T/T · B/L copy · L/C

T/T 30/70 payment terms deposit calculator

See the cash at risk with the supplier before loading.

Enter the order value, the deposit and your bank costs to compare three payment terms side by side, with a checklist to run before the first wire goes out.

Last updated 2026-09-28. Math runs in your browser, no data leaves your computer.

Use the numbers on the proforma invoice and your own bank's tariff. The tool assumes a single shipment, and it counts money as at risk when it has left your account and there is no cargo on board to show for it.

Pick the currency on the proforma invoice, because that is what the supplier's bank expects to receive.

Take the total from the proforma, including any tooling or sample charges the supplier bills with the order.

The field starts at 30 because that is the 30/70 split being compared, so change it to whatever the supplier actually asked for.

Use the production lead time the supplier confirmed, since that is how long the deposit sits with them before anything ships.

Take it from your bank's tariff for international transfers, because a split payment means two wires instead of one.

Enter the buyer's share of the credit's fees, which the letter of credit fee calculator works out from your bank's tariff.

Some banks ask the applicant to set cash aside against the credit, so enter the share your bank quoted or leave it blank if there is none.

Checklist before the first wire

  • The bank account name on the proforma matches the company name on the supplier's business licence, character for character, and it is a company account rather than a personal one.
  • You confirmed the bank details by phone on a number you already had, and you do it again every time the details change.
  • The proforma states the payment term in words, including the event that triggers the balance, such as before loading or against a B/L copy.
  • The balance is released only after the inspection report or the B/L copy matches the goods, quantity and marks on the order.
  • The Incoterm and the named place are on the proforma, so both sides know where the risk passes.

Before the booking, screen the name on the invoice. Shipment pre-check is on the paid plans, from USD 59 a month.

General guidance only. Verify against the cited primary sources before you commit to a shipment, declaration, or contract.

How the three terms are compared

With the balance paid before loading, both the deposit and the balance leave your account before the goods are on a ship, so the whole order is at risk until the bill of lading exists. With the balance paid against a copy of the bill of lading, only the deposit is at risk before shipment, and the supplier keeps the original bill or the release until the balance arrives.

Under an L/C at sight the supplier is paid by the bank against documents that comply with the credit, so no cash reaches the supplier before shipment. The tool adds any deposit you set only to the two T/T columns, because a sight credit normally covers the full value, and it adds your L/C fees and any cash margin from your inputs.

Bank cost is your wire fee times the number of wires for T/T, and your L/C fee total for the credit. None of the numbers come from the tool, so the comparison is only as good as the tariff you typed in.

Worked example. A 30/70 order paid in full before loading

The booking. A buyer places a USD 60,000 order on T/T 30/70, pays the USD 18,000 deposit with the order, and agrees to pay the USD 42,000 balance when the supplier says the goods are ready. It is a supplier the buyer has used once before, and the terms look fine on paper.

The failure. The balance goes out a week before the planned loading date, and then the vessel is missed and the carton marks turn out to be wrong. Every dollar of the USD 60,000 is now with the supplier and there is no bill of lading, so the buyer has nothing to hold back while the problems get fixed. The choice in front of the buyer is blunt: change the term, or change the supplier.

The fix. On the next order the buyer keeps the 30 percent deposit but moves the balance to payment against a B/L copy, after an inspection report. The money at risk before shipment drops from USD 60,000 to USD 18,000, the USD 42,000 goes out only once the goods are on board and checked, and the order ships the same week.

Want to see what each term costs in days of working capital, from T/T upfront through open account? The payment term cost calculator lays out eleven terms side by side.

Frequently asked

What does T/T 30/70 mean?

It means 30 percent of the order value is paid by telegraphic transfer as a deposit when the order is placed, and the other 70 percent is paid later. The term on its own does not say when the 70 percent is due, so write it into the proforma: before loading, against a copy of the bill of lading, or on some other event. That one line decides how much money you have out before the goods ship.

Is paying the balance against a B/L copy safer than paying before shipment?

For the buyer, yes, because the goods are already on board when the balance goes out and the copy shows it. The supplier still holds the original bill of lading, or the release, until the balance lands, so the seller keeps control of the cargo until it is paid. What a copy does not prove is quality, so pair it with an inspection before loading.

Why compare an L/C at sight with T/T?

Under a sight letter of credit nothing goes to the supplier before shipment, and the bank pays only against documents that comply with the credit. The price for that is bank fees on both sides and a paperwork discipline most small orders do not justify. Enter your bank's total for the credit here, or work it out line by line in the letter of credit fee calculator.

Why must the bank account name match the business licence?

Because a payment to an account in any other name is a payment to someone other than the company you contracted with. Changed bank details sent by email are a common route for payment fraud, so check the account name against the supplier's business licence and confirm any change by phone on a number you already had.

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Sourzi shows what official files say. It is not customs or legal advice. For a binding answer, ask a licensed customs broker, a CBP ruling or an Australian Border Force Tariff Advice.

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