With another business, you can agree the payment date that suits you both, but a term longer than 60 calendar days from delivery has to be expressly agreed in the contract and mustn't be grossly unfair to you. If no date was agreed, the invoice falls due 30 calendar days after the later of the customer receiving it or delivery. These rules come from S.I. 580 of 2012 and cover sales to businesses and public bodies, not to consumers.
In this article
The short version
- Between businesses, terms over 60 days must be expressly agreed and fair.
- With no agreed date, payment is due 30 days after invoice receipt or delivery.
- Public body limits are described as 30 or 60 days, so take advice.
- Late payment rules cover businesses and public bodies, not consumers.
- Put a calendar due date and your payment methods on every invoice.
Which rules apply to which customer
How much freedom you have depends on who you're selling to. The European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 (S.I. 580 of 2012), as amended, cover transactions between businesses and between a business and a public authority. They don't cover consumers, meaning people buying outside their trade, business or profession.
| Customer | What the Regulations say about the payment date | If they pay late |
|---|---|---|
| Another business | You agree the date; more than 60 calendar days from delivery must be expressly agreed and not grossly unfair to you | Statutory interest and fixed compensation, with no reminder needed |
| Public authority, such as a government department, local authority or the HSE | The amended Regulations set a ceiling of 60 calendar days from delivery; official guidance describes 30 days | Statutory interest and fixed compensation |
| Consumer | Outside the Regulations | No statutory interest or compensation |
Public bodies are the one case with two figures in circulation. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment says a public authority's payment date can't exceed 30 days from delivery, and the explanatory note to S.I. 580 of 2012 calls 30 days the standard, while the operative text as amended in 2014 sets 60 days as the ceiling. If a public body's term matters to your cash flow, take advice on your own contract instead of relying on either figure.
On top of the law, the Government's prompt payment policy asks public bodies to pay suppliers within 15 calendar days of receiving a valid invoice. It's an administrative arrangement, so it doesn't change the contract you signed, but it's useful to know when you're waiting on a department or the HSE.
For consumers, you can still put a due date on your invoice and expect it to be met. You can't, though, claim statutory late payment interest or the €40 to €100 compensation when a private customer pays late.
When no payment date was agreed
If a job goes ahead on a quote alone, with no payment date in writing, the Regulations fill the gap. Between businesses, payment then falls due 30 calendar days after the later of two dates: the day the customer received your invoice, or the day you delivered the goods or services.
Contracts with an acceptance or verification step work slightly differently. If your invoice arrives on or before that step, the 30 days run from the date of acceptance or verification instead. The step itself can't take longer than 30 calendar days from delivery, unless the contract expressly allows more and the longer period isn't grossly unfair to you.
Say you finish a fit-out for a business customer on 10 March, and the customer receives your €2,500 invoice on 14 March, with nothing agreed about payment. The later date is 14 March, so payment is due 30 days later, on 13 April. Statutory interest starts on 14 April at the rate in force at the time. The rate is reset each 1 January and 1 July, and it's 10.4% a year from 1 July 2026. Because the invoice is over €1,000 but not over €10,000, you can also claim €70 in fixed compensation.
A written due date helps avoid argument about when the invoice was received, and it gives your customer a date to plan around. Agreeing one at the quote stage means you won't need to rely on the default afterwards.
Terms that can be challenged
Between businesses, you can agree a payment date more than 60 calendar days after delivery, but only where the contract says so expressly and the term isn't grossly unfair to you as the supplier. You can also agree an interest rate other than the statutory one, as long as the interest that results isn't grossly unfair to the creditor.
Where a term waives or varies the payment date or the interest, and it's grossly unfair, Regulation 6 lets a court or arbitrator look at all the circumstances of the case. Those include good commercial practice, each side's bargaining strength and whether the supplier knew about the term. The explanatory note to the Regulations, which isn't part of the operative law, says a clause excluding interest or compensation is held to be grossly unfair.
If a larger customer sends its own purchase order terms, read them before you accept, and look for:
- the number of days they allow
- when the clock starts, whether delivery, receipt of the invoice or sign-off
- any line that removes interest or compensation
- any acceptance step, and how long it can run
If a term looks grossly unfair, get legal advice before you rely on it or push back on it.
A checklist for the terms on your invoices
Run your terms of business and your invoice template through this list once, then again whenever you change how you bill.
- Give the due date as a calendar date, such as 15 December 2026, as well as the number of days.
- Say whether the term runs from the invoice date, from receipt or from delivery.
- List the payment methods you accept and the details a customer needs for each.
- If you collect by SEPA direct debit, give the collection date. The pre-notification has to be sent at least 14 calendar days before the collection unless you've agreed otherwise, and it can go on the invoice.
- For business customers, state that statutory late payment interest and compensation apply to overdue invoices.
- Keep statutory interest out of the terms you use for consumers.
- Name a person your customer can contact about queries.
- Keep a copy of the terms each customer accepted, whether signed or confirmed by email, alongside the quote.
Once the terms are set, the work moves to collecting on the date you agreed. With Adfin, you can send a payment link for each invoice by email, SMS or WhatsApp, and your customer can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, bank transfer or SEPA direct debit. For business customers, Adfin's Enhanced credit control, at 0.3% per paid invoice and only when it's used, can add statutory late payment interest to overdue invoices automatically, with grace periods and waivers for individual customers.
Common questions
What are the standard payment terms in Ireland? No single term is set by law for every sale. Between businesses, where no date was agreed, payment is due 30 calendar days after the later of the customer receiving the invoice or delivery.
Can I agree 90-day payment terms with a business customer? You can, but a term over 60 calendar days from delivery has to be expressly agreed in the contract and mustn't be grossly unfair to you as the supplier.
How long does a public body have to pay an invoice in Ireland? The amended Regulations set a ceiling of 60 calendar days from delivery, while official guidance describes 30 days, so take advice if a term is disputed. Government policy separately asks public bodies to pay within 15 calendar days of a valid invoice.
Do the late payment rules apply to consumers? No, S.I. 580 of 2012 covers sales between businesses and to public bodies only. Statutory interest and fixed compensation can't be claimed from a consumer.
When does late payment interest start? It runs from the day after the payment date until the invoice is paid, without any reminder. The rate is 10.4% a year from 1 July 2026 and is reset each 1 January and 1 July.
Can a customer's terms remove my right to interest? A term that varies or waives interest or the payment date can be challenged if it's grossly unfair, and a court looks at all the circumstances. Take legal advice before accepting or relying on such a term.
Sources
- Irish Statute Book - S.I. No. 580/2012, European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations 2012 (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2012/si/580/made/en/print
- Irish Statute Book - S.I. No. 196/2014, European Communities (Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (accurate as of November 2026) https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/si/196/made/en/print
- Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - Late Payment in Commercial Transactions (accurate as of November 2026) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/What-We-Do/Supports-for-SMEs/Late-Payments/Late-Payment-in-Commercial-Transactions/
- Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - Late Payment Interest Rate (accurate as of November 2026) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/supports-for-smes/late-payments/late-payment-interest-rate-
- Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment - Prompt Payment Returns (accurate as of November 2026) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/supports-for-smes/late-payments/prompt-payment-returns/
- European Payments Council - 2025 SEPA Direct Debit Core Rulebook, version 1.0 (accurate as of November 2026) https://europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/sites/default/files/kb/file/2024-11/EPC016-06%202025%20SDD%20Core%20Rulebook%20version%201.0.pdf
