Net payment terms · Web development
Net payment terms in web development: what is normal
Milestone invoices in web dev should be short (Net-15 to Net-30); watch for launch-gated or pay-when-live terms.
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.
One-line fix
"Milestone invoices are Net-15. Final payment is due at handover; if launch is delayed by Client for more than [30 days], the balance is due regardless."
What we see
Because payment is milestoned, the net window on each invoice should be short: the work for that milestone is already delivered when it is billed. Net-15 to Net-30 keeps cash flowing in step with progress.
The specific web-dev trap is tying final payment to 'launch' with no backstop. Launch depends on client content, approvals, and sometimes third parties the developer does not control, so an open-ended launch trigger can defer the final payment long after the build is finished.
The fix is a hard outside date: the balance is due at handover, and if the client delays launch beyond a set window, it is due anyway. That keeps the developer from being the unpaid hostage of a launch that keeps slipping.
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