In this article, learn about:
The types of post audit claims
How to prevent post audits
How to dispute post audits
Post audit claims are a type of deduction that Walmart suppliers may face after the original transaction has closed. Unlike typical accounts payable or accounts receivable deductions, Walmart post audit claims are issued months or even years after an invoice has been finalized. These deductions are generated following thorough reviews of transactions, agreements, and communications between Walmart and its suppliers.
Walmart’s post audit process is designed to identify any lost revenue and recover those funds, with the post audit timeline often extending up to two calendar years after the original transaction. Walmart’s internal accounting team and third-party auditing firms conduct these reviews to ensure nothing is missed.
What is a Post Audit Claim?
A post audit claim is a retroactive deduction made by Walmart based on a review of past transactions. These claims can stem from discrepancies related to pricing, allowances, freight charges, or logistics errors.
Post audit claim numbers are nine digits long. When one of these claims is deducted from a check, it will appear with store number “9000.” If you see a “9000” store code deduction but haven’t been contacted by a post audit third party, it’s likely an AR deduction (such as OTIF or SQEP). These can be disputed directly in High Radius.
Once a claim is created, the auditor sends a detailed claim packet to the supplier contact on file. Walmart encourages suppliers to create a generic post audit distribution email address to ensure claim notifications are received and reviewed promptly.
Common Post Audit Claims at Walmart
Walmart suppliers face many types of post audit deductions. Some of the most common are for:
1. Pricing Discrepancies
Pricing Post Audit claims can occur when an item is price-protected, and all the units were not captured in the co-op when it was calculated. Pricing Post Audits can also occur when incorrect billing was not captured at time of invoicing and/or if a price protection COOP was written but did not capture all of the inventory.
2. Allowance Errors
Example allowances include cash discounts, defective allowances, and quantity allowances. These allowances are typically off-invoice (not given at the time of invoicing) and come in the form of fines.
3. Freight & Handling Charges on Returns
Walmart accounting calculates a 10% handling charge on all damaged products. This charge is to recover the cost of handling products that Walmart could not sell. The auditors will calculate the cost of delivering the damaged product and create an audit to recover the freight charges for the item.
4. Trucks Ordered Not Used (TONU)
TONU is a charge that occurs anytime the supplier doesn’t use a truck, and Walmart or the supplier must reroute the driver. Suppliers may see this claim when they cancel a collect order.
5. Failure to Combined Loads
Audits for Failure to Combined Loads are typically for a collect supplier that does not utilize the loads properly. Anytime a purchase order is removed from a truck, the logistics company dispatches a new truck to cover the load.
How to Prevent Post Audits
Preventing post audits depends on the type of deduction. Here are some tips for reducing issues for each type:
1. Clarify and Confirm Pricing in Writing
When negotiating pricing changes, always include language in your email that clarifies the pricing is not final until both parties confirm it in writing. Keep a record of all email communications as documentation.
2. Give Allowances as Noted in Agreement
The most common allowance error is not giving the allowances as the vendor agreement notes. These claims also occur when the allowance is not in the proper segment in the EDI raw data where Walmart or Sam’s state that it should be.
It is common among suppliers to not pull all the data that is on the EDI raw data, therefore causing them to miss where the allowances should be. To prevent this, suppliers should ensure they capture all segments of the order’s raw data before invoicing. Then, confirm that the invoice aligns with the EDI by giving allowances in the correct segments.
Related Reading: What Is EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)?
3. Properly Package and Pallet Items
Unfortunately, freight and handling charges on returns are hard to prevent as suppliers do not always have control over damaged products. The best way to avoid these claims is to ensure proper packaging and palleting of the supplier’s items to ensure they arrive safely.
4. Set Up Item Master Data Correctly
TONU claims often stem from incorrect load configurations in the item master. To avoid this, it’s essential to set up item constraints accurately based on how the product ships:
If an item weighs out before it cubes out (i.e., hits the truck's weight limit before filling the space), configure it by weight.
If an item cubes out before it weighs out (i.e., fills the space before reaching the weight limit), configure it by cube.
Some suppliers carry items that fall into both categories. In these cases, consider assigning department subsequence numbers—one for weight-based items and one for cube-based items. This setup helps build loads more efficiently, reducing the chance of unused trucks and subsequent TONU claims.
5. Ensure Full Truck Utilization
To avoid claims for failing to combine loads, suppliers should double-check the logistics provider is utilizing the entire truck when it assigns their loads. The supplier may have to go back to Walmart and ask the retailer to rebuild the truck with the POs on it as requested. Building loads properly is just as much the supplier’s responsibility as it is Walmart’s.
How Walmart Issues Post Audit Claims
There are two types of post audit claims that suppliers typically see:
Correspondence-based, where Walmart’s auditor contacts the supplier
Supplier agreement-based, where the supplier has a history of claims
Correspondence-Based Post Audits
For post audits between $500 and $100,000, Walmart auto-deducts the claim and sends an email to the supplier contact on file with the entire claim packet attached.
For post audits over $100,000.01, Walmart will email the supplier contact on file with the entire claim packet. The supplier has 15 days to respond. Once the supplier responds, the auditor will work through to create a resolution with the supplier. If the supplier does not answer within 15 days, the auditor will escalate the claim to the buyer for review and approval. Failure to reach an agreement with the supplier within 30 days will also result in an escalation of the claim to the buyer for review and approval.
In both of these instances, it is the supplier’s responsibility to research these post audits promptly and dispute if needed. The auditor works on these disputes immediately upon receipt from the supplier. When disputing, suppliers should include all supporting documentation to prove that this post audit is not valid.
Supplier Agreement-Based Post Audits
If the supplier has a history of claims, Walmart will auto-deduct the claims, regardless of the amount. Then, Walmart will send an email with the entire claim packet to the supplier contact on file. If the supplier does not have a history of claims, Walmart will email the supplier contact on file with the entire claim packet. The supplier is responsible for researching these post audits promptly and disputing if needed.
2025 Post Audit Update: COOPs Replacing Some Claims
Beginning February 1, 2025, Walmart modified its post audit collection process:
Auditors will issue COOPs instead of traditional post audit claims in most cases.
COOPs under $100,000 will be approved by Walmart’s internal post audit team instead of the merchant.
If a COOP is left pending or rejected without a valid reason, Walmart may initiate an automatic collection via AR Billing—similar to the traditional post audit process.
When rejecting a COOP, suppliers must provide a clear and well-supported reason in the rejection comments. Do not accept any of these COOPs without researching them first. Once they are accepted by the supplier, they cannot be disputed. However, if they are deducted without the supplier’s approval, they can be disputed.
If a COOP is rejected without substantiation, additional communications may be required to resolve the issue. In some cases, this may include escalation to the merchant.
Please note: Traditional post audit claims will still be used for certain types of deductions. For questions about post audit processes, suppliers can reach out to PostAuditQueries@walmart.com.
How to Dispute a Post Audit Claim
To dispute a post audit claim:
1. Contact the auditor listed in the claim packet directly.
2. Provide supporting documentation that proves the deduction is invalid. Suppliers typically have 5 days to research and dispute the post audit before the money is deducted. Disputes can still take place after the deduction, but a favorable resolution is less likely.
3. Didn’t receive the packet? Check High Radius first, as some post audits now appear there. If the claim isn’t listed, reach out directly to the auditing firm for a faster response. You can also contact the Walmart call center at 888-499-6377 or request documentation from the microfilm department.
Escalation Process
If the supplier does not receive a response on time from the auditor and has made several attempts to contact them, they can call the vendor call center at 888-499-6377 with their concerns.
Get Support with Post Audits
There’s no need to struggle through post audits alone. SupplyPike helps suppliers research, dispute, and recover invalid claims—so you can focus on growing your business. Chat with a SupplyPike team member to learn how to protect your revenue from post audit claims.