Agree who pays for tooling before cutting it

A $2,400 fixture amortized over 1,000 parts adds $2.40 per part. A first release of 100 recovers only $240 and leaves $2,160 exposed. Use a separate tooling charge or an explicit recovery agreement when future releases are a forecast rather than a purchase commitment.

Separate NRE wording

Example for review: Dedicated fixture design and build: [amount], charged once on [milestone]. Piece pricing excludes this NRE. The fixture will be used for [part/revision]. Ownership transfers only under the agreed payment and transfer terms. List whether the charge includes CAM, inspection programming and tryout. Paying a design charge does not settle who owns every program, standard vise or reusable shop tool; name the actual items rather than promising all tooling.

Amortized recovery wording

Example: Piece price includes [amount] fixture recovery per conforming part through [quantity] accepted parts. Recovery stops after [total]. We will show the remaining balance on each release acknowledgment. Any cancellation settlement is subject to the separately signed agreement. Forecast quantity is not an order. The calculator adds a separate payment to per-piece recovery so you can detect a duplicate charge; for an ordinary either-or comparison leave that payment at zero. Review the balance before releasing a discounted repeat quote.

Customer-owned tools need a custody record

For supplied or paid tooling, record identification, photographs, condition, calibration responsibility where applicable, permitted use, maintenance approval, storage period and return freight. State who can authorize repair or disposal and how the shop obtains that instruction. Keep the tool’s history with the job so a new estimator can see whether a replacement build is needed. These are commercial drafting examples, not legal advice; have counsel reconcile them with the buyer’s PO and any existing supply agreement before adopting a cancellation or ownership clause.

Replace every bracket. These are drafting examples, not legal advice. Obtain review of contractual terms before adoption.