What can we verify at your deal stage?

1Only a message, call or online offer

No documents yet

What we can verify

• The company exists and is registered
• Sanctions lists
• Website and e-mail: age and ownership

What we can't verify yet

• The product, the price and the procedure — there is nothing in writing yet

Next stage: what to ask the other side forTheir company registration and an FCO / offer on company letterhead.

2LOI / ICPO

Sent or received

What we can verify

• The other company's identity and registration
• The signatory name
• E-mail and domain
• Sanctions lists
• Red-flag wording

What we can't verify yet

• Price, quantity and specification — there is no offer from the seller yet
• Whether the product exists

Next stage: what to ask the other side forAn FCO / SCO with the procedure and the payment terms.

3FCO / SCO received

An offer from the seller

What we can verify

• Everything in stage 2
• Price against the market
• Quantity against the seller's size
• Specification against the standard
• The procedure and who pays what — the risk in it

What we can't verify yet

• Whether the product exists — there is no proof of product yet

Next stage: what to ask the other side forThe SPA / contract draft. Never pay any fee before you see proof of the product.

4SPA / contract draft

Before you sign

What we can verify

• The full 41-point Vanguard Verify Standard
• Companies, directors and signatory authority
• The documents
• Contract terms
• Payment structure

What we can't verify yet

• The product in storage — until you have proof of product
• The payment instrument — until you have its draft

Next stage: what to ask the other side forProof of product (tank receipt, SGS) and the draft wording of the payment instrument.

5Proof of product

TSR, tank receipt, warehouse receipt, SGS / inspection, B/L copy

What we can verify

• The custodian exists and is licensed
• Who issued the receipt
• Location and capacity
• The inspection certificate, with the inspector

What we can't verify yet

• The payment instrument — until you have its draft

Next stage: what to ask the other side forThe SPA and the draft of the payment instrument.

6Payment instrument drafts

MT700 LC, MT760 SBLC, MT799, MT103, POF letters

What we can verify

• The issuing bank and its SWIFT code exist
• Wording and structure
• Red flags
• Whether the instrument fits the contract

What we can't verify yet

• Confirming an instrument on the bank's behalf — only the banks do that, bank-to-bank

Next stage: what to ask the other side forThe signed contract, and the instrument issued exactly as the contract says — bank to bank.

7LC issued or transferred / shipment under way

What we can verify

• Vessel and voyage record
• B/L and shipping documents
• The inspection certificate
• Document discrepancies — before you present or pay

What we can't verify yet

• Confirming the LC on the bank's behalf
• The condition of the goods on arrival

Next stage: what to ask the other side forThe final shipping documents and the inspection at discharge.

8Goods at a warehouse / before final payment

What we can verify

• The goods at the warehouse: geotagged photos and video (site visit)
• The inspection report, confirmed with the inspector

What we can't verify yet

• Anything the inspection did not cover

Next stage: what to ask the other side forThe final inspection report before you release the payment.

EUEU buyers of soy, palm, coffee, cocoa, cattle, wood or rubber

EUDR

What we can verify

• Supplier identity and registration
• Geolocation of the plots
• Legality and land documents

What we can't verify yet

• A deforestation-free result without the plot data

Next stage: what to ask the other side forGPS points or polygons of the production plots and the supplier registration.