Business Accounts & Credit

Payment terms for hotels, villas, factories, offices, contractors and project buyers - how an account is opened, what it covers, and where credit stops.

Who this is for

Retail is cash. Business can be an account.

Orders are settled at billing. There is no informal credit - not because we are difficult about it, but because a supplier who quietly runs a slate ends up either slow to deliver or out of business, and neither helps you.

Businesses that buy repeatedly can apply for an account instead. An account gives you agreed payment terms, priority sourcing, one monthly statement and a named person handling your list, in exchange for the paperwork below.

Terms

Four account levels

Level	Who it applies to	Payment terms
Retail	Walk-in and one-off customers	Cash, UPI or card at billing
New business	A business buying from us for the first time	Advance or payment on delivery for the first three orders
Approved account	Businesses with a settled payment record	15 - 30 days from invoice, against an agreed limit
Key account	Written agreement, purchase-order based	Up to 45 days, limit reviewed each quarter

Limits are set, not assumed: a credit limit is written down when the account opens and is based on your typical monthly purchase. Orders above the limit are supplied against an advance rather than refused - we would rather keep your job moving than stand on a number.

Opening an account

What we need before credit starts

GST details, or business proof where you are not registered
Two trade references where you can give them
A signed copy of the credit terms and advance rules
A named person for orders, and a named person for payments
Delivery acknowledgement discipline - every delivery signed, every invoice acknowledged

Approval usually takes two to three working days. Until it completes, supply continues on advance or payment-on-delivery, so nothing stalls while paperwork moves.

If an invoice ages

What happens, and when

Age of invoice	What we do
0 - 15 days	Statement sent with a reminder
16 - 30 days	A phone call, statement resent, note added to the account
31 - 45 days	No new credit orders; supply continues against advance
Over 45 days	Supply stops, personal follow-up begins, and the limit is reviewed before anything resumes

None of this is a threat - it is published so that both sides know the sequence in advance and nobody is surprised by it.

Project and BOQ supply

Bulk work runs on stages, not open credit

Project and BOQ orders are supplied stage by stage against payment stages. A typical structure is an advance of 30 to 50 per cent with the balance released against delivery stages, agreed in writing before the first load moves.

Why: margins on bulk material are thin, and material standing on a site is not the same as money in the bank. Staging protects the programme on your side and the cash position on ours, which is what keeps the next stage arriving on time.

Quotations for cement, steel and metals hold for 24 to 72 hours; other items for seven days
Tinted, cut, sourced and special-order items need 50 to 100 per cent advance and are not returnable once confirmed
Retail rates are quoted inclusive of GST; business quotations show GST separately
Every sourced, commercial and BOQ product order gets a written quotation before it is confirmed

Rewards and accounts

How this sits with Customer Benefits

Account customers are usually better served by negotiated pricing than by points. Project and commercial buyers get a price, not a reward rate; trade customers can hold both a trade rate and a customer benefits number. Points do not apply to bulk, project or special-order items unless we have agreed it in writing.

Customer Benefits rules →