In a 30 70 payment terms China request, the numbers identify two stated payment portions. They do not tell you the full commercial terms. Confirm what each payment covers, the supplier and current order reference, payment basis, currency, method, beneficiary, balance trigger, documents, and exact wording before you act. This article provides general information and is not legal or financial advice.<\/p>\n
A supplier may use 30\/70 wording in a quote, pro forma invoice, purchase order, or email. The phrase alone does not say which product version it applies to, when a payment is requested, what documents are involved, or whether an instruction has changed. Read it as part of the full written order record.<\/p>\n
The notation 30\/70 is shorthand for two portions named in a supplier’s payment request. The associated documents must explain what each portion refers to. The first portion may be described as a deposit, advance payment, or another supplier-defined item. The second portion may be described as a balance or another supplier-defined item. Do not decide what either one means from the numbers alone.<\/p>\n
The Alex Trading Group explanation of 30% deposit and 70% payment wording<\/a> presents examples in which the numbers appear beside specific balance wording. The Harris Sliwoski discussion of 30\/70 TT<\/a> also describes a deposit and a balance in its example. These examples explain terminology. They do not turn a particular payment split into a rule for your order.<\/p>\n Write down the supplier name, current quote, pro forma invoice, or purchase-order reference beside the 30\/70 wording. Add the product version, quantity, price basis, currency, and stated payment instructions. This gives you a record of which commercial discussion the phrase belongs to.<\/p>\n If the supplier says “30\/70” but does not provide a current order reference or a description of the payment trigger, ask it to clarify the wording in writing. Do not supply the missing meaning yourself. A payment split is only one line in a larger commercial record.<\/p>\n The words attached to the balance matter. For example, “70% before shipment” and “70% against B\/L” are different phrases. The Alex Trading Group page uses both formulations in separate examples. A B\/L is a bill of lading. The presence of that phrase does not tell you the whole payment instruction without the supplier’s order reference, documents, and stated conditions.<\/p>\n Read the wording as it appears in the supplier’s documents. Do not reduce it to a label in a spreadsheet. Record the exact phrase, the document where it appears, the document date or revision, and the supplier contact who confirmed it.<\/p>\n Ask focused questions when the wording is unclear. You might ask: “What event, document, or condition does the balance instruction refer to in quote [reference]?” You might also ask: “Please confirm whether the balance phrase in the pro forma invoice is unchanged from the latest quotation.” These questions seek clarity. They do not request that the supplier use a different arrangement.<\/p>\n Exact balance wording must be read from the order record and should not be treated as interchangeable. This is especially important when a supplier revises an invoice, changes the payment instruction, or refers to several documents during the same product discussion.<\/p>\n Start with scope. Ask the supplier to state what the first and second portions cover in the current order record. The supplier may refer to a product order, sample work, tooling, materials, production, a document, or another item. Copy the supplier’s description without turning it into an assumption about another transaction.<\/p>\n Then match the payment wording to the product specification and current quote. Check the product version, material, packaging, quantity, variant mix, price basis, currency, and trade term if shown. If an order has changed since the supplier first used 30\/70 wording, ask which version the current payment instruction applies to.<\/p>\n The right question is not “Is 30\/70 safe?” The right question is “What does this written instruction cover, and how does it link to the current order?” A supplier’s answer may be short, detailed, or attached to a revised document. Keep the answer with the rest of the payment record.<\/p>\nSeparate the number from the balance trigger<\/h2>\n
Confirm what each payment covers<\/h2>\n