The deductions nobody has time to dispute are still your money.
Your UNFI, KeHE and Walmart payments come in short, with codes nobody can decode and no backup attached. The oldest ones are quietly running out of time.
Sound familiar?
- A remittance arrives short. The reason code is cryptic. Matching it to the right invoice takes a morning.
- Proof of delivery, the bill of lading and the promo agreement live in three different places.
- Anything under a set amount gets written off, because there aren't enough hours to chase it.
- The aged list past 90 days keeps growing, and each customer's dispute window is different.
- Your broker says it's not their job. They're paid on new orders, not on recovery.
What it costs
1.1–2% of sales*
median non-trade deductions, as a share of sales
Industry survey data puts non-trade deductions at a median of 1.1–2% of sales, about four times the 2018 median. In food, beverage and grocery, the median automatic write-off threshold is $100–250.* Below that line, nobody checks whether the deduction was valid. Few brands can say how much of what they wrote off they actually owed.
What you do today
One or two people log into each portal, work the biggest items, and hunt for backup before the deadline. Many brands end up hiring a full-time deductions analyst just to keep up. Others buy deductions software, and find it still needs someone working it every week. When the person who knew the portals leaves, the backlog starts over.
What we do
We find the invalid deductions in your backlog and build each dispute with its backup attached, while it still counts. Your team approves each one before it's filed. You get cash back in your account, and a clear view of which customers and reason codes keep costing you.
See what's recoverable in your oldest deductions
Send one deductions export you've already downloaded. We'll come back with the items worth disputing and what they add up to, then walk you through it in 15 minutes. We're taking on a few food and beverage brands this quarter, so each gets hands-on attention.
founder@blinkfin.com
How your data is handled. You send us exports you pull yourself, by email. We never ask for logins to your systems, portals or bank. NDA on request. When you ask, we delete your files and confirm it in writing.