Count from the due date
This is the whole point of the page. An invoice raised forty-five days ago on net 30 terms is fifteen days past due, not forty-five. People who count from the invoice date panic two weeks early; people who forget the terms entirely chase a month late.
Every aging report, every late fee clause and every conversation with an accounts department uses days past due. Using the same number keeps the conversation short.
The mistake that makes people either panic early or act far too late is counting from the wrong date. An invoice can be six weeks old and barely overdue.
What changes at each boundary
The bucket matters more than the number, because what you should do changes at each boundary and not gradually in between.
Under a week, a reminder is enough and is usually all that is needed. Between one and thirty days, a statement works better than another reminder, because it moves the subject from one invoice to a balance. Past thirty, email has stopped working and a call is the next step. Past sixty you are deciding whether to keep supplying. Past ninety you are deciding what the debt is worth.
Days past due in Excel or Google Sheets
With the due date in cell B2, =MAX(0, TODAY()-B2) gives the days past due and shows 0 for an
invoice that is not due yet. If you only have the invoice date in A2 and net 30 terms, use
=MAX(0, TODAY()-(A2+30)). Both count calendar days, the same as this calculator.
Late fees and grace
A grace period is not required, but charging a fee on day one of lateness costs goodwill for very little money and usually is not what your terms actually say. Setting the grace days here shows the date a fee becomes fair, and the late fee calculator works out what to charge and gives you the wording for it.
Related calculators
- AR aging calculatorThe balance owed, split by how overdue it is
- Late fee calculatorThe fee, the letter and the clause
- Invoice due date calculatorWhen payment is due from the terms you set
- DSO calculatorOne invoice is a due date, all of them together is days sales outstanding
- Chasing an overdue invoiceWhen to remind, when to send a statement, when to call
Questions people ask
How do you calculate days past due?
From the due date, not the invoice date. Take the as-of date, subtract the due date, and the difference is the days past due. An invoice raised 45 days ago on net 30 is 15 days past due.
What are the aging buckets?
Current, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90 days past due. That is the set most accounting software and most finance teams use.
When can I charge a late fee?
Once the invoice is past due and any grace period in your terms has run. The rate you may charge depends on the law where your client is; the late fee laws guide has the statutes for the states it covers.
Should I send a reminder or a statement?
A reminder for the first week. After that a statement usually works better, because it changes the subject from one invoice they might dispute to a balance they have to account for.
What happens past 90 days?
The longer it runs, the less of it you tend to see, so the question shifts from when you will be paid to how much of it you will get. It is a sensible point to stop supplying.
Is 30 days past due in the 1 to 30 or the 31 to 60 bucket?
The 1 to 30 bucket. Day 31 is the first day of the 31 to 60 bucket, and this calculator follows that split.
Does days past due count weekends?
Yes. Days past due are calendar days, weekends and holidays included, which is how aging reports count them. The business days calculator counts working days if your contract uses them.
How do I calculate days past due in Excel?
Subtract the due date from today: =MAX(0, TODAY()-B2) with the due date in B2. The MAX keeps invoices that are not yet due at 0 instead of a negative number.