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Finding net 90 vendors can substantially improve your cash flow as a small business, freeing up working capital for growth.
But obtaining vendor credit with 90-day net terms is almost impossible. Most vendor credit accounts only offer 30-day invoice payment terms.
In this article, we’ll teach you how to leverage awesome accounts like Amazon’s net 55 trade credit and the American Express Plum Card to get 90 day interest-free payment terms.
It’s Hard to Find Net 90 Vendors – Here’s What to Do Instead
The time between when a vendor invoices and when your payment is due is considered the payment term or net terms. The most common net terms are 15 and 30, followed by net 60. Unfortunately, net terms longer than 60 days are nearly impossible to find.
A quick Google search of “net 90 vendors” doesn’t yield many search results. Why? Are vendors offering net 90 terms keeping it a secret?
Not necessarily. Net 90 terms are often only extended to customers that have an existing relationship with that vendor. New customers usually have to start at net 30 terms and work their way up.
Considering that many vendors will not offer new businesses net 90 terms, there are not many options left available for getting net 90 terms as a startup or small business owner.
Your best bet for getting 90 days to pay your invoice is to pursue alternatives. I.E., instead of asking for net 90 terms, ask for net 60 terms and pay with a credit card that has net 30 terms.
To recap, you can get 90 day terms with:
Net 30 + Net 60 Charge Card
Or
Net 60 + Regular 30-day credit card grace period
Net 90 Alternatives
It is unlikely that anyone will up and offer you an account with net 90 terms. Especially if you don’t have established vendor relationships.
So what are the alternatives?
You can try asking for net 60 or net 30 terms and work your way up to net 90 terms.
You can also extend your repayment period by utilizing a credit card. For instance, if you have an account with net 30 terms and pay your invoice balance with a credit card that has net 30 terms, you now have 60 days to pay your invoice.
We have put together a series of solutions for achieving the equivalent of net 90 terms.
We’ll also take a moment to analyze some options that you can pursue to build up your business credit enough to negotiate net 90 terms in the future.
Net 60 Credit Card: Plum Card from American Express
One great way to get net 90 terms when you are just starting out is to use a net 60 credit card as your payment method.
While there are not many net 60 vendors options, the Plum Card from American Express is one such card.
This unique card offers you 60 days interest-free to pay your statement balance. They’ll also offer you 1.5% cash back as an early payment discount (within 10 days after your statement).
This card also comes with zero foreign transaction fees and a sign-up bonus.
The downside is there is a $250 annual fee. And you are not likely to qualify for the card if you have poor/bad credit.
Amazon Net 55 Terms
The other method for achieving net 90 terms is to use a vendor account with net 60 terms and pay with a regular net 30 business credit card.
Using an Amazon credit line is one way of achieving this. Amazon offers two types of credit lines for businesses.
The first type is the pay-in-full account (where you pay the full invoice on the due date). This account comes with net 30 or net 55 payment terms.
Getting the net 55 terms may be tricky. You’ll need decent business credit, your business must be at least two years old, and you’ll need to personally guarantee the credit line.
And you are limited on which Amazon items you can buy.
Amazon’s second type of credit line is a revolving credit line, where you can pay a minimum balance and potentially accrue interest charges.
Net 30 Account: Business T-Shirt
If your business is less than two years old, you may want to put pursuing a vendor account with net 90 terms on the back burner.
Instead, focus on building your credit now to qualify for better terms later.
Applying for easy-to-get net 30 accounts, like Business T-Shirt, can help you build business credit faster.
This company sells various apparel items that can be customized with your business logo.
Signing up for their net 30 account is simple, and they’ll report your monthly activity to several business credit bureaus.
Try Business T-Shirt ClubNet 30 Account: JJ Gold International
If you don’t need company-branded apparel, other net 30 account options are available.
JJ Gold international sells hair and beauty supplies, home decor, jewelry, etc.
Qualifying for their net 30 account only requires that your business be at least 90 days old.
Once you have the account, you can begin applying the net 30 terms to any purchase exceeding $100.
And JJ Gold International will report your payment history to Dun & Bradstreet.
The one downside is that new customers will have to fork over a 50% deposit. So, a $500 order would require an upfront deposit of $250.
Net 30 Account: Staples
If apparel and beauty items don’t work for your business, you can always open an account with Staples.
Staples sells a variety of office supplies, electronics, and more.
The application for net 30 terms is pretty straightforward. First, Staples will evaluate your credit to determine if you qualify and what account terms they are willing to extend.
For instance,