That depends on the clauses, not on a general rule. Look at whether the guarantee can be conditioned, capped or deferred, what the distributor needs to allocate territory, and what the enterprise loses by waiting. No approval date or processing time can be guaranteed, so avoid terms that assume one.
Negotiate around an unknown decision date
Bring the draft to counsel with the question framed commercially: which obligations start on signature, which on first shipment, and which survive termination. A hypothetical reader might seek a shorter guarantee term or a cap tied to open account balances. Keep milestones — agreement reviewed, funds transferred, packet complete — rather than a promised week, and remember that visa validity differs from the authorized stay recorded at entry.
Read the agreement’s own dates before choosing when to sign. Note the commencement clause, any condition precedent, the notice period for termination, the term of the guarantee and whether it survives the agreement, and the date on which any exclusivity or territory allocation begins. Those provisions, rather than a predicted decision date, determine what signing early actually costs.
Where a clause can be made conditional, the useful drafting question is which event it should depend on: a stated date, a first shipment, or a defined approval. Hypothetical example: a supplier needs territory allocated by a certain month, and a shorter guarantee term tied to the open account balance meets the commercial need without extending the exposure indefinitely. No processing time can be promised, so avoid terms that require one.