Deductions 101
Distributor deductions are charges subtracted from your invoice payments. Some are expected. Others are vague, invalid, or incorrect. If you are not reviewing them, you are leaving revenue behind.
Why do deductions happen?
Distributors charge fees when orders are short, delayed, mislabeled, or connected to promotions. They also pass along costs like freight accessorials, spoilage, or retail slotting. Most of this is buried in remittance data, spreadsheets, or PDFs that rarely get audited.
How much does this cost?
On average, 25 to 30 percent of your revenue with UNFI, KeHE, or Target is deducted. Ten to fifteen percent of that is often invalid. That is revenue you are entitled to recover. Revya automatically identifies and disputes those deductions.
Why are so many deductions wrong?
Promotions get misapplied. Orders get shorted in the warehouse. Spoilage fees are incorrectly triggered. And slotting costs are billed twice. These errors are usually small, often under $100, and they happen across thousands of invoices.
Common Deduction Types
Spoilage
Fees for expired or damaged goods. Often disputable with shipping or temperature logs.
Promotion Billbacks
Retroactive charges for promotional programs. Can be misaligned with calendar or terms.
Short Shipments
Fees when less product is received than ordered. Proof of delivery is essential here.
Freight Accessorial
Lift gates, redelivery, pallet tags, and other logistics charges. Often unverified.
Slotting Fees
Costs to get into retailer sets. Must be backed by contract. Disputed when duplicated.
Overpull Charges
When distributors overstock and bill the brand for the extra. Often overlooked.
Wondering what your codes mean?
Run your most recent UNFI or KeHE remittance through our deduction decoder and see what’s actually valid.
Try the Deduction Decoder