The proforma is the agreement
A proforma disbursement account issued before the call is what makes the final account reviewable. Without it there is no baseline, and a discussion about cost becomes a discussion about impressions.
Ask for the proforma early enough to question it, and treat a proforma that arrives with the vessel as a proforma that has not done its job.
Three tests for every line
A line on a disbursement account should survive three questions. What service was performed? What was it charged against, whether a published tariff, a quotation, or a pass-through at cost? What document evidences it?
Lines that cannot answer all three are not necessarily wrong, but they are the ones to ask about first.
Reading the structure
| Category | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Statutory and port charges | Charged at the authority or terminal tariff, evidenced by the receipt |
| Third-party services | Charged at cost, with the provider invoice attached |
| Agency fee | A stated fee agreed in advance, not a percentage of the total |
| Communications and sundries | Small, itemised, and not a residual bucket |
| Variances | Explained line by line against the proforma |
Variance is normal; unexplained variance is not
Port calls change. Extra days alongside, an unplanned service, a rate that moved: variance against a proforma is expected and is not evidence of anything by itself.
What matters is whether the variance was raised when it happened or discovered in the final account. An agent that reports a cost as it arises is doing the job; one that presents it afterwards has left the principal with no chance to decide.
Reviewing a disbursement account
- proforma issued before the call and in time to question
- every line matched to a service actually performed
- tariff, quotation or cost basis stated for each line
- supporting documents attached for third-party charges
- agency fee agreed in advance and stated separately
- variances against proforma explained line by line
- costs raised as they arose, not disclosed only at the end
- closing statement reconciled against funds advanced
Where delay usually develops
- proforma issued too late to be questioned
- charges grouped into unitemised sundries
- third-party invoices not attached
- agency fee expressed as a percentage of total spend
- variances presented only in the final account
What the principal should prepare
- the funding arrangement and disbursement authority
- a named person to approve costs within a stated limit
- the commercial terms determining who bears which cost
What Vandyvah can coordinate
- a proforma issued before the call
- cost reporting as items arise rather than at the end
- supporting documentation for third-party charges
- a reconciled closing statement