2/30 Net 60 payment terms: meaning, due date and discount cost

2/30 Net 60 at a glance

Type

Early-payment discount

Discount

2% if paid within 30 days

Full amount due

60 days after the invoice date

Cost of skipping the discount

24.8% a year simple, 27.9% compounded

Also written

2/30 n/60, 2% 30 net 60

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 60 days after the invoice date on average.

Setting up 2/30 Net 60 in your ERP

Business Central

Due Date Calculation 60D; Discount Date Calculation 30D, Discount % 2

Xero

Bills due 60 day(s) after the invoice date

NetSuite

Term with Days Till Net Due 60, % Discount 2, Days Till Discount Expires 30

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

2/30 Net 60 is a supplier payment term that offers a 2% discount if the buyer pays within 30 days of the invoice date; otherwise the full amount is due in 60 days. It is also written 2/30 n/60 or 2% 30 net 60. The 30 days run from the invoice date, not from the date the invoice is received and not from month end.

The trade-off is simple. The buyer keeps the cash for 30 days of credit given up for discount. 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. If the buyer does not take the discount, the full invoice amount is payable at 60 days.

AP teams need to treat the term as two deadlines, not one. The first deadline is the discount date at 30 days. The second is the net due date at 60 days. A vendor record that stores only Net 60 is incomplete for this supplier because it hides the discount window and makes it easy to pay full price by habit.

Working out the dates

Take an invoice dated Thursday, Jan 15, 2026. The discount is available through Saturday, Feb 14, 2026. The full amount is due Monday, Mar 16, 2026. Because the discount date falls on Saturday, the payment has to be scheduled so it is sent and settled in time for the discount; do not treat the weekend as an automatic extension. The net due date is a Monday, so the 60 calendar days land on a business day.

For an invoice dated Friday, Feb 27, 2026, the discount is available through Sunday, Mar 29, 2026, and the full amount is due Tuesday, Apr 28, 2026. For an invoice dated Friday, Dec 18, 2026, the discount is available through Sunday, Jan 17, 2027, and the full amount is due Tuesday, Feb 16, 2027. Both discount dates fall on a Sunday, so the pay run needs to be early enough to settle before the weekend.

The safest method is to key the invoice date, the discount date, and the net due date as three separate pieces of information. Then check the calendar against the payment run. Counting 30 days from the received date is the common error: an invoice dated Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 received later in January still has a discount date of Saturday, Feb 14, 2026, not a later date based on receipt.

Is the discount worth taking?

The discount is 2% for paying 30 days early. The days of credit given up for discount is 30. The cost of skipping the discount is 24.8% on a simple annual basis and 27.9% compounded annual. Compare 24.8% with your own cost of funds. If the supplier discount is more expensive than your financing, taking it may not be the right choice; if your cost of funds is lower, the discount can be attractive. Keep the comparison general and review it with your controller.

Net 60 also changes the cash picture. With $250,000 a year of spend with one supplier, about $41,096 is owed on average, $20,548 more than on Net 30. With $1,000,000 a year of spend, about $164,384 is owed on average, $82,192 more than on Net 30. With $5,000,000 a year of spend, about $821,918 is owed on average, $410,959 more than on Net 30. The average days to pay is 60 unless the discount is taken.

A practical check is to compare the discount dollars with the cash needed to earn them. On a $100,000 invoice, taking the discount saves $2,000 and requires paying $98,000 by the discount date. On a $10,000 invoice, the saving is $200 and the early payment is $9,800. The decision should be made consistently, not invoice by invoice by whoever happens to run the payment.

Where these invoices go wrong

Keying the wrong term is the first failure. An invoice that says 2/30 Net 60 may be entered as Net 30, 2/10 Net 30, or plain Net 60. If the vendor record drops the discount, AP pays the full amount at 60 days and loses the 2% saving. If the record shortens the net terms, AP pays too early and gives up cash. Match the invoice term to the vendor record before the invoice is scheduled.

Counting from the received date instead of the invoice date shifts both deadlines. The invoice dated Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 has a discount date of Saturday, Feb 14, 2026 regardless of when it reaches AP. Taking a discount after the window is equally common: a payment run that settles after Saturday, Feb 14, 2026 should not deduct 2% unless the supplier agrees. Deducting a late discount can create a short pay, a vendor debit, or a collection call.

Statement payments create duplicates. A vendor statement may list an invoice as open even though the invoice is already in the payment run. Paying the statement total and the invoice separately pays the same bill twice. Re-sent invoices create the same risk. If a supplier resends an invoice, match the invoice number, amount, invoice date and payment history before entering it again. A second entry can become a duplicate payment if the original is already scheduled or paid.

Questions