Payment schedule: template, worked example and rules

No French rule sets the form of a payment schedule: it is an agreement between the supplier and the customer. To leave no room for doubt, the template includes:

• the parties, supplier and customer, with their SIREN number;
• the reference document: signed quote, invoice or contract whose amount is split;
• the total amount due and the number of instalments;
• for each instalment, its date, its amount and the balance outstanding once paid;
• a column for the actual payment date;
• the payment method: bank transfer, SEPA direct debit, card;
• the invoicing chosen: one invoice per instalment, or a single invoice showing the schedule;
• what happens if an instalment is unpaid;
• the dated signature of both parties.

The check is simple: the instalments add up to the total amount, and the balance outstanding reaches zero on the last line.

A fictitious service of €6,000 including VAT, quote signed on 15/09/2026, paid by bank transfer in four equal instalments.

Instalment = total amount / number of instalments
           = €6,000 / 4 = €1,500
Balance outstanding = previous balance - instalment paid

When the division is not exact, round to the cent and adjust the last instalment: €1,000 in three payments gives €333.33, €333.33 then €333.34.

With a deposit, the schedule starts with a larger payment: 30% at signature, i.e. €1,800, then three instalments of €1,400; the balance goes from €4,200 to €2,800, €1,400, then €0.

The two documents look alike, but they do not come at the same time.

A French court may, taking into account the debtor's situation and the creditor's needs, postpone or spread the payment of sums due within a limit of two years (article 1343-5 of the French civil code). During the period it sets, penalties for late payment are not incurred.

For taxes, the French administration uses the same word: a company facing one-off difficulties can ask the public accountant for a repayment plan (plan de règlement), always shorter than two years according to service-public.fr.

In practice, a repayment plan granted to a customer after a default is drafted like a payment schedule: the template works, with the invoices concerned as the reference document.

Payment terms between businesses. Without agreement, the customer pays within 30 days of receiving the goods or of the service being performed. The parties may agree on a longer term, capped at 60 days after the invoice is issued or 45 days end of month (service-public.fr, page checked on 7 August 2026). Check that each instalment stays within these caps relative to the invoice it settles, and have an unusual arrangement reviewed by your adviser.

An instalment paid late. Late payment penalties are due from the day after its date, without reminder, at the agreed rate, which cannot be lower than 8.25% a year in the second half of 2026, or at 12.40% if no rate was set. For a business customer, the €40 fixed fee per invoice paid late is added.

One invoice per instalment, or a single one. Issuing an invoice for each instalment, for example a deposit invoice then a final invoice, links each payment to its document. A single invoice can also show the schedule in its payment terms. Either way, each invoice carries its mandatory details, including the payment date, the penalty rate and the €40 fee.