What "Net 30" actually means for your bank account
Net 30 means your client has 30 days from the invoice date to pay you. Sounds reasonable. The problem is that "30 days" rarely means 30 days.
Here's how it actually plays out. You finish the work on the 3rd. You invoice on the 5th. The client's accounts team runs payment runs on the last Friday of the month, so your invoice misses the cut-off and lands in next month's batch. Now you're looking at 40-50 days, minimum. If anyone's on holiday or the PO number is wrong, add another two weeks.
I once did a £3,200 project on Net 30 for a marketing agency. Invoice dated 2nd April. Paid 19th May. That's 47 days I funded their cash flow for free.
Net 30 isn't a payment term. It's a loan you're giving your client, interest-free, whether you meant to or not.
Takeaway: Always count Net 30 as Net 45 in your cash flow planning. If 45 days without that money would hurt, the term is wrong for you.
Why deposits exist (and who they protect)
An upfront deposit flips the risk. Instead of you betting that the client will pay after you've done the work, the client puts skin in the game before you start.
The standard is 50% upfront, 50% on completion. For longer projects, you might do 33% / 33% / 34% across milestones. For a £4,000 brand identity job, that's £2,000 before you open Figma and £2,000 on delivery.
Deposits do two things. First, they fund the work — you're not dipping into savings to cover your time while you wait. Second, and this matters more than people admit, they filter out bad clients. The person who balks at a 50% deposit is usually the same person who'll "forget" your invoice for two months. A genuine client who values your work pays the deposit without drama.
The client who argues hardest about paying you upfront is telling you exactly how they'll behave when the final invoice lands.
Takeaway: A deposit isn't just cash flow — it's a screening tool. Watch how a client reacts to being asked for one.
When Net 30 is genuinely fine
I'm not anti-Net 30. There are situations where it's the right call.
Large, established companies often can't pay any other way. Their finance systems are built around purchase orders and 30-day terms, and a junior project manager has zero power to change that. If you're invoicing a FTSE 100 company or a US enterprise, demanding upfront payment will just get you bounced to someone who'll work within the system. The trade-off: the money is slow but almost certain. A big company won't vanish.
Net 30 also works for ongoing retainer relationships where you've already been paid reliably for months. Trust has been earned. There's a track record.
And if you have a healthy cash buffer — three to six months of expenses sitting in an account — you can afford to be relaxed about timing in exchange for landing bigger contracts.
Takeaway: Net 30 suits big, stable clients and proven relationships. It's a terrible default for new clients and small businesses.
When you should absolutely take a deposit
Take a deposit when any of these are true:
- It's a new client. No track record means no trust yet. A deposit builds it.
- The project is long. Anything over two weeks of work means you're carrying that cost for too long.
- It involves upfront costs. If you're buying stock photos, paying for software, or commissioning a subcontractor, you should never be out of pocket on a client's behalf.
- The client is a small business or solo founder. Smaller operations are more likely to hit cash flow trouble themselves — and you don't want to be the unpaid creditor when they do.
Real example: a developer friend took on a £6,000 build for a startup, no deposit, Net 30 on completion. The startup ran out of runway two weeks before launch. He delivered the work, sent the invoice, and got £0. Had he taken £3,000 upfront, he'd have walked away down half instead of all of it.
Takeaway: New client + long project + your own upfront costs = deposit, non-negotiable.
How to actually ask for a deposit without losing the job
This is where most freelancers freeze. You don't want to sound difficult before you've even started. The trick is to make it standard, not negotiable, and to say it without apology.
Don't ask permission. State your terms. There's a huge difference between:
"Would it be okay if I maybe took a small deposit?"
and
"My standard terms are 50% upfront to secure the project dates, with the balance due on completion. I'll send the deposit invoice today and we'll get started as soon as it clears."
The second version assumes the deal is done. It frames the deposit as the normal way you work, because it is. Put it in your proposal and contract from the start so it's never a surprise.
If a client pushes back, hold the line but offer structure: "I understand — for larger projects I can split it into thirds across milestones, so the upfront amount is smaller." That's a compromise on timing, not on the principle.
Make the deposit easy to pay. The faster they can act, the faster you start. Send a clean, professional deposit invoice with clear payment details the same day — this is exactly the kind of thing a tool like GigInvoice handles in a couple of minutes, so there's no friction between "yes" and money in your account.
Takeaway: State your deposit as a fact, not a request. "My standard terms are..." beats "Would it be okay if..." every time.
Putting it together: a simple decision rule
You don't need a different policy for every client. Here's the framework I use:
- New client, any project size: 50% deposit, balance on completion. No exceptions.
- New client, large enterprise that physically can't pay deposits: Net 30, but only after checking they're legitimate and signing a clear contract.
- Proven client, ongoing work: Net 14 or Net 30, whatever keeps the relationship smooth.
- Anything with upfront costs to you: Always covered before you spend a penny.
Whatever you choose, write it down. Put your payment terms in the contract and on every invoice. "Payment due within 14 days. Late payments subject to interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act" (UK) or your state's equivalent is a quiet signal that you're not a soft touch.
And send your invoice the day the work is done — not next week, not when you get around to it. The clock only starts when the invoice lands. A Net 30 invoice sent two weeks late is really Net 44 of your own making.
Takeaway: Pick a default policy, write it into every contract, and invoice the moment the work ships.
The honest bottom line
There's no universally correct answer here, and anyone telling you "always demand 50% upfront" or "Net 30 is just how professionals do it" is selling you a rule that doesn't survive contact with real clients.
The truth is duller and more useful: deposits protect you, Net 30 protects access to bigger clients, and the right move depends on who's on the other end of the email. The mistake isn't choosing one over the other — it's not having a default, not putting it in writing, and not asking with a straight face.
Start taking deposits from new clients. You'll lose the occasional cheapskate who was never going to pay you properly anyway, and you'll sleep a lot better on the ones who say yes.