THE 6 MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THE SALES CONTRACT - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The elements of the contract of sale are the object of the transfer, the price and form of payment, the seller and the buyer -also called parties- and the validity of the contract.

A sales contract is one that is used when two parties agree to exchange one or more goods for an agreed amount of money.

It is important that all these elements appear in the contract; this gives guarantees to the buyer and the seller.

Otherwise, irregularities may occur that will later be difficult to prove and legally claim.

In each country the laws related to sales contracts are different. For example, in many countries it is not mandatory - although it is recommended - to draw up and sign a sales contract unless the object is a property.

The 6 main elements of the sales contract

1- The object

It is also called a thing in the legal-administrative language of some countries. It refers to what the seller gives to the buyer in exchange for money.

It must appear in the contract with the appropriate specifications. This ensures that the object is perfectly identifiable, recognizable and unique as far as possible.

It serves to avoid misunderstandings or malicious changes at the time of delivery with respect to what was previously agreed.

2- The seller

It is the person who sells. You must prove your identity through your full name, as well as with an identity document from your country of origin. In this way there will be a record in case of any irregularity

3- The buyer

It is the person who buys. As in the case of the seller, you must confirm your identity by means of your full name and some document that identifies you.

In this way, if it is necessary to make a claim, the buyer will be legally recognized and will acquire rights at the time of signing the contract.

4- The price

The price is the economic amount that the buyer agrees to give the seller in exchange for ownership of the object of the sale.

It must be clearly expressed in the monetary unit of the country in which the sale is made. Otherwise, there may be disputes about the amount or the equivalences with other currencies.

5- The form of payment

It is part of the elements related to the price. It refers to the method that will be used to make the payment by the buyer, and what the payment terms will be.

The payment method in a monetary transaction can be in cash, through bank transfer or check, among other ways.

The previously agreed terms may oblige the buyer to make a single payment at the time of the sale or may give him the possibility of splitting the payment into several installments.

In this case, the installments and the amount corresponding to each must be specified so that, in the event of non-payment, the seller can claim payment.

6- The validity of the contract

In sales contracts, validity refers to the date agreed by the parties to execute the transaction.

That is, it clarifies when the buyer must pay the agreed price to the seller and when the seller agrees to transfer the object to the buyer.

Generally, sales contracts do not have a fixed duration, but are permanent. Otherwise, it must be duly specified.

References

1. Buy-sell agreement, on Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org
2. The 5 Essential Elements of a Sales Contract, on LegalNature at legalnature.com
3. Buy Sell Agreement Basics, on Insurance Journal at insurancejournal
4. Purchase Agreement (Spain), on Wikipedia at es.wikipedia.org
5. Essential elements of the contract of sale, at Modelocontrato.net