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Essential Standard Courses

Basics of Exporting

It provides an easy way to master the basic mechanics and terminology of exporting. You will learn about four basic contracts that will dramatically improve your export chances. Along the way you will also gain practical knowledge to help avoid costly mistakes.

Key Content:
  • What happens in a typical export office - sales, finance and logistics functions and the four key contracts.
  • How a typical order flows, from enquiry to successful shipment and payment.
  • The core documents and where they fit in.
  • Who is there to help - the part played by the banks, freight forwarders and insurers.
  • How to use INCOTERMS to your advantage - EXW, FOB, CIP, DDU etc - where you must deliver goods, how you prove it, what costs you must include in your quotation to maintain profits.
  • Getting paid for exports - advantages and disadvantages of the four main international methods of payment.
  • Group exercises to show how much you have learnt.
Ideal for...
  • Beginners in need of a comprehensive introduction.
  • Established staff, whose job has changed to include exporting activities.
  • Senior personnel, who feel they need an overall picture of the export responsibilities of their staff.
Export Documents Explained

Successful exporting and payment hinges on the forms. Learn about their power! Solve the mystery of who needs what. See how easy it is to choose and complete the key documents. Learn the tricks and benefits of right-first-time documents, to gain the edge over your competitors, and to deal confidently with freight forwarders, banks and overseas customers.

Key Content
  • What the documents do and why they are so crucial.
  • A look at the wide range of export documents.
  • Choosing the core documents for a typical export sale.
  • The different invoices - Pro-forma, Commercial & Shipping.
  • What you must include on a good export invoice.
  • Origin for politics - EC and ABCC Certificates of Origin.
  • How to complete an EUR1 and the EC's origin rules.
  • What to look for on the transport documents (Bills of Lading, Air Waybills and others) and how they are distributed.
  • Certificates of Insurance and the Open Cover.
  • Other documents in brief - SAD, Collection Form, Sight Draft.
  • Group exercises to help you apply your knowledge.
Ideal for...
  • Newcomers - executive, management or clerical.
  • Experienced staff, to consolidate knowledge or to explain the whys and wherefores.
  • Job-changers who are taking on new export responsibilities.
Understanding Letters of Credit & Bills of Exchange

Did you know that 50% of L/C documents presented to banks are rejected? This costs you dearly, in extra bank charges, your wasted time and the customer dissatisfaction. Learn to improve your skills dramatically by applying simple, step-by-step management techniques. The results? Increased company profits, personal job satisfaction and confidence. You could even start to enjoy L/Cs!

Key Content:
  • What is a letter of credit? Who are the players and what are the mechanics?
  • Learn the differences between Revocable, Irrevocable and Confirmed L/Cs and when to use them.
  • Discover which are the most usual types of L/C - Sight, Deferred Payment, Transferable, Standby.
  • Work through practical examples of L/C's and learn what to look out for, using a simple checklist.
  • Learn the difference between drafts and bills of exchange.
  • See where bills of exchange fit in and how you draft them
  • Find out the differences between bank's letters of credit and documentary collections.
  • Gain practice in influencing the content of the L/C, with the help of an easy-to-use formula.
  • Learn what to do if things go pear-shaped.
  • See how the ICC's Uniform Customs & Practice for Doc. Credits and Uniform Rules for Collection can help you.
  • Look at typical L/C costs and how to minimise them
Ideal for...
  • All international traders whose work brings them into contact with L/Cs and drafts.
  • Managers, Accountants or clerical staff who must meet the meticulous L/C demands.
  • The deal-makers who may be able to influence L/C content at the point of sale, to the company's commercial benefit.
Introduction to Customs for Exporters & Importers

Customs compliance is not optional. The rules for EC trade and the rest of the world differ dramatically. Following the rules will keep you on the right side of the law. Happily, this knowledge also opens the door to opportunity. Huge savings may be available to importers. Exporters may reduce their selling price without compromising a penny in profit. Learn how easy it is to meet your obligations while saving money!

Key Content:
  • Functions of Customs, Excise & VAT and what we must do for them.
  • How the statistics are collected inside and outside the EC - simple explanations of Intrastat and the SAD (C88).
  • Dealing with goods moving over three VAT territories - domestic, EC and rest of the world - what you must do. How to cope cheerfully with Supply & Acquisition VAT.
  • Where to go for Customs information.
  • How to read the Customs Tariff for huge commercial benefits.
  • The whys and wherefores of Customs classification.
  • Why the EC's free circulation and origin rules are so important to your profitability.
  • Vital instructions to give to your freight forwarder.
  • Cracking the key code on the SAD.
  • Major ways of avoiding paying duty - IPR, OPR, RGR, Customs Warehousing.
Ideal for...
  • Customs beginners who need to know what must be done.
  • Established staff who want to be sure they are up-to-date.
  • Managers and accountants who want to be sure the company meets its obligations while taking advantage of all possible concessions.
Incoterms 2000

Did you know that after ten years the International Chamber of Commerce has revised the internationally recognised definitions of INCOTERMS to greet the millennium?
  • Introduction to Incoterms - what is it, what does it clarify, how widely is it used and how may we apply the Incoterms?
  • Incoterms - some common misconceptions.
  • Structure and layout - how to read the terms to your advantage.
  • The thirteen delivery terms.
  • Delivery and the passing of risk.
  • Changes introduced in Incoterms 2000 - substantive and formal.
  • Analysing the most commonly used terms.
  • Modes of transport and appropriate terms.
  • Incoterms case studies.
Benefits to your company
  • Improves your performance of the essential sales contracts
  • Provides answers to the most common international trade disputes
  • Enhances the negotiating skills of your key employees
  • Meets the life-long learning objectives of experienced staff
Who should come?
  • Account Managers and deal-makers who need to understand costs and risks involved in international sales
  • Sales order staff who process international orders
  • Shipping, Logistics and freight forwarding personnel who are concerned with the paperwork
  • Finance staff who must understand the breakdown of costs
Basics of Importing

Programme 9.30am - 4.30pm

It provides an easy way to master the basic mechanics and terminology of exporting. You will learn about four basic contracts that will dramatically improve your export chances. Along the way you will also gain practical knowledge to help avoid costly mistakes.
  • Work of the typical import office
  • Commercial considerations when placing purchase orders or changing sources
  • Buying terms used in international contracts
  • The importer’s insurance considerations
  • Import payment options
  • The role of the clearing agent
  • The Single Administrative Document (SAD), and how to check it
  • Valuation of goods for duty purposes
  • Claiming preferences and duty reliefs
Benefits to your company
  • Gives a clear overview of a typical import transaction
  • Explains the vital interface you must have with Customs
  • Shows typical Purchasing and Finance functions and the critical role of the clearing agent
  • Provides a pattern for success in managing imports
  • Considers duty and tax saving opportunities
Who should come?
  • Beginners with little import experience
  • Experienced staff who wish to update their knowledge
  • Managers who wish to understand import systems, opportunities and obligations

Specialised & Advanced Courses

Understanding Intrastat

Programme 9.30am - 1.00pm

An intensive, case-study based programme, providing real-life, up-to-the-minute, practical export issues for discussion and solution.
  • The Intrastat environment - countries affected
  • The Intrastat language - Dispatches and Arrivals
  • Legal obligations - when you must make declarations
  • Links with VAT
  • Classification issues and low value goods concession
  • Classification issues and low value goods concession
  • Rules for supplying Intrastat declarations - format and timing
  • Triangular trade, IPR goods, supplies to unregistered businesses etc.
  • Intrastat complications
  • Goods requiring special treatment
  • The EC Sales List
Benefits to your company
  • Provides an easy understanding of Intrastat obligations and data requirements
  • Allows your company to comply knowledgeably with legal obligations
  • Prepares your company for the increase in Intrastat obligations with the imminent expansion of the Single Market
Who should come?
  • Finance personnel or accountants who are responsible for making Intrastat declarations
  • Sales and purchasing staff who deal with the EC
  • Managers who will be held responsible by Customs for accurate and timely submission of Intrastat declarations

Advanced Letter of Credit Workshop

Programme 9.30am - 4.30pm

The course is case-study based, and provides lots of opportunity for practice and sharing experience.
  • Brief reminder of the definitions - Revocable, Irrevocable & Confirmed forms of L/C and main types - Sight, Deferred Payment, Acceptance, Revolving, Transferable, Back-to-Back, Standby.
  • Successful opening skills - practice in devising a formula to influence the L/C content
  • Credit insurance and where it fits in to L/C business
  • Understanding and using the UCP 500 - an opportunity to study the governing rules of the ICC's Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits and use them to improve the company's L/C performance.
  • Documentary Credit exercises - bags of practice using relevant, up-to-date L/C examples. Identifying & reducing discrepancies, calculating the costs and how to manage them, checking documents against L/C examples.
  • How to monitor the bank's performance and give your business to the best performing banks.
  • An opportunity to discuss your current L/C problems
Benefits to your company
  • Keeps your staff up-to-date & motivated
  • Fills the training needs of experienced staff
  • Suggests innovative finance solutions
  • Provides answers to L/C questions
Understanding Origin

Programme 9.30am - 1.00pm

A half-day course outlining how to deal with the vital issues of origin in an exporting company, for political and preference purposes.
  • General origin considerations - the political, preference and Customs reasons
  • Examination of EC and Arab Certificates of Origin - mechanics and sample completion; costs and timings for issue. Links with VAT
  • EC Origin for preference - the commercial implications.
  • Where to find the rules - introduction to Public Notices 827, 828 and 829.
  • Identification of the origin-based EC preference areas - EEA, ex-EFTA and all Associated States.
  • Understanding the EC Rules of Origin
  • Examination of the qualifying criteria
  • The Preference Documentation and the need for suppliers' declarations
  • EUR 1 - completion and distribution.
  • Relationship to other reliefs - ATR - where origin fits in.
  • Discussion - how will your company control origin issues?
Benefits to your company
  • Provides clear explanations of the rules applied for political and preference origin
  • Allows your company to comply with legal obligations and reduce duty paid
  • Helps delegates to broker the costs of C/Os into the contract price
  • Simplifies the complex world of the preference rules
Who should come?
  • Managers who will be held responsible by Customs for the accuracy of origin declarations and the verification of origin claims
  • Regional sales people who must understand the implications of the origin of goods they are selling
  • All staff responsible for the completion and distribution of origin documents
Essential Refresher for Experienced Exporters

Programme 9.30am - 4.30pm (Two Day Course)

An intensive, case-study based programme, providing real-life, up-to-the-minute, practical export issues for discussion and solution.
  • Review of the payment terms used currently in the main export markets and practical exercise to define common payment terminology.
  • Practical issues surrounding Incoterms - appropriate uses, impact of the 2000 changes, Incoterms and customs obligations, terms for the Single Market.
  • Documentation for a chosen market - Exercise to assess costs, time-scales and potential difficulties in managing the paperwork.
  • Customs matters - recognising potential savings. Exercise - commercial situations with a customs dimension.
  • Contract considerations - Exercise to identify key contract issues and ways to counter buyer objections.
  • Review of current L/C issues - Group discussion on how to improve success rates.
  • Syndicate-based problem-solving final exercise, highlighting real-life, key export issues and their solutions.
Benefits to your company
  • Brings the experienced up-to-speed with changes
  • Helps to provide life-long training
  • Motivates valued staff and enhances their skills
  • Promotes best export practice
Who should come?
  • Experienced people in need of refresher and up-date (recommended minimum every 2 years)
  • Those who have attended our standard courses who would like an in-depth, practical follow-up
  • Managers who wish to up-date in order to train their own staff
  • Job-changers who need certified evidence of current export skills
How to make Successful Export Contracts

One-day Programme: 9.30am - 4.30pm
  • Introduction - What is a contract?
  • Down-to-earth analysis of the essential characteristics of a contract and its crucial importance in an export deal.
  • Step One- identifying the four critical export contracts - Brief explanation of the vital export contract terminology: Terms of Sale, Method of Payment, Terms of Payment and Terms of Delivery. What do they mean and how can we get them right?
  • Step Two- Setting up the Export Sales Contract - Discussion of the essential elements. What might appear in typical export standard terms and conditions of sale and the merits of using them. Coping with the 'battle of forms'.
  • Step Three - The Crucial Delivery Terms - The International best practice - Incoterms 2000. Costs that must be included in your quotation to maintain profits. The contract link between delivery and payment - where you must deliver goods, how you can prove it and how you can expect to be paid. Dealing with disputed situations - proving your case with the customer.
  • Step Four - The common Methods & Terms of Payment - Reminder of the four options. Discussion of the two difficult options - Letters of Credit (Documentary Credits) and CAD (Documentary Collections). The work of the credit insurers. The main short-term export financing mechanisms.
Benefits to your company
  • Export problems? Export administrators floundering? Payments delayed? Credit controllers in despair? Goods lying not shipped? Customers screaming for their orders?
  • Such problems frequently stem from inadequate contracts. You can make a spectacular, instant improvement if four key contracts are put in place at the set-up stage.
Who should come?
  • This course will help Export Directors, Export Sales teams (both overseas and UK desk-based), Company Lawyers and those responsible for getting the deal right first time.

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