Guide · Payment & terms
How do payment terms work when sourcing equipment from China?
The hardest part of paying for equipment from China is rarely the banking. It is that a deposit usually leaves before anything has been verified, and the balance is the only leverage left if the goods are wrong. Sinospect changes who carries that exposure: on most orders it supplies the goods as the principal, so the buyer pays one accountable counterparty and Sinospect manages the factory-side payment exposure.
This page sets out who you pay, when the factory is paid, how the terms are decided, and what changes if you buy direct from the factory instead.
Who do you actually pay?
On most orders, you pay Sinospect, not the factory. Sinospect sources the goods, controls the quality, and sells them to you as the accountable supplier, on one invoice. The factory relationship, including the payment to it, sits with Sinospect.
The practical difference is accountability. A direct deposit to a factory you have not qualified ties your money to a counterparty you cannot see. Buying through one supplier that stands behind the goods means a single relationship to hold accountable if something arrives wrong, rather than a dispute with a factory several thousand kilometres away.
When does the factory get paid?
The factory’s final payment is not released until Sinospect’s own quality control passes. The form of that control depends on the order: a factory acceptance test on built equipment, a pre-shipment inspection on finished goods, with a complete document pack and any corrective actions closed before release.
This is the mechanism worth understanding, because it is what controls the release. The final payment is made against verified evidence rather than against the factory’s statement that the goods are ready, so the factory-payment release is controlled by inspection evidence, not by trust in the supplier.
How are the payment terms set?
There is no fixed deposit-and-balance split. The protection mechanism stays constant, but the schedule is set per order around three factors:
- Buyer-side capital controls. In several francophone African markets and elsewhere, moving foreign currency takes bank authorisation and time. Terms are structured so the schedule fits what the buyer's bank can actually release, and when.
- Supplier trust level. A factory Sinospect has run orders through before carries less risk than a first-time supplier. The more the supplier is proven, the more flexibility there is in how the order is funded.
- Order size and funding capacity. Sinospect carries the order between the buyer's payments and the factory's. How much it can carry depends on the order's size and the funding available for it, alongside everything else in progress, and that shapes what the schedule can be.
Because these vary by order, terms are agreed for the specific deal rather than published as a standard percentage. What does not vary is that the factory is not paid in full before quality is verified.
Does a letter of credit or a transfer replace inspection?
No. A payment instrument and quality control do different jobs. A letter of credit is only as strong as the acceptance conditions written into it: released against weak criteria, it pays out whether or not the goods are right. A bank transfer carries no acceptance conditions at all.
The instrument sits on top of the inspection and the document control, it does not substitute for them. Tying release to verified evidence is what turns a clean instrument into actual protection.
How Sinospect handles this
On most orders Sinospect supplies the equipment from China as the principal: it qualifies the factory, controls the quality, and does not release the factory’s final payment until its own QC passes, then ships and supports installation. You deal with one accountable counterparty and the terms are built around your capital controls, the supplier’s track record and the order’s size and funding capacity. For buyers who run their own procurement and purchase direct, Sinospect provides the execution-only mode instead, helping structure your own payment release around the inspection, FAT and document evidence on your order.
To see the supply model end to end, see how Sinospect supplies from China. For projects where capital controls are the constraint, see China sourcing for African projects.
Related services and resources
How Sinospect supplies from China
The supply model end to end: sourced, quality-controlled, paid to the factory only after QC passes, delivered and installation-supported.
OpenResource · China sourcing for African projects
Why one accountable counterparty matters most where capital controls make a direct payment to an unknown factory hard to release safely.
OpenResource · Factory acceptance test checklist
The FAT evidence that gates the factory's final payment on equipment orders: what is checked before release.
OpenService · Pre-shipment inspection in China
The pre-shipment evidence that confirms readiness before payment is released and a long sea route begins.
OpenFrequently asked questions
Do I pay Sinospect or the factory?
On most orders you pay Sinospect. It supplies the goods as the principal and invoices you directly, then pays the factory itself. You deal with one accountable counterparty instead of wiring funds to a factory you have not qualified.
When is the factory paid?
The factory's final payment is released only after Sinospect's own quality control passes: the relevant checks for that order, such as a factory acceptance test or a pre-shipment inspection, with a complete document pack and closed corrective actions. The point is that the goods are verified before that payment is released, not that the factory is trusted to deliver.
Will you tell me the exact deposit and balance split?
The split between advance and balance is set per order, not fixed. It is shaped by the buyer's capital controls, how proven the supplier is, and the order's size and funding capacity. What stays constant is the mechanism: the factory is not paid in full until quality is verified.
Does a letter of credit or a bank transfer protect me on its own?
Not on its own. A letter of credit is only as strong as its acceptance conditions, and a transfer carries no acceptance conditions at all. The instrument has to sit on top of inspection and document control: an LC released against weak criteria still leaves the risk in place.
Can you work with our capital-control constraints?
Yes. Buyer-side capital controls are one of the three factors the terms are built around. The schedule is structured to fit what the buyer's bank can release and when, which is part of why buying through one counterparty is simpler than funding a factory direct.
What if we buy direct from the factory ourselves?
Then Sinospect runs the execution-only mode: it helps structure your own payment release around evidence on your order: qualification, inspection and FAT, the document pack, closed corrective actions, so you hold the balance until the goods are verified.
Discuss terms for your order
Send your equipment list or project file. Sinospect replies with how it would supply the order, where the quality is controlled, and how the terms would fit your capital-control and timing constraints.