Incoterms® rules in ERP systems and on invoices

Record three things, not one

If your ERP has a delivery-terms field on customers, vendors and orders, treat the trade term as three pieces of data: the rule code, the edition year and the named place. If your system has only one field, agree a fixed format (for example code, edition and place separated by spaces) so documents stay consistent and searchable.

Set a default per customer or vendor, but let users change it per order: the named place often changes from shipment to shipment.

Make costs follow the rule

The cost split of a rule tells you on which side of the deal each cost belongs. If the seller pays main carriage, freight is a sales-side cost; if the buyer does, it belongs in the buyer's landed cost. The same logic applies to insurance and import duties.

The table below is generated from our verified rule data. Rows for rules we have not verified yet show “Not verified”.

Print it on the invoice

Show the rule code, edition and named place on the commercial invoice and the order confirmation. Customs brokers, carriers and the other party read these documents, and a missing or inconsistent term can lead to questions and delays.

When a rule leaves a cost open (marked “Depends” on our rule pages), record who pays in the order notes so the invoice and the cost bookings match.

Checks before go-live

• Every customer and vendor has a default term, edition and named place.
• Freight, insurance and duty cost lines on sales and purchase orders match the side that pays under the chosen rule.
• Invoice and order-confirmation templates print code, edition and named place.
• Reports can filter shipments by rule, so you can review which terms you actually use.