Trading terms are the terms and conditions of sale that also include exclusion conditions. Your Trading Terms should include all the agreements for the sale of goods and services; however it is essential that you understand your Trading Terms do not include retail sales. Retail sales are not included because retail sales are too cumbersome to keep track of.

There are many trading terms used in the sales of goods and services. Below are those most important trading terms.

Placement of orders: This trading term should include information on how orders are placed, how the rates of the products will be fixed for the trade and if there are any minimum order requirements.

Cancellations and Variations of Orders: As the name suggests, this trading term covers what must be done if there are any cancellations or variations to be made to the order.

Delivery: The trading term indicating the confirmation of delivery of goods, the amount of risks that the goods go through during its delivery process and storage changes if any. The term is also used for covering what has to be done for any returns that are to be made during the transaction.

Payment: as the name implies, this trading term includes payment and credit terms of the transaction. It is important to clarify what should be done in the case of default payments and covers interest and unpaid accounts.

Reservation of title: this is the trading term the seller of the goods may use if they want to maintain their title after the transaction. This trading term is usually used to ensure the seller is paid once the transaction is complete, after which the title is changed.

Limitation of liability: this trading term ensures the sellers restrict their responsibilities to matters that they are responsible for, and which fall under their control. It is important to have a refund and complaints policy when using this trading term.

There are various other trading terms involved in business transactions. Businesses without any trading terms run the risk of being unprotected. DWT Legal is ready to offer their expert advice in choosing and using the best legal terms for your transactions. If you would like to discuss trading terms with us, please call us on 01562 514862, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or contact us using the contacts page of our website.