Deductions, or chargebacks, can hit your wallet hard. Some of them you can dispute, but others are far more difficult. In the end, it’s best to just avoid them altogether.Â
Here are some of the most common Walmart deduction codes that you may see and some best practices on ensuring you don’t see them again.
Code 10 is “Price Difference as Documented” and code 11 is “Pricing Overcharge”, meaning that in the first case, an allowance is being applied incorrectly leading to a higher invoiced amount than Walmart expects, and in the second, the item’s price on the invoice isn’t correct. Walmart will deduct the difference in the prices as long as the invoice is for more than the purchase price. If it ends up the difference was not in your favor, Walmart will not reimburse you.
Here are some tips for avoiding code 10s and 11s:
It is a best practice to keep a table of all pricing changes and their effective dates so that you can quickly identify invalid code 11s.
Deductions are based on the PO price, so if the pricing on the purchase order (EDI 850) is incorrect, do not ship the order and contact your buyer immediately. The buyer will need to make changes on a purchase order and either send an updated EDI 850 or cancel and send a new EDI 850. Typically, disputes for pricing discrepancies require the buyer’s approval, making them more difficult to win.
Code 13 is “Substitution Overcharge” meaning you invoiced for one item number, but Walmart received a different item. Walmart will file a code 13 for the difference in the price of the items on the invoice.
Here are some tips for avoiding code 13s:
Code 13s are notoriously difficult to dispute, so hopefully, this will help you avoid them.
Code 22 is “Goods Billed not Shipped” and code 24 is “Carton Shortage/Freight Bill Signed Short” meaning that the quantity of an item on the invoice does not match the quantity of that item in the shipment or the order was signed short by the distribution center. Typically, this occurs when the order has been short shipped or when the bill of lading shows more items than what was counted and the proof of delivery was stamped short. Walmart will deduct the cost of the missing or falsely invoiced items for code 22s and 24s.
Here are some tips for avoiding code 22s and 24s:
Code 25 is “No Merchandise Received for Invoice”, meaning that Walmart claims to have received no shipment at all for the PO for which you are invoicing. This usually occurs when the Invoice was issued too early (on before the delivery date). Walmart will deduct the cost of the entire invoice for code 25s.
Codes 22, 24, and 25 are fairly easy to dispute, as, for invalid claims, they just require a signed proof of delivery and/or a bill of lading (depending on whether you are Collect or Prepaid), along with the PO and invoice.
The codes in the 50s are for allowances and discounts, meaning that there is an issue with the agreed-upon reduction in cost to the retailer. These occur when a particular allowance is listed on your Online Supplier Agreement (OSA), but not on the invoice. Here is the full list of codes 50-59:
To avoid allowance deductions, you should first check your supplier agreement to make sure you are using the correct allowances on your invoices. If that appears in order, make sure that your EDI 810s are applying the allowances correctly. Work with your EDI provider to make sure that the correct data is being sent.
You can dispute allowance deductions as long as you can prove that the allowance was on the invoice and the allowance matches what is on your OSA. A common scenario for invalid codes in the 50s is that your OSA states that an allowance is supposed to be given off-invoice, but your EDI provider is actually giving the allowance off-line item. Disputing through your buyer and showing that the correct amount was already withheld can often overturn the deduction.
With our Deductions Navigator software, we take the guesswork and tedium out of managing deductions. We make it easy to understand every deduction and even give you the power to submit disputes with one click. From high-level dashboards to detailed data from claims, checks, invoices, and purchase orders, you’ll have unprecedented insight and control of retailer deductions.
Deductions Navigator dashboard
You can start for free and get visibility on all of your deductions. Schedule a demo today!
SupplyPike builds software to help retail suppliers fight deductions, meet compliance standards, and dig down to root cause issues in their supply chain.
Visit their Website âžť