What payment terms are standard for custom clothing manufacturing?

Why a deposit exists at all

A deposit is not a trust test. It buys the material that has to be committed before a single garment is cut. Fabric is usually the largest single share of a garment’s cost — on heavyweight knits it commonly runs well past half the FOB price — and a mill will not knit or dye a colourway without an order. A factory that starts your run on a promise is funding your inventory from its own cash, which is not a position it can hold for long or repeat reliably. If you want the line-item view of where that money goes, our guide to what it actually costs to manufacture clothing breaks the same numbers down by fabric, labour and trim.

The opposite mistake costs more. A brand that pays 100% upfront gives away the only leverage it has: once the money is gone, a crooked seam or a shade two steps off the approved swatch becomes something you can only ask about politely. The structure that protects both sides keeps something at stake until the goods are proven.

The three gates

What each gate actually locks

How you pay

We accept bank transfer (T/T) and PayPal. Both are available for bulk orders; bank transfer is the more common route because PayPal charges a percentage on larger amounts, and PayPal is often used for sample fees and smaller payments. Whichever you use, the proforma invoice states the currency and the exact amount due at each gate, so there is no re-invoicing halfway through the run. Any change to bank details is confirmed by phone on a number you already hold, never by email alone — that single rule prevents most of the payment fraud in this trade.

Third-party inspection

You are welcome to appoint an inspection company — SGS, BV, TUV Rheinland, Intertek, QIMA or a smaller local agency — to inspect the bulk order in our workshop before it ships. We agree the date with you once the goods are packed, the agency inspects against your specification and AQL level, and the report goes to whoever you nominate. We do not choose the agency; that is the entire point of a third-party check. Our own inspection at AQL 2.5 runs regardless, so a third-party visit is a second pair of eyes rather than the only pair. What happens when a bulk lot does not match the approved sample is covered under bulk not matching the approved sample.

Two practical notes. Book the inspection before you book the freight: agencies are usually booked 3–7 days out, and a failed inspection that has to be reworked moves the shipping date, not the other way round. And ask the agency to send the report to you directly rather than to us, so the copy you rely on has not passed through our hands.

A representative sequence

Take a 300-piece order: three colourways of a 320 GSM brushed-back fleece hoodie, embroidered chest badge, custom woven neck label. The deposit is paid on order confirmation and the fabric for all three colourways is booked at once, because a mill dyes a colourway as a lot — splitting the booking across two weeks risks a visible shade step between the first and last delivery. Pattern and grading are finalised while the fabric is in production. The PP sample arrives in the first colourway, is measured against the chart, and is either approved or marked up. Bulk cutting follows the approved sample. At the end of the run the order is inspected against the approved sample and AQL 2.5, the inspection record is shared with you before the balance is released, and the goods move to the forwarder once it clears.

Where this differs from a repeat: a stock-colour reorder on a quality we already carry can often move on a lighter deposit, because the fabric is not a new commitment. Custom Pantone dyeing, custom jacquard, or a trim that needs its own tooling does not get that treatment — the material cost is sunk the moment the mill starts. For the fabric side of that decision, see French terry vs fleece, which is usually where a first order either locks its cost or loses it.

The numbers behind the terms

Deposit ranges reflect common industry practice across cut-and-sew programmes. The share of fabric in FOB cost moves with quality, order size and dyeing method: on a 300 GSM hoodie, published cost breakdowns commonly put fabric at two-thirds of the FOB price, while lighter jersey and larger runs sit lower.

If the order changes or is cancelled

This is the part most quotes leave out, and it is the part that decides how much of your deposit you get back. Our practice is to state the refund boundary on the proforma invoice, before anything is paid:

Specification changes follow the same logic. A change before the PP sample is approved is normally absorbable; a change after bulk cutting has started is a partial re-run, and the price and the ship date both move. That is why the spec sheet freezes at the deposit and the sample exists: the cheapest place to change your mind is before either commitment is made.

What should make you walk away

• 100% upfront before any sampling. There is rarely a production reason to need the whole invoice before fabric is even booked.
• Payment to a personal account, or a bank change sent by email. Verify any change by phone on a number you already hold, never by replying to the email that requested it.
• No sample step. If the schedule has no room for a pre-production sample, the balance is being paid against a promise.
• Balance demanded before inspection. A balance tied to a shipping date rather than a passed inspection moves all the quality risk onto you. What that inspection should cover is set out in our garment quality control guide.

Related questions

• How can I evaluate a clothing manufacturer before paying a deposit?
• Why does a custom clothing sample cost more than a bulk unit?
• What is the minimum order quantity per style and color?
• Can the manufacturer help source fabrics, trims, and accessories?
• Apparel MOQ guide: how minimum order quantities really work
• How long does clothing production take, sample to bulk?

Want the payment schedule against your own order? Send your spec and quantity to VANRD and we will return a quotation with the deposit, sample stage and balance stated line by line.