Selling your software to big corporations: How payment structures work
Big companies rarely pay by credit card every month; they prefer annual contracts and bank transfers. They often take 30 to 60 days to actually pay you after they receive an invoice.
When you sell a SaaS product to multi-national corporations (MNCs), you cannot expect the instant payments you get from individual users. These large organizations usually operate on Net-30 terms, meaning they pay their bill 30 days after you send it. These deals often require signing long legal agreements and passing strict security reviews before any work begins. For a solo business owner, this means you might land a huge contract but will need to wait several months before the first payment arrives in your bank account.
Key points
- Corporations prefer paying once a year via bank transfer rather than monthly cards.
- Be prepared to wait 30 days or more for your money after billing them.
- Expect long legal and security review processes before closing the deal.
- Annual contracts help lock in revenue but delay your initial cash flow.
Quick term guide
- ECE
- A college major name often used for Electronics and Communication Engineering.
- SaaS
- Software that people use online, usually paid for by subscription.
- MNC
- A very large company that has offices and business operations in many different countries.
- Net-30
- A payment rule where a company pays the full amount of an invoice within 30 days.
- SEC
- The U.S. agency that oversees public companies and stock market rules.
- business
- An activity where you provide value to others in exchange for money.
- Owner
- The top account role that can usually change almost every setting.
- FIR
- A First Information Report — the official complaint filed with police in India that kicks off a criminal investigation.