the payment terms on your three highest spend vendor contracts.
• Payment terms have never been included in a vendor renewal negotiation.

Quick Win

• Check the payment terms on your top vendor contract.
• If you have never negotiated the vendor contract payment terms, that's a simple ask sitting on the table at your next renewal.

Assess

• Take the HQ Score Assessment

Learn

• IA-04: The Vendor Relationship Spectrum

Apply

• The Vendor Contract Audit Workbook
• The Vendor Contract Audit Checklist

Related

• Auto-Renewal Clause
• Vendor Register
• Switching Cost