How long should it take to pay your vendors in 2025? Standards and expectations are constantly evolving, especially as technology changes and creates new benchmarks for speed.
You can’t afford to ignore those vendor payment timelines. While traditional payment terms like Net 30 or Net 60 have long been the standard, today they are losing relevance. Across a wide range of industries, businesses are prioritizing faster, more predictable payments.
Read on and we’ll talk about the factors that are shaping B2B payment expectations today, and how finance leaders like you can modernize your processes with powerful platforms that deliver automation and realtime payment capabilities.
The Cost of Delay: Why Timing Matters in Vendor Payments
Late payments cost far more than the dollar amount on the check. They strain business relationships. They disrupt production. They increase risk for business operations. They erode vendor trust. Ultimately, they cause your business to take a big hit to both your pocketbook and your reputation.
According to a recent SupplyChainBrain analysis, delayed payments contribute to rising supplier costs and reduced vendor performance, especially in industries like manufacturing and logistics, where timing is critical. Their survey found that 31% of businesses say late payments have become a bigger problem today than they were a year ago, with all the negative consequences that typically accompany them.
Meanwhile, “Net Never” has become an uncomfortable reality for many vendors. A PYMNTS report found that a growing number of suppliers are waiting beyond agreed-upon terms or struggling to predict when payments will arrive. This unpredictability makes it difficult for businesses to plan and limits innovation throughout the environment.
The message is clear: in 2025, when you pay matters just as much as how much you pay.
From Net 30 to Realtime: The New Benchmark for Vendor Payments
Net terms have long been the standard in B2B transactions. But with the increasing availability of automated vendor payments and realtime rails, businesses are redefining what “on-time” means.
In industries like healthcare and construction, where vendors are often smaller and cash flow-sensitive, the expectation is shifting toward same-day or even instant payment. Others are moving to shorter cycles (Net 15 or Net 10) enabled by digital invoicing and faster approvals.
The purpose of these shifts is to help businesses keep pace with change. Fast, reliable payment timelines help suppliers maintain inventory, avoid costly financing and strengthen long-term partnerships.
The most successful finance teams are taking active steps to optimize their payment terms.
Automation in Action: Solving for Speed, Accuracy and Visibility
One of the fastest ways to modernize vendor payments is with automation. Automation streamlines every step of the process from invoice capture and approval routing to payment execution and reconciliation.
Vendor payment automation comes with a wide range of benefits:
- Going paperless
- Eliminating manual entry errors
- Reducing approval lag
- Gaining realtime visibility into payment status
For accounts payable teams under pressure to do more with less, automation offers a clear path to speed and control.
Many organizations are reasonably concerned about whether automation would disrupt their existing systems, especially core accounting or ERP platforms. That’s where modern tools like REPAY shine.
Our solution offers ERP payment integration that connects seamlessly with existing software, minimizing friction and maximizing uptime. With secure data flow and customizable workflows, businesses can modernize without overhauling their infrastructure.
Overcoming Barriers to Modern Vendor Payment Processes
Despite the benefits, many mid-sized and enterprise businesses still face internal roadblocks to improving vendor payments. Common challenges include:
- Legacy systems that don’t support modern payment methods
- Approval bottlenecks and siloed communication between departments
- Fear of ERP disruption during implementation
- Lack of visibility into realtime payment status and exceptions
IT and finance teams must work together to overcome these barriers, starting with a clear assessment of current workflows. Where are the delays happening? Which steps are still manual? What reporting gaps exist?
By identifying these bottlenecks early, businesses can develop a roadmap for improvement that prioritizes automation, integration and transparency.
Leading the Change: What Forward-Thinking Finance Teams Are Doing Now
CFOs and AP leaders have to do more than cut costs. They need to build smarter, more scalable operations. That starts with vendor payment modernization.
Here’s what top-performing teams are prioritizing:
- Realtime payment capabilities that improve vendor satisfaction
- Fully integrated ERP solutions that sync easily
- Automated approval workflows that reduce time-to-pay
- Advanced reconciliation tools that improve reporting accuracy
REPAY supports this transformation by offering a secure, highly integrated platform that enables businesses to send and receive payments faster without sacrificing compliance or control. From batch processing to instant funding, REPAY helps finance teams streamline vendor payments and stay ahead of what’s next.
Fast, Predictable Payments Are the New Standard
As we head deeper into 2025, payment speed is a necessity. In an environment where vendors expect timeliness and professionalism, falling behind on payment timelines is too costly of a mistake.
Modern businesses need payment systems that are built for speed, automation and scale. That means fewer manual steps, ERP payment integration and the flexibility to meet changing vendor expectations.
REPAY makes this possible, helping businesses shift from reactive to proactive in their vendor payment strategy. If you're ready to modernize your AP process and improve vendor relationships, there's never been a better time to explore what's possible.
Want to dive deeper into how REPAY simplifies vendor payments through automation and integration? Our team is ready to talk!