Payment Terms and Credit for Repeat Import Orders
Cash flow kills importers far more often than price does. A container is paid for in China, sits on water for a month, clears customs, and only then turns into an invoice your customer has not paid yet. Every week of that gap comes out of your own working capital.
Payment terms are the way buyers pull that gap back to a manageable size. They are also a business arrangement, not a promotion, and they are agreed properly and in writing.
How an import order is normally paid
- Option 1 — deposit and balance: a deposit at the start, which covers the materials the factory has to buy, and the balance once the goods are finished and checked — both settled before shipment
- Option 2 — full payment: the whole order paid before shipment
Both structures are normal because they match where the cost sits: the factory spends money before you have goods, and nothing ships until payment is complete. For repeat customers, the split between deposit and balance — and the payment method — is open to discussion, agreed in writing before production starts.
What we look at before agreeing terms
- Your order history with us, including the products, the volumes and whether shipments landed as planned
- Whether the factories in this particular order are comfortable with the agreed stages, because arrangements are confirmed per supplier and per order rather than as a blanket account setting
- The payment method and the documentation behind it, which has to work at both ends of the shipment
- Whether the terms are written down before production starts. An arrangement that only exists in a chat message is not an arrangement
How a split-payment arrangement is set up
- We talk through the order and what the cash flow actually looks like between your payment and your customer’s
- We confirm the stages the factories involved will accept, and note them on the order
- We write the terms into the order confirmation: what is due, at which stage, and what happens if a shipment moves
- From the next order onwards, the terms apply to that product line without being renegotiated from scratch
Why we treat it this way
Payment arrangements granted loosely cost more than they are worth. If the stages are not agreed on paper before production starts, disputes end up priced into the goods and every buyer pays for it. Written terms and a documented order history are what make the arrangement work for both sides.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an order history to be considered?
For a first order we work on the standard deposit and balance structure. Terms become a conversation once there is a delivery history to look at.
Is the arrangement with you or with the factory?
With the factory, arranged and documented through us. That is why the stages are agreed per order rather than set as a blanket policy.
Can terms be agreed for part of an order?
Yes, and it is common on a mixed order. Terms on one or two product lines, standard payment on the rest.
What happens if a shipment is delayed?
The written terms say so. That is the reason we put the stages in the order confirmation rather than leaving them to be remembered later.
Ask about terms for your next order
Tell us the order, the product lines and the payment stages you have in mind. We will tell you what the factories will accept and put the agreed version in writing.
If you want to see where the goods are held while terms are being arranged, the answer is our warehouse and packing service. For the shipment itself, see consolidation or freight.
Send the details through the contact page and we will come back with a proposal you can compare against your own bank terms.
