Importers and exporters

Define the trade model

Separate merchant trade, own-manufactured exports, imports for resale and cross-border services. Record who owns the goods, who contracts with the customer and which entity makes or receives payment. Each model raises different documentation questions.

Prepare before shipment

Keep IEC and entity information consistent with banking and customs records. An IEC does not replace restricted-goods permissions, product certification or sector requirements. Review the product, origin, destination and proposed use before relying on a supplier’s description.

Build one transaction file

• Contract, invoice and agreed delivery terms.
• Classification and product-permission evidence.
• Packing and transport or service-delivery records.
• Customs assessment and supporting declarations where applicable.
• Bank payments, receipts and invoice allocations.

Reconcile the exceptions

Short receipts, credit notes, rejected shipments and third-party payments should remain visible in the trade ledger. Review the current bank procedure and applicable period before treating an open item as closed. Scheme benefits require separate eligibility and evidence checks.

An example

An importer changing the product specification may need a fresh certification or classification assessment even if the supplier and commercial product name stay the same. Preserve the technical change record before placing the next order.

People and premises still matter

Warehouses, employees, customer data and domestic sales remain part of the operating worklist. Kosha can coordinate records and specialist questions; customs brokerage, foreign legal advice and technical testing are separately scoped.

Choose support for the open question

For entity-profile records, import-export code support starts with the business identity and the information to create or update. Keep the banking and operating details available for reconciliation.

For goods and shipment questions, customs and foreign-trade advisory uses the product specification, commercial terms and proposed movement. Provide technical records alongside the invoice description so the adviser can identify the issue requiring assessment.

For outstanding export receipts, export documentation and realisation support connects invoices, shipment or delivery evidence and bank records. List unresolved deductions and credit notes separately from receipts already allocated.

Explain a receipt covering several invoices

If one customer payment covers three invoices, prepare an allocation showing the amount applied to each, the currency and any bank charges or agreed deductions. Keep the customer’s payment advice with the bank record and invoice schedule.

Where an invoice remains partly unpaid, record the reason supported by the available correspondence and identify the next action. A reconciled bank total should not conceal an unresolved shipment, commercial dispute or document request attached to one invoice.