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Payment Dates and Invoice Terms

Invoice-date, due-date, COD, reimbursement, deposit, proforma-invoice, and early-payment discount terms.

Payment dates and invoice terms define when a bill is issued, when payment is due, whether payment is due on delivery, and how discounts or deposits affect the cash cycle. This branch covers billing date, payment terms, 1/10 net 30, COD, proforma invoices, expense reimbursement, and nonrefundable fees or deposits.

Use these pages when the timing printed on an invoice or billing record changes receivables aging, payables scheduling, discount economics, cash collection, or dispute evidence.

What This Branch Covers

TermUse it for
Payment TermsContract or invoice language setting when and how payment is due.
1/10 Net 30 Payment TermsEarly-payment discount terms and net due-date timing.
Billing DateThe date a bill or invoice cycle is issued.
CODCash-on-delivery payment timing.
Proforma InvoicePreliminary invoice records used before final billing or shipment.
Expense ReimbursementRepayment of approved out-of-pocket or business expenses.
Nonrefundable Fee or Nonrefundable DepositUpfront fee or deposit language where refund rights are limited by the agreement.

Decision Lens

Start with the invoice and contract dates. A discount term, COD requirement, deposit label, or proforma invoice should not be analyzed without the final invoice, payment record, and any conditions that affect whether money is owed or refundable.

Evaluation Checklist

  • Identify invoice date, billing date, due date, delivery date, discount deadline, payment amount, deposit amount, and receipt date.
  • Separate proforma invoice, final invoice, customer acceptance, shipment or delivery, reimbursement approval, and payment settlement.
  • Check the invoice, contract, purchase order, receipt, bank record, credit memo, reimbursement policy, and dispute correspondence.
  • Review whether the term changes cash conversion, collection priority, refund rights, discount economics, or revenue and expense timing.
  • Treat legal, tax, accounting, and refund-right conclusions as professional-advice areas.

Common Mistakes

  • Treating a proforma invoice as final evidence of payment due.
  • Calculating early-payment discounts from the wrong starting date.
  • Ignoring whether delivery, acceptance, or reimbursement approval is a condition to payment.
  • Assuming nonrefundable language settles every legal, regulatory, or consumer-rights issue.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.

1/10 Net 30 Payment Terms

1/10 net 30 payment terms offer a 1% discount for payment within 10 days, otherwise full payment is due in 30 days.

Billing Date

A billing date is the date a bill, invoice, statement, or payment cycle is generated.

Cash on Delivery (COD)

Cash on delivery requires payment when goods are delivered rather than before shipment or on later credit terms.

Expense Reimbursement

The process of compensating employees for costs incurred while performing their job functions, typically for travel, meals, and other business-related expenses.

Payment Terms

Payment Terms refer to the conditions under which a seller will complete a sale, detailing the period the buyer has to pay the invoice and any applicable early payment discounts.

Proforma Invoice

A Proforma Invoice is an initial bill of sale sent to buyers under specific circumstances, typically before all transaction details are known.

Revised on Sunday, June 21, 2026