Benchmark
How many days after invoice the client is allowed to take before paying.
Typical range
Net-15 to Net-30 from invoice date. Net-30 is the common default for agency and mid-size clients; smaller direct clients often pay on receipt or Net-15.
Off-market
Net-60, Net-90, or "payment when we get paid by our client" (pay-when-paid). Any of those pushes the client's cash-flow problem onto the designer.
Typical range
Net-15 to Net-30 from acceptance of the piece. Content and copy work often pays faster (on receipt to Net-15); editorial and larger publishers tend toward Net-30.
Off-market
"Payment on publication" with no outside date, or Net-60+. Payment on publication lets the client hold a finished, accepted piece indefinitely and owe nothing until they decide to run it.
Typical range
Net-15 to Net-30 on final delivery, with the deposit having already covered pre-production. Many video freelancers invoice the balance due on delivery of final files.
Off-market
Net-60+ on a project where the freelancer fronted crew, gear, and location costs. The freelancer has already paid vendors and is now waiting two months to be reimbursed.
Typical range
Net-30 from posting or delivery is the healthy target. Large brands and agencies frequently run Net-45 to Net-60 as policy, so the deposit does the protective work.
Off-market
Net-90, "paid after the campaign concludes", or payment routed through an agency with no direct obligation to the creator and no outside date.
Typical range
Balance due on delivery of final images is common. For commercial clients invoicing on terms, Net-15 to Net-30. Delivery of high-resolution files is often gated on payment.
Off-market
Net-60 or longer on a shoot the photographer has already delivered, or a licensing fee due only after the client's campaign runs.
Typical range
Net-15 to Net-30 on each milestone invoice. Final payment is commonly due at launch or handover, not deferred past it.
Off-market
Net-60 on milestones, or final payment gated on the client's own launch readiness with no outside date, so the developer waits indefinitely after the work is done.
Typical range
Net-15 to Net-30 from invoice. Retainers billed in advance for the coming period; project invoices Net-30 with a late fee.
Off-market
Net-60 or longer, or payment contingent on the client's own budget approval or funding round, so the consultant's fee depends on events they do not control.