Short-shipped, out-of-stock and substituted items: getting credited
If a case did not come off the truck, you should not pay for it. Most distributors handle this correctly, but credits get missed when the driver is rushed, the paperwork is signed quickly, or a credit memo never arrives.
At the door
- Check counts against the invoice before signing, at least for high-value items (proteins, seafood, cheese, oil).
- Write shorts and damaged items on the driver's copy and have the driver initial it, if your distributor allows that.
- Take a phone photo of the marked-up invoice. It is your record if a credit is disputed later.
On the invoice
Out-of-stock lines usually show a zero shipped quantity or a code such as OUT, O/S or NS.
Check that the extended price on those lines is zero and that they are not included in the total.
Substitutions show a different item number or brand. Check the pack size and per-unit price: a substitute in a smaller pack at the same case price is a price increase.
Following up on credits
- Keep a list of shorts and damages with the date, item number, quantity and invoice number.
- Credits often arrive as a separate credit memo, or as a negative line on a later invoice (shown as
-12.34or(12.34)). - Once a week, match each item on your list to a credit. Anything older than two weeks without a credit goes to your rep.
Common gap: the credit is issued for the case price but you were charged a split or catch-weight price, so the amounts don't match. Check the amount, not just that a credit exists.
FeeHawk reads credit lines and memos from your invoices and lists shorts and substitutions it could not match to a credit.
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Upload your last 3 months of supplier invoices (PDFs or phone photos). FeeHawk lists every price increase, new fee and missing credit, with a dollar total and what to dispute. A person checks every report before it is sent.
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