Net terms state how many days a customer has to pay an invoice after it is issued. Net-30 means payment is due within 30 days; net-60 and net-90 give 60 or 90 days. They are standard in B2B, government, and commercial billing.
Why they create a cash-flow gap
Net terms mean you deliver the work now but get paid weeks or months later, while payroll, materials, and rent are due immediately. The longer the terms, the wider the gap — a net-90 customer effectively borrows your money for three months. This is the core cash-flow problem in trucking, staffing, construction, manufacturing, and distribution.
How businesses bridge it
Invoice factoring exists specifically to close the net-terms gap: instead of waiting the full 30 to 90 days, you sell the invoice and get most of the cash within a day, while the factor waits to be paid on the customer's terms.