How to fill out a sales confirmation
A sales confirmation accepts a buyer's order and states back what has been agreed. It is a short document that carries more weight than it looks: in many jurisdictions it is the acceptance that forms the contract, and whatever terms it carries are the ones that arguably govern.
The 20 fields on a sales confirmation
Taken from the document itself, in the order it prints them.
- Document No.
Your own reference, which the invoice and shipping documents should quote later so the whole file reconciles.
- Date
- PO Reference
The order being accepted. Without it the confirmation is unattached, and neither party can tell which order it answers.
- Incoterms
Restated deliberately, not copied without checking. If the buyer's order named a term you cannot meet, this is where you say so. Silently accepting and shipping on a different basis is a dispute.
- Payment Terms
Confirming what you will actually accept. Where you have changed the buyer's proposed terms, that is a counter-offer rather than an acceptance, and it needs saying rather than burying.
- Currency
- Seller
- Buyer
- Port of Loading
Where the goods will actually load, which under an FOB term is where your cost and risk end.
- Port of Discharge
- Date of Departure
The shipment date or window you are committing to. A confirmation with no date confirms nothing about when.
- Discount
- Freight
- Insurance
- Other Charges
- Bank Details
Given once, here, at the start of the relationship. A later change communicated by email is the standard shape of invoice-redirection fraud, and having the original on a signed document is what makes the change visible.
- Name
- Title
- Place
- Date
The line-item columns
One row per product. Columns can be hidden, renamed or added in the generator.
- Item #
- Description
Full specification, matching what you will actually ship. This becomes the invoice description and the letter of credit description, so vagueness propagates.
- HS Code
Confirming the classification you will declare. If it differs from the buyer's assumption, this is where the disagreement is cheap to resolve.
- Qty
- Unit
- Unit Price
The agreed price on the agreed term. Any change from the order is a counter-offer and should be flagged as one.
- Amount
A working sales confirmation, prefilled with a sample shipment. Every field above is editable here, and it downloads as a PDF.
| Item # | Description | HS Code | Qty | Unit | Unit Price (USD) | Amount (USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
We confirm acceptance of your order on the terms set out above. Shipment will be effected from on or about .
Parties, ports, container and line items carry across every document.
Acceptance or counter-offer
If your confirmation matches the order, it is an acceptance and a contract exists. If it changes anything material, such as price, quantity, delivery or terms, it is a counter-offer, and the contract forms only when the buyer accepts that. Sellers routinely ship on the assumption that a modified confirmation was agreed. It may not have been.
Say which terms apply
This is the practical response to the battle of the forms. A confirmation that expressly states which terms govern, and flags any departure from the buyer's order, converts a latent conflict into a conversation while there is still time. Silence is what leaves both parties believing different things.
It is the last chance before the money moves
Deposits usually follow the confirmation. Everything you would want fixed before receiving money belongs here: specification, shipment window, what happens if inputs move. After the deposit the negotiating position has changed.
+Is a sales confirmation legally binding?
Where it accepts the order as sent, generally yes. It is the acceptance that completes the contract. Where it changes terms it is a counter-offer and binds nobody until accepted.
+How does it differ from a proforma invoice?
A proforma precedes the order and quotes what a shipment would cost. A confirmation follows the order and accepts it. Sellers often use a proforma for both, which works but blurs when the contract formed.
+Do I need one if there is a sales contract?
Usually yes, per order. The contract sets the framework. The confirmation accepts a specific order under it.
Try it with a real shipment.
Everything above is already on the form. Fill it in and download the PDF — no account needed.
Open the sales confirmation generator