2/15 Net 45 payment terms: meaning, due date and discount cost

2/15 Net 45 at a glance

Type

Early-payment discount

Discount

2% if paid within 15 days

Full amount due

45 days after the invoice date

Cost of skipping the discount

24.8% a year simple, 27.9% compounded

Also written

2/15 n/45, 2% 15 net 45

Example dates

What the discount is worth

Skipping the discount buys 30 more days to pay, at a cost of 2% of the invoice: 24.8% a year as a simple rate (2/98 × 365/30), or 27.9% compounded.

Average amount owed to the supplier

Paying on the due date, about 45 days after the invoice date on average.

Setting up 2/15 Net 45 in your ERP

Business Central

Due Date Calculation 45D; Discount Date Calculation 15D, Discount % 2

Xero

Bills due 45 day(s) after the invoice date

NetSuite

Term with Days Till Net Due 45, % Discount 2, Days Till Discount Expires 15

QuickBooks Online and Sage Intacct also store payment terms with a due rule. Whether an early-payment discount is applied to the bill automatically differs by product (Sage Intacct AP terms can carry one; Xero terms set due dates only), so check the bill's due date and amount after setting up a new term.

What it means

2/15 Net 45 is a discount term, not a net-only term. The buyer may deduct 2% from the invoice amount by paying within 15 days of the invoice date. If the buyer does not pay within that window, the full invoice amount is due in 45 days. The same term may appear as 2/15 n/45 or 2% 15 net 45.

The arithmetic is simple but worth showing on the invoice record. On a $1,000 invoice the discount is $20, so paying early costs $980. On a $10,000 invoice the discount is $200, so paying early costs $9,800. On a $100,000 invoice the discount is $2,000, so paying early costs $98,000. The buyer either remits the discounted amount inside the 15-day window or remits the full amount by the 45-day due date.

Do not treat 2/15 Net 45 as a month-end term. The term does not start at the end of the month. It starts with the invoice date. That matters because AP teams that key the wrong term, or that default to a month-end convention, can calculate a discount date that is too late or a due date that is too early.

Working out the dates

Use the invoice date as the starting point. For an invoice dated Thursday, Jan 15, 2026, the discount date is Friday, Jan 30, 2026 and the full amount is due Sunday, Mar 1, 2026. For an invoice dated Friday, Feb 27, 2026, the discount date is Saturday, Mar 14, 2026 and the full amount is due Monday, Apr 13, 2026. For an invoice dated Friday, Dec 18, 2026, the discount date is Saturday, Jan 2, 2027 and the full amount is due Monday, Feb 1, 2027.

The received date is not the invoice date. If AP counts 15 days from the received date instead of from Thursday, Jan 15, 2026, the discount date can move past Friday, Jan 30, 2026. The invoice date controls the term; the received date controls when AP can process it.

Weekend dates need a second look before the payment run. The full amount due on the Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 invoice falls on Sunday, Mar 1, 2026, and the discount date on the Friday, Feb 27, 2026 invoice falls on Saturday, Mar 14, 2026. Flag those dates and follow your organization's policy for weekend due dates. Do not let a weekend date sit without review and then treat the discount as taken after the window.

Is the discount worth taking?

Taking the discount means paying 30 days earlier than the full due date. The buyer gives up 30 days of credit in exchange for 2%. The simple annual cost of skipping the discount is 24.8%, and the compounded annual cost is 27.9%. Those figures are the reference points for the decision, not just the 2% headline.

Compare 24.8% with your own cost of funds. If the buyer can use cash or short-term financing below that rate, the discount may be worth taking. If the buyer's cost of funds is higher, the calculation may point the other way. The right answer depends on the company's cash position, not on a blanket rule.

The term also affects the balance owed. With $250,000 a year of spend with one supplier, about $30,822 is owed on average, $10,274 more than on Net 30. With $1,000,000 a year of spend, about $123,288 is owed on average, $41,096 more than on Net 30. With $5,000,000 a year of spend, about $616,438 is owed on average, $205,479 more than on Net 30. Those balances are part of the trade-off when AP decides whether to pay early for the 2% discount.

Where these invoices go wrong

Keying the wrong term is the first failure. An invoice keyed with only the 45-day net part loses the 15-day discount window even though the supplier's term is 2/15 Net 45. AP should compare the term on the invoice with the vendor record before the payment run. On a $10,000 invoice, the difference between taking the 2% discount and missing it is $200.

Counting from the received date instead of the invoice date is the next failure. The discount date for the invoice dated Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 is Friday, Jan 30, 2026. If AP starts the clock when the invoice reaches the desk, the discount can be taken after the window. That creates a short payment, a supplier dispute, or an unapplied credit that has to be cleared later.

Taking a discount after the window is a separate error. A payment made after Friday, Jan 30, 2026 on the Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 invoice is not entitled to the 2% discount under the term. AP should not deduct $20 from a $1,000 invoice, $200 from a $10,000 invoice, or $2,000 from a $100,000 invoice merely because the discount was missed. The full amount is due in 45 days.

Statement and duplicate payments cause trouble too. Paying a statement as well as the invoice can pay the same item twice, especially when the statement total includes invoices already scheduled. Paying a re-sent invoice twice happens when the second copy carries the same invoice number and AP does not match it to the open item. With 2/15 Net 45, both errors can also hide a missed discount, because the duplicate payment may be recorded at the full amount while the original was paid at the discounted amount. Match the invoice number, amount and date before releasing payment.

Questions