Presentment looks administrative, but it has legal significance. The payment clock on most net-terms invoices doesn't start until the invoice is actually presented to the customer in the agreed format. If your contract says invoices are due net-30 from receipt, and you email an invoice that lands in a spam folder, your 30 days may not have started yet. Presentment rules vary by jurisdiction and contract, but documenting delivery (read receipts, delivery confirmation, portal acknowledgment) protects you in a dispute.

Large corporate customers often require invoices through a vendor portal (SAP Ariba, Coupa) rather than email. Submit by email instead of the portal and the invoice may be considered not presented at all, with the payment clock never starting. This is a common source of delayed payment for small businesses working with enterprise clients. Always confirm the required presentment channel at the start of an engagement.

From a collections standpoint, weak presentment is the first defense a slow-paying customer tends to raise: "we never received the invoice." Protect yourself by sending invoices via tracked email, requesting confirmation of receipt for large invoices, and keeping a log of all presentment attempts. The email delivery log in QuickBooks, Xero, or whatever you use can serve as presentment evidence.