In this guide 6 sections
A distributor claim asks the brand to refund what the distributor gave away or lost for it, and four kinds recur: scheme discounts, expired stock, breakage and transit damage. Each needs its own proof. Each kind has its own filing window, set by the brand.
A claim is money the brand owes you
A scheme discount passed to a retailer is the brand’s to bear, and so is a shipper of glass vials that arrives crushed under a tarpaulin. The claim is the paperwork. It turns each event back into credit.
Money slips away at month end. A claim raised from memory six weeks later rarely matches the invoice sitting in the brand’s own system, and the clerk there has no reason to be generous.
Know the four kinds first.
- Scheme claim: discount or free goods given under a brand offer
- Expiry claim: short-dated or expired batches returned
- Breakage claim: bottles, tubes or cartons broken in the store room
- Damage claim: goods spoiled in transit
Scheme claims need the slab and the invoice
Scheme claims start with a slab. Buy ten cases, get one free. Buy twenty, get three. A stockist tier may add a rebate on top, and the brand checks that the free goods on your invoice match the slab in force that day.
File the scheme circular, invoice copy and free goods line together, and when the offer changed mid month, note the date each version applied. The brand will ask for proof.
Rounding causes quiet mismatches. A retailer who bought nine and a half cases has not reached the ten case slab, so the free carton on his invoice gets struck off at settlement.
Expiry and breakage claims need batch proof
Expiry claims hang on the batch number and the expiry date printed on the strip, bottle or carton, so record both at the moment of return. Missing batches bounce first.
Breakage needs a count and a picture. Photograph the cracked syrup bottles or snapped ampoules with the carton label visible, then write the quantity in a breakage register that the store keeper signs that day.
Pharmaceutical lines add one rule. Cold room logs may be asked for. Many brands accept returns only inside a window before expiry, so the date on your return note counts alongside the date printed on the blister.
Damage in transit needs the lorry receipt
Transit damage depends on who carried the goods. If the brand’s transporter delivered to you, the claim goes to the brand with the lorry receipt and the damage remark written at unloading.
If your own vehicle delivered to the retailer, the loss may sit with you, and a claim sent to the wrong party wastes weeks while the window closes. Check the supply terms first.
Take the photo at the door, before the forklift moves the pallet, because a remark added next day carries little weight with the brand’s claims desk. Speed matters here.
Build a claim file the day the event happens
Open a claim line the moment a scheme invoice, return or damage is recorded, with the invoice, batch details, return note and photograph attached. Make the deadline a date field.
Review open claims every Friday instead of waiting for month end, and push anything inside a week of its window to the top of the list. Red tag all unsaleable stock.
Start by listing the four claim kinds against each brand you carry, and write down the filing window next to each one.
Brand claim register
One register, one row per claim. Columns are brand, claim kind, invoice number, batch and expiry, quantity, proof attached, date raised, filing deadline, amount claimed, amount settled and status. A lower block lists each brand with its filing window, the contact at its claims desk and the person on your side who submits the file.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
What is the difference between a scheme claim and a damage claim?
A scheme claim recovers discounts or free goods given under a brand offer, and a damage claim recovers stock lost to breakage or transit. Proof differs for each.
How long do I have to file a claim?
The brand sets the window, which differs by brand and by claim kind, so ask for it in writing and keep it beside each brand’s claim file.
Why do brands settle claims for less than I asked?
Usually the proof does not match. A batch number, slab or quantity differs from the brand’s own record, so the brand pays only the part it can verify.
Can software track claims?
Yes. It can open a claim line when the invoice or return is entered, attach the proof, flag deadlines and show which brand’s window closes this week. A shared sheet works meanwhile.