Terms of sale
These terms apply to assemblies we build for you unless a signed master supply agreement replaces them. They are written to be read by a buyer rather than by a lawyer, and each clause names the number that decides it.
- Quote validity
- 30 days
- Standard payment
- Net 30, approved credit
- Warranty
- 12 months on workmanship
- Governing law
- California, USA
A purchase order is accepted when we confirm it in writing, not when it is received. Until that confirmation, the terms below describe how we intend to trade, and a firm quote based on your BOM and Gerber set is what turns that intent into a price and a date. Every clause that matters to a buyer is stated with the number attached to it.
Quoting, validity and how an order is accepted
A firm quote for a turnkey build is issued within 48 hours of receiving a complete BOM and Gerber set, and a DFM review on the same package is returned within 24 hours. A quote holds its price for 30 days. After that it is re-priced from current distributor stock, and any line that has moved by more than 10 % is flagged in writing before the order is accepted.
Quantity breaks are quoted as separate columns for the prototype band (5–50 boards), the pilot band (51–500) and the production band above 500. Minimum order quantity is 5 boards on a first prototype and there is no MOQ on a production repeat order under an existing program. Non-recurring engineering is $0 on standard single-sided SMT; fixture and test-development NRE is quoted as a separate line and credited back at 5,000 units shipped.
Acceptance happens when a named FLASHPOINT PCBA representative confirms the order in writing with a price, a quantity and an ARO ship date. A purchase order that arrives with different terms is not accepted by silence: we either confirm it as written or return a written exception for your counter-signature.
Order changes, holds and the cancellation window
Work starts when the order is accepted, so the cost of a change depends on how far the line has travelled. The schedule below is what we can absorb at each stage.
| Stage | What a change costs | Cancellation |
|---|---|---|
| Before kit release | $0 | No charge |
| After kit release, before print | Restocking fee at cost | Parts at cost, 48 hours notice |
| After first print, before reflow | $350 per change | Materials plus 8 hours of line time |
| After reflow or after test | Re-quoted | Full order value |
A customer-directed hold is held for a maximum of 90 days from the original ARO date without requote. Beyond 90 days, components that have been consumed or that have gone end-of-life are chargeable at the quoted price, and the order is re-kitted against current stock. Where we cannot obtain a part because of an allocation notice, we notify the buyer within 24 hours of the distributor notice and offer an approved alternative, a partial build, or a consignment route.
Price, payment and what happens when an invoice ages
Prices are quoted in US dollars and exclude sales, use, value-added and customs duty, which are added where the law requires it. Payment terms are Net 30 from invoice date for accounts with approved credit, and Net 15 for a first order. Card payment is accepted on invoices under $10,000; above that threshold settlement is by wire or ACH. A customer who pays a first order early can request Net 30 on the second order with a trade reference on file.
Overdue balances carry interest at 1.5 % per month, or the maximum permitted by California law if that is lower, and the interest compounds monthly from the due date. Where an account reaches 60 days past due, open orders move to hold, finished goods remain in our bonded store at the customer's risk, and a 30-day written notice precedes any resale of uncollected assemblies to recover material cost.
We absorb the first $500 of any price movement on a repeat order caused by a distributor increase inside the 30-day quote window. Beyond that, the difference is passed through with the distributor invoice attached. Price is fixed for 6 months on a production program with a rolling 3-month forecast, and re-set annually in writing.
Lead time, delivery and risk transfer
ARO means after receipt of order, and the clock starts on the day written acceptance is issued, not the day the package arrives. Standard lead times are: prototype PCBA from 5 to 8 working days; prototype with consigned or long-lead parts from 8 to 12 working days; NPI pilot run 15 working days after DFM sign-off; production repeat order from 3 to 4 weeks ARO; turnkey ramp with full kitting 4 to 5 weeks ARO; stencil fabrication 4 hours. Expedite is available on most programs for a fee of $2,500 plus any premium the distributor charges, and it is confirmed in writing before it is run.
Domestic shipments move DAP to the consignee address of record, and international shipments move DDP where we can act as importer of record; otherwise they move DAP and the buyer clears customs. Risk transfers on delivery to the carrier, and title transfers on payment in full. A shipment held by customs because of an incorrect consignee code, a missing ECCN or an unresolved end-use statement is the buyer's responsibility to clear, and we will supply the shipping documents again at no charge within 5 working days.
On-time delivery is measured against the ARO date we confirmed in writing. A short shipment does not void the order for the balance; the remainder ships against the same price and is reported to the buyer as soon as the shortfall is identified.
Tooling, designs and intellectual property
Your design stays yours. We take no licence to the CAD data beyond what is needed to build, test and ship the assemblies you ordered, and we do not reuse a land pattern, a panel layout or a test program on another customer's product.
Tooling follows the same rule. After first article acceptance, the customer owns the laser-cut stencils, the functional test fixture, the test program and any programming files we developed for the program. Physical tooling is stored free of charge for 24 months after the last shipment, after which storage is billed at cost with 60 days notice before anything is scrapped. On written request, tooling and programs are transferred to the customer or to another assembler, packed and released within 10 working days of a signed release.
We hold customer files under a mutual NDA by default. A Gerber set, a BOM or a stack-up drawing is not shared with a distributor, a subcontractor or a competitor's program without written approval from the buyer for that specific part of the build. Certificate copies, audit reports and process capability data are released under the same NDA. Program-specific quality records travel with the transfer so a new assembler starts with the FAI, the X-ray images and the cross-section data already in hand.
Warranty and the RMA process, step by step
We warrant workmanship for 12 months from the ship date. The acceptance criteria are the IPC-A-610 class specified on the drawing and confirmed at first article: Class 2 for general industrial product, Class 3 for high-reliability assemblies. Components are warranted only to the extent their manufacturer warrants them to us, and we pass the manufacturer's notice and any field-action documentation to the buyer.
- Within 30 days of receipt
Raise the issue with the serial number
Send the board serial, the failure symptom and the quantity affected to the single sales address. Board-level serialisation means we can pull the build record, the paste-print data and the AOI images for that unit.
- Within 24 hours
Receive an RMA number and a disposition
We issue an RMA number, a return address and either a repair instruction or a request for the assembly to come back for failure analysis at our cost.
- Within 10 working days of receipt
Failure analysis and root cause
X-ray, cross-section, ionic contamination testing or functional test as the symptom requires. You receive a written root-cause report whether or not the failure is ours.
- Within 15 working days
Repair, replace or credit
Confirmed workmanship defects are repaired, replaced or credited at the invoiced price, at our option, with return freight paid by us.
The warranty does not cover damage from handling after delivery, from a customer-supplied or consigned component, from a design we flagged in the DFM report, or from operation outside the rated conditions on the drawing. Consigned parts are built to the customer's specification and their fitness is the customer's responsibility.
Liability, force majeure and the law that governs this agreement
Our aggregate liability under an order is limited to the greater of the value of the affected assemblies or the amount paid for them in the preceding 12 months. Neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss, including lost production, lost profit or the cost of substitute supply. Nothing in this clause limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for any liability that California law does not allow to be limited.
Force majeure covers events outside reasonable control: natural disaster, war, export-control action, a government order restricting shipment, a plant-wide power failure, or a documented allocation by a component manufacturer. The affected party notifies the other within 5 working days, the delivery date moves by the length of the delay, and either party may cancel the unbuilt balance if the delay passes 90 days.
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, and the state and federal courts sitting in Santa Clara County have exclusive jurisdiction, with the Uniform Commercial Code applying to the sale of goods. A variation is effective only when it is in writing and signed by both parties; a purchase-order form that conflicts with these terms does not vary them by being acknowledged. If one clause is found unenforceable, the rest stands.
Data handling is described in the privacy notice, and the standards behind the warranty are set out in the quality policy. Commercial questions that are not answered here usually appear in the procurement FAQ; anything still open goes to sales@flashpointpcba.com or +1 408 555 0142. To put a price and a date on a build, request a quote.