Payment terms and due date

Payment terms determine how long the recipient has to pay. faktoora supports various options, from automatic calculation to manual entry.

Due date vs. payment terms

The two terms are often confused:

Due date: the specific date by which the invoice must be paid.

• Example: February 15, 2024

Payment terms: the rule for calculating the due date.

• Example: "Net 14 days" means 14 days after the invoice date

In electronic invoices (XRechnung, ZUGFeRD), both pieces of information are transmitted, so the recipient knows both the rule and the specific date.

Setting: entering the due date directly

In faktoora, you can enter the due date in two ways:

Option 1: Select payment terms

1. Open the invoice draft.
2. Find the "Payment terms" field.
3. Select a predefined value, e.g.:
   • Net 0 (due immediately)
   • Net 7
   • Net 14
   • Net 30
   • Net 60
4. The system automatically calculates the due date based on the issue date.

Option 2: Enter the due date directly

1. Open the invoice.
2. Fill in the "Due date" field directly (format: YYYYMMDD or DD.MM.YYYY, depending on the view).
3. The system applies the date you entered.

Why can't I enter a due date in the "Payment terms" field?

You may have noticed that in older versions of faktoora, the due date could be entered directly in the "Payment terms" field. This is no longer possible.

Reason: in electronic invoice formats (EN 16931), payment terms are rules, not fixed dates. The due date is calculated from them. This is:

• More machine-readable
• Standardized
• Less error-prone

New procedure:

1. Use the "Due date" field for a specific date, OR
2. Use "Payment terms" for a rule (net X days)

The system then automatically calculates which due date results from the rule.

Payment terms in electronic invoices

In an XML format such as XRechnung or ZUGFeRD, payment terms are transmitted as follows:

• Term: e.g. "Net 14 days"
• Due date: the calculated or entered date

An example from an XRechnung:

Payment term: "Payment within 14 days net from the invoice date"
Due date: 2024-02-15

The recipient then knows: payment is due on February 15, 2024, and this corresponds to a net 14 rule.

Special cases: payment deadlines that differ from standard rules

If you have special cases (e.g. "payment within 30 days of receipt of the goods"), you can:

1. Select a general payment term that is similar to this arrangement (e.g. Net 30).
2. Enter the specific due date manually if it differs from the standard rule.
3. Add further conditions in the "Notes" free text field or in notes, e.g. "Payable after delivery and confirmation".

In electronic invoices, the free texts are included in the XML and shown to the recipient.

Due date for progress invoices and final invoices

Each invoice (progress, partial, final) has its own due date:

This is particularly important for the recipient's accounting: each invoice becomes due individually, not only after the final invoice.

Read more about this under Progress payments and final invoices.

Due date in connected systems (MOCO, etc.)

If you have connected faktoora to other software (e.g. MOCO) and invoices are synchronized between them:

Problem: the due date from the connected software may not be applied automatically to the XRechnung.

Reason: the connected software and faktoora may use different data formats or synchronization logic. The external system might, for example, use a payment term code that faktoora does not know.

Solution:

1. Check in faktoora that the due date is stored correctly.
2. Check under "Invoice settings" or in the integration configuration how external data is mapped.
3. If necessary: correct the date manually in faktoora before sending the invoice.

The due date that you enter or calculate in faktoora applies to the XRechnung and other formats, regardless of where the invoice originally came from.

Best practice: clear payment terms

• Use standard terms such as "Net 14" or "Net 30" so that they are machine-readable in electronic invoices.
• Enter the due date explicitly if it differs from the standard rule.
• Document special cases in the notes so that the recipient sees all conditions.
• For projects: each progress invoice and final invoice gets its own due date.

This avoids misunderstandings and payment delays.