Home / Free Tools / Deduction Decoder

• MCB / Promo Chargeback Usually disputable
  A promotional allowance billed back after the fact — funding a discount the distributor already gave the retailer. Dispute when: the rate doesn't match what you agreed in writing, the volume doesn't reconcile with actual movement, or the promotion never ran. These are the most common lines on a statement — and the most commonly wrong.
  Pull: your signed promo agreement or deal sheet, the promo calendar, the invoice, and the remittance detail.
• Duplicate Charge Usually disputable
  The same deduction taken twice — or another brand's charge landing on your statement. It happens more than anyone admits. Dispute when: always. There is no valid version of paying twice.
  Pull: both remittances showing the repeated reference number, and the original invoice.
• Shortage Claim Usually disputable
  A claim that fewer cases arrived than were invoiced. Dispute when: your bill of lading was signed clean — a clean signature at receiving contradicts a shortage claimed later.
  Pull: the signed BOL or proof of delivery, the packing list, and carrier documents.
• Spoilage / Swell Allowance Valid if agreed — verify it
  An allowance for unsold, expired, or damaged product — often taken as a flat percentage of sales rather than itemized. Dispute when: the percentage exceeds what your agreement says, or an itemized claim arrives with no documentation — no photos, no counts, no chance to verify.
  Pull: the spoilage clause in your distributor agreement, the claims detail, and item movement reports.
• Fill-Rate / OTIF Fine Valid if agreed — verify it
  An automatic penalty for shipping late or incomplete against a purchase order. Dispute when: you shipped the PO complete and on time, or the PO was changed after you accepted it. These fines are computed by machine — machines make mistakes.
  Pull: the original PO, your ASN or shipment confirmation, the BOL, and the fill-rate report.
• Slotting Taken as a Deduction Valid if agreed — verify it
  Your negotiated new-item fee, collected off your remittance instead of invoiced. Dispute when: it exceeds the agreed amount, hits for stores or SKUs that never set, or you already paid it by invoice — slotting is a favorite double-collection.
  Pull: the new-item agreement, the authorized store list, and any slotting invoices already paid.
• Free Fill Valid if agreed — verify it
  Opening inventory you agreed to give — usually one case per store, per SKU — deducted from your payment. Dispute when: the store count doesn't match the authorization, it repeats after launch, or it appears for a reset you were never told about.
  Pull: the authorization letter and the store list it covers.
• Scan / Ad Allowance Valid if agreed — verify it
  Promotional funding based on units scanned at register, or a fee for circular and feature placement. Dispute when: the scanned units look impossible against your known store velocity, or the feature you're funding never ran.
  Pull: the promotion contract and the scan data — you're entitled to see the counts you're paying on.
• Damage Claim Usually disputable
  Product written off as damaged in transit or in the warehouse. Dispute when: there's no documentation — no photos, no OS&D report, no counts. Undocumented damage is an assertion, not a claim.
  Pull: the OS&D report, delivery photos if any, and the carrier claim record.
• Cash Discount Taken Late Usually disputable
  The early-payment discount (like 2/10 net 30) taken on a payment that wasn't early. Dispute when: the payment date is outside the discount window — the discount was earned by paying early, and they didn't.
  Pull: your terms, the invoice date, and the remittance date. Simple math wins this one.
• Compliance Fine Usually valid — fix the cause
  A penalty for a routing-guide violation: wrong label placement, bad pallet configuration, missing ASN, incorrect case markings. The honest read: these are usually legitimate — and entirely preventable. Dispute only clear errors; otherwise fix the root cause, because this fine repeats every shipment until you do.
  Pull: the routing guide and your shipment paperwork, to find exactly what to change.
• Reclamation / Unsaleables Program Valid if agreed — verify it
  A standing program fee covering product pulled from shelves as unsaleable across the network. Dispute when: the rate drifts above your agreement, or the program charges alongside itemized spoilage claims for the same product — that's paying twice for the same jar.
  Pull: the program terms in your agreement and a year of statements to see the trend.

No line item matches that — but if it's on your statement, we've probably disputed it. Ask us directly.