PRACTICE AREA

Contracts and documents

The contract, specification, invoice, packing list, transport and permit documents should evidence the same operation. We check whether the pack is consistent, and where the wording diverges from the facts.

When this is relevant

The contract is ready or almost ready, and it is unclear whether it will stand against the operation

The wording looks familiar, but it may not match the actual shipment, the payments and the other documents.

The invoice, specification and contract describe the transaction differently

The name, quantity, value, delivery basis or parties do not match.

Supporting documents exist but do not rest on the contract terms

The pack has been collected, yet the transport, permit or payment documents do not evidence what the contract states.

It is unclear which documents are still missing before the next step

Dispatch, payment or filing is still ahead, and the gap is better seen in advance.

What we look at

We read the pack as one account of the transaction: who, what, on which terms, in what quantity and value, and what evidence supports that.

We mark not only missing documents, but contradictions: papers that exist and still describe different operations.

Typical questions

The weak point of a pack is rarely a single word in the contract. It is more often the join between documents.

  • Whether the subject, quantity, value and delivery basis match across the documents.
  • Whether the supporting documents evidence the same operation as the contract.
  • Which document or clarification is still needed for the pack to hold together.

How this helps

You receive a reading of the pack: where it is consistent, where it diverges, and what is worth clarifying.

  • The picture of the transaction that the documents currently support.
  • Contradictions and gaps that create practical risk.
  • What is worth correcting or adding before the next step.

The pack should describe one operation.
Check the contract together with the supporting documents.