NET terms tell you how long after a billing period ends you get paid. NET-30 means the money for this month’s conversions arrives about 30 days after the month closes. The smaller the number, the sooner your cash comes back to buy more traffic.
NET terms are payment terms borrowed from invoicing: NET-30 means payment is due 30 days after the invoice date or the end of the billing period. In affiliate networks they define when approved commissions are paid. Weekly or NET-7 payouts exist on some networks for established partners, NET-15 and NET-30 are common defaults, and longer terms appear on offers where the advertiser itself pays the network late. The clock normally starts when the billing period closes, not on the day of each conversion.
NET terms sit on top of other delays. Conversions may first spend a hold period as pending while the advertiser validates them; only approved amounts enter the billing period; then the NET count runs; then the transfer takes its own time depending on the method the network supports, and a minimum payout threshold can push a small balance into the next cycle. The real time from click to cash is the sum of all of these, which is why two offers with the same payout can be very different businesses.
Networks set terms by risk and by their own cash flow. A network that pays affiliates before advertisers pay it carries the credit risk, so faster terms usually go to partners with a track record, steady quality and volume, and some networks offer early payouts on request or for a fee. In the EU the Late Payment Directive limits business-to-business payment terms to 60 days unless the parties expressly agree otherwise and the term is not grossly unfair to the creditor, and UK law lets suppliers claim statutory interest on late commercial payments.
For an affiliate who buys traffic, NET terms decide how much working capital a campaign needs. Spend leaves every day while revenue arrives weeks later, so a profitable campaign can still run out of cash while scaling. A sound rule is to fund spend for the full click-to-cash cycle plus a buffer for reversals before raising budgets, and to ask for better terms once months of clean volume give you something to negotiate with.
A media buyer spends 500 USD a day on a CPA offer paid NET-30 on a monthly billing period, with a 14-day hold.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1–31 March | Conversions generate 15,000 USD in commissions |
| 31 March | Billing period closes |
| by 14 April | Advertiser approves 14,100 USD after the hold |
| 30 April | NET-30 payment date |
| around 3 May | Funds arrive after the bank transfer |
A conversion made on 1 March is paid about 63 days later, one made on 31 March about 33 days later. Before the first March money lands, the buyer has spent roughly 31,500 USD, so a campaign that is profitable on paper still needs that much capital in circulation. The same volume on NET-15 would reduce the requirement by about 7,500 USD. Numbers are illustrative.
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Commissions approved for a billing period are paid 30 days after that period ends.
The hold period is the time conversions stay pending while the advertiser validates them. NET terms count from the end of the billing period to the payment date.
Often, yes. Networks shorten terms for partners with a track record, steady quality and volume, and some offer early payouts on request or for a fee.
Spend is daily and revenue arrives weeks later, so the terms decide how much working capital a campaign needs before it can scale.
References are listed as plain text on purpose; look them up by title and publisher. Updated: 2026-10-09.
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