Vendor payment terms in the OHADA zone: what the law says, what good buyers do

The OHADA framework: no generalised statutory term

Unlike the European Union (Directive 2011/7), OHADA has not adopted a maximum payment term applicable to all commercial transactions. Contractual freedom prevails, framed by OHADA's Uniform Act on General Commercial Law.

Practically, the term applicable to an invoice is the one the parties agreed in the contract or on the PO. Absent a stipulation, the trade custom of the sector applies. Silence is not synonymous with on-the-spot payment.

National and sector variations

Some member states have adopted specific rules, especially in the public sector where payment terms are framed by national public-procurement codes. In the private sector, customs vary by operator size and the nature of goods and services.

Terms vary by sector and operator size. Consumer-goods invoices stay generally short. B2B services and IT engagements run longer. Large industrial projects can exceed 90 days, often against guarantees. Check your sector's practice with your external auditor or trade body.

Good practice on the buyer side

An announced and respected payment term is a reputational asset. Serious vendors prefer a buyer who pays consistently at D+45 than one who announces D+30 and regularly slips to D+90. A held term improves your negotiating power on price and terms.

Conversely, opaque payment behaviour is a trust killer. The vendor either prices in a buffer for late payment, or simply refuses to engage with the buyer.

Building your payment policy

A formal payment policy states three things. One. Standard term by spend category, aligned with your cash cycle. Two. Exception approval (shorter term negotiated against rebate, longer term against guarantee). Three. The threshold and approval circuit for urgent off-policy payments.

The policy must be documented, communicated to vendors at onboarding, and embodied in the procurement software's workflows. Without automation, the policy stays theoretical.

Tooling the policy in the procurement software

Good tooling captures the term at three moments. At vendor registration, the standard term is stored. At PO issuance, the term is auto-applied. At invoicing, the due date is computed and a treasury dashboard surfaces upcoming payments by week.

Procura ships these three moments together, with proactive late-payment alerts and per-vendor payment-performance tracking. Data becomes a steering lever, not a post-mortem of failure.