Payment, paperwork and the part after the handshake.

What gets agreed in writing

A lot description, a basis for the offer, and the responsibilities on each side. The description should identify the cable well enough that both parties know what is included: type, size, voltage class, approximate footage, condition and location.

The basis matters. Some lots are agreed on footage, some on weight, and some on a piece count where the cable is short and mixed. Where footage is uncertain, the terms usually say how it will be confirmed at pickup.

• What is included and what is excluded
• Whether the basis is footage, weight or piece count
• Who loads, who hauls and who pays for freight
• When and how the final quantity is confirmed

Ownership and title

A buyer needs to know the seller owns the cable and has the right to sell it. For a contractor selling its own stock, that is a simple representation in the bill of sale. For a plant, it is usually the surplus or material return process, followed by a bill of sale from the entity that owns the asset.

Demolition work is the case that needs care. Material removed from a site may belong to the owner until it is released, and a demolition contractor may need a release or written authorisation before selling it. Utilities have their own disposal processes, particularly for conductor and transformer-related material.

• Bill of sale with a description of the cable
• Representation that the seller owns the material
• Owner release for demolition and decommissioning lots
• Utility or plant disposal authorisation where it applies

If title is unclear, say so at the start. It is a solvable problem before pickup and an expensive one afterwards.

Vendor packets and plant requirements

Plants and EPCs often cannot pay a new vendor without a packet: W-9, certificate of insurance, remit-to details, sometimes a safety questionnaire and a purchase order number. Larger organisations may also require the buyer to register in their supplier system before a cheque can be raised.

Contractors and smaller sellers usually need far less, but they still need a name, an address and a remit-to that matches the entity on the bill of sale. Mismatches are the most common reason a payment is delayed.

Timing settlement against verification

Final quantities are usually confirmed when the cable is collected, not from a description over the phone. Reels are counted, footage is checked against the tag or estimated by weight, and a scale ticket is produced where the lot is bought on weight.

Payment follows that confirmation and the paperwork. On a straightforward contractor lot that can be quick; on a plant lot it follows the plant's own payment cycle once the vendor packet is complete. The sequence is agreed up front so nobody is guessing.

• Quantity confirmed at pickup
• Scale ticket or footage record shared with the seller
• Bill of sale signed by both sides
• Payment issued to the remit-to on the bill of sale

Records worth keeping on the seller's side

Keep a copy of the bill of sale, the scale ticket or footage record, and the photographs taken before collection. Those three items answer almost every question that surfaces later, whether it comes from an auditor looking at a fixed asset disposal or from a project manager asking why a reel left the yard.

Plants and EPCs often need the disposal documented against the original purchase record, especially where the cable was capitalised. A bill of sale that names the cable and the quantity is usually enough; a one-line receipt is not.

For a contractor, the record is simpler but still worth keeping. It shows the material left the yard, which matters at the end of a job when the office is reconciling what was bought against what was installed.