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Up
Close and Personal
Get a first-hand
look at America's #1 selling export documentation software
Shipping Solutions 2000 is the easy way to prepare your export
forms. Simply enter your information on the EZ Start Screen and
Shipping Solutions 2000 automatically completes more than two
dozen standard export documents. Select the forms you need for your
shipment and print them out on plain paper from your inkjet or laser
printer.
Now you have a number of
opportunities to see how easy it is to save time and money with
Shipping Solutions 2000. Shipping Solutions will be featured at a
number of export-related trade shows and seminars over the next several
weeks.
ABC's of
Exporting, October 3, 2002, Germanna Community College,
Fredricksburg, VA—The Virginia Economic Development Partnership
is sponsoring this free day-long seminar on export marketing, finance, documents,
procedures and compliance. All attendees will see a demonstration of
the Shipping Solutions 2000 software and will receive a free demo
version on CD-ROM. Virginia companies can contact Joe Robinson at
540-857-6029 or jrobinson@
yesvirginia.org for
more information.
Bureau
of Industry and Security (BIS) Update 2002, Hilton Washington
Hotel, October 10-11, 2002,
Washington, D.C.—This conference includes a wide variety of
plenary sessions and workshops that will provide essential information
to exporters on new U.S. export control policies, regulations, and
procedures including screening for proliferation concerns, developments
in encryption controls, technology transfers and deemed exports, and
regulations affecting U.S. persons and items abroad. Visit the Shipping
Solutions booth and get a personal demonstration of the software. Call
202-482-6031 for more information.
Vermont
World Trade Day 2002, October 16, 2002, Sheraton Hotel Burlington,
Burlington, VT— Featuring presentations on export finance, export
documentation and international trade law, this day-long trade show and
conference will include Vermont's first ever report on small and
medium-sized exporters, 20 of Vermont's latest international exporting
success stories, and one-on-one meetings with international service
providers including Shipping Solutions. Call 802-828-1177 for more
information.
Exporting USA, October 29, 2002, University of Michigan,
Dearborn, MI—The World Trade Center Detroit Windsor Association
and Performance Source Logistics are offering this in-depth seminar
covering all aspects of exporting from the U.S. This day-long seminar
combines classroom training in a state-of-the-art computer learning
facility with hands-on transaction processing using Shipping Solutions
2000 export documentation software. For more details, call Performance
Source Logistics at 716-631-9180 or email PSL295@cs.com.
Shipping
Solutions 2000 Online Demo, Tuesdays, 1:00 Central Time—Exporters can
register
to watch a FREE one-hour demonstration of the software online. The
live demos will take you on a guided tour of Shipping Solutions
software, answering any questions you may have about the program. In
addition, companies can arrange a private demo by sending an email to info@intermart-inc.com.
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Why is it taking so long to get paid? Part 2
By Chris
Lidberg
Back when I
was working at the bank, it was not
uncommon for someone late in the day to walk into the
Letter of Credit area with their documents and think they
were going to walk out with a check within the hour.
Unfortunately, it just doesn’t happen that fast.
It’s pretty common
knowledge that the vast majority of exporters dread the letter of
credit process. However, other than cash in advance, it’s the only
payment method where you are able to estimate when payment might be
received.
So, just how long is it going
to take to get paid?
Let’s say your goods are
ready for shipment, and your freight forwarder picks them up on the
first of the month. You’ve arranged inland transportation from your
warehouse in the Midwest to the port of loading, which will probably
take three or four days. Once the goods arrive at the port, it may
take up to a week to get the goods on board the vessel and get the
original bill of lading. We’re now at the 10th or 11th day of the
month.
It will take you a few days
to gather the remaining documents required by the letter of credit.
(If the letter of credit requires any of the documents be legalized or
consularized by a Consulate office, which is usually located in New
York, you can add at least seven days to the process.) Once you’ve
collected these documents, you would typically courier them to the
bank, which adds another day to the process. We’re now at the 12th
or 13th day of the month.
Once the bank has received
your documents, according to UCP 500, article 13b, it has seven days
to examine them and determine if they comply with the terms of the
letter of credit. These are banking days, not calendar days. However,
most banks today will try to examine the documents within two to three
banking days. We’re now at about the 15th day of the month.
If your documents comply and
if the letter of credit contains reimbursement instructions, plan on
an average of another five banking days before payment is made. So now
we’re at least up to the 20th or 21st day of the month.
If there are discrepancies in
your documents, which is not an unusual occurrence, add another week
to the payment process, during which time your bank is getting payment
approval from the issuing bank. We are now up to the 27th or 28th day
of the month.
If the letter of credit
doesn’t contain reimbursement instructions, add at least another
week to the payment process. Your bank will have to courier the
documents to the issuing bank for their review before payment is
effected.
I tell people in my seminars
that they should expect to wait about a month from the time their
products leaves their facility until they receive payment. Please keep
in mind that the time frames I’ve given here are rough estimates,
but it does give you a pretty good idea how long the letter of credit
process can take.
Ms.
Lidberg's bio
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