Sales Confirmation Template
A sales confirmation is the seller accepting an order in writing. It repeats back what has been agreed — goods, price, terms, shipment schedule — and in doing so closes the loop that a purchase order opens. Where the two documents disagree, the disagreement surfaces now, which is the entire point of sending one.
| 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 .
Your entries are kept as you move between documents — the parties, ports, container and line items carry across.
This is where a contract is formed
A purchase order is an offer. The sales confirmation is the acceptance that turns it into a binding agreement. That makes the wording matter: confirming an order while quietly changing the delivery date or the payment terms is not acceptance, it is a counter-offer, and the buyer is then free to walk away. If you need to vary a term, say so plainly rather than burying it.
Restate the terms rather than referring to them
Printing the goods, quantities, prices and delivery terms in full is more useful than writing that the order is confirmed as per your PO. Six months later, when a dispute turns on what was agreed, one document carrying the whole agreement beats a chain of references between three. It also catches transcription errors while they are still cheap.
The shipment schedule is the part that gets tested
State when goods will be despatched and from where. Buyers arranging a letter of credit need a latest shipment date they can put in the credit, and a confirmation that promises delivery without naming a port of loading gives them nothing to work with. Where the schedule depends on something outstanding, such as a deposit, say what the trigger is.
Prefer to fill it in on screen? Use the sales confirmation generator →
Exporters
Issue the invoice, packing list and origin paperwork for a shipment in one sitting, without re-keying the consignee address four times.
Freight forwarders
Produce a clean set of documents for a client who sent you a spreadsheet, and hand back PDFs that a customs broker will accept.
Customs brokers
Rebuild a missing or unusable document from the particulars you already hold, without waiting on the shipper's software licence.
One shipment in, every document out
| FreightStow | Typical alternative | |
|---|---|---|
| Enter the shipment once, every document fills in | Yes | Re-key per document |
| Document types | 33 | Varies |
| Statutory forms (CMR, ISF, USMCA origin) | Included | Often missing |
| Add, rename or remove line-item columns | Yes | Fixed templates |
| PDF built in your browser | Yes | Upload, then download |
| Works before you create an account | Yes | Usually not |
The right-hand column describes the general pattern in this category, not one named vendor. Features and plans change — check any provider’s current terms before deciding.
Commercial documents · 12
- Packing List — DetailedFull itemised packing list with HS codes, marks and numbers, package types and per-item dimensions.
- Packing List — SimpleMinimal packing list: what is in the shipment, how many packages, and what it weighs. No HS codes or dimensions.
- Packing List — ContainerPacking list broken down by container, for FCL shipments where each line must be traced to a container and seal.
- Packing List — ConsolidatedOne packing list covering several orders or invoices consolidated into a single shipment.
- Commercial InvoiceThe primary customs valuation document: what was sold, to whom, on what terms, and for how much.
- Proforma InvoiceA binding quotation in invoice form, issued before shipment so the buyer can open a letter of credit or arrange an import licence.
- Tax InvoiceInvoice showing the tax charged on a supply, in the form required for the buyer to reclaim input tax.
- Credit NoteCancels or reduces a previously issued invoice, for returns, short shipments or agreed price adjustments.
- Purchase OrderThe buyer's formal instruction to supply goods on stated terms, prices and delivery dates.
- QuotationA priced offer to supply, stating validity, lead time and the Incoterms the price is quoted on.
- Request for QuotationInvites a supplier to price a specified list of goods against stated delivery terms and a response deadline.
- Sales ConfirmationThe seller's acceptance of an order, confirming goods, price, terms and shipment schedule back to the buyer.
Declarations & instructions · 10
- Non Asbestos DeclarationCertifies that the goods contain no asbestos in any form — required by Australia, Saudi Arabia and other markets that ban asbestos outright.
- New and Unused DeclarationCertifies that the goods are new and have never been used — required where the destination restricts imports of second-hand goods.
- Packing DeclarationDeclares the timber packaging and container cleanliness of a consignment — required for Australian and New Zealand biosecurity clearance.
- DeclarationA blank declaration on letterhead, for the one-off statements a buyer, bank or customs authority asks for that have no standard form.
- Declaration of OriginA self-certified origin statement made by the exporter, used where a full chamber-stamped certificate of origin is not required.
- Verified Gross Mass DeclarationThe SOLAS VGM certificate. No container may be loaded to a vessel without a signed verified gross mass from the shipper.
- Shipper's Letter of InstructionThe exporter's instructions to their freight forwarder, including the authority to act as agent for customs purposes.
- Shipping InstructionTells the carrier exactly how the bill of lading should read: parties, routing, cargo description and freight terms.
- Forwarding InstructionBooks a consignment with a freight forwarder: collection details, routing, cargo particulars and who pays which charges.
- Sales ContractThe agreement itself: goods, price, delivery terms, payment and the clauses both parties sign against.
Statutory & customs forms · 11
- CMR — Consignment Note (Sender)The sender's copy of the international road consignment note, retained as proof of what was handed to the carrier.
- CMR — Consignment Note (Carrier)The carrier's copy of the road consignment note, evidencing the contract of carriage.
- CMR — Consignment Note (Consignee)The consignee's copy of the road consignment note, travelling with the goods and signed on delivery.
- Bill of LadingThe carrier's receipt for the goods, evidence of the contract of carriage, and a document of title the consignee must surrender to collect the cargo.
- Certificate of OriginCertifies where goods were produced. Usually stamped by a chamber of commerce and required to claim tariff treatment or satisfy a letter of credit.
- Certification of Origin (USMCA/CUSMA/T-MEC)The free-trade certification for US–Mexico–Canada shipments. Has no prescribed form, but must carry all nine required data elements.
- Importer Security FilingThe ten data elements a US importer must file with CBP at least 24 hours before cargo is laden aboard a vessel bound for the United States.
- Phytosanitary CertificateCertifies that a consignment of plants or plant products meets the importing country's phytosanitary requirements.
- Form 6 — Transboundary Movement DocumentMovement document accompanying a transboundary shipment of hazardous waste, tracking it from exporter to disposal facility.
- Form 9 — Transboundary Movement DocumentMovement document for transboundary shipments of hazardous recyclable material, tracking custody through to the recovery facility.
- Bill of ExchangeAn unconditional written order requiring the drawee to pay a fixed sum on demand or at a stated future date — the instrument behind documentary collections.
+What is the difference between a sales confirmation and a proforma invoice?
Both are issued by the seller and both restate the deal. A proforma invoice is laid out as an invoice and is what a buyer takes to their bank for a letter of credit. A sales confirmation reads as an acceptance of an order and is more usual where the buyer has already issued a purchase order.
+Does the buyer need to sign it?
Not always, but a countersigned confirmation is much stronger evidence of agreement, and it is normal on larger orders. Where you have varied any term from the purchase order, a signature is worth insisting on, because you are asking them to accept something new.
+What if the confirmation and the purchase order disagree?
Then there is no agreement yet on the point that differs. Raise it immediately rather than shipping and hoping. The cheapest moment to resolve a mismatch is before anything is made.
+Should the sales confirmation quote the purchase order number?
Yes. It is how the buyer matches your confirmation to their order, and it carries through to the invoice and packing list so the whole set reconciles.
Judge it by the document, not the feature list.
The generator on this page is the product, prefilled and editable. Fill it in and download the finished PDF — then decide.
Create a sales confirmation