Deductions, debit notes and price, promotion or service differences handled as a case with gathered evidence, the negotiation on the record and the applicable authorization — through to a confirmed adjustment or a substantiated rejection.
01 · The problem
A deduction shows up when the customer pays less than invoiced and takes the difference: a promotion that was never applied, a price other than the one agreed, a shortage on delivery, damaged goods, a logistics charge or a service level penalty. The remittance advice arrives with the reason compressed into a single line and, more often than not, several items short-paid under one document.
From there the case moves from desk to desk: sales would rather not strain the customer relationship, accounts receivable needs the balance cleared, logistics holds the proof of delivery, and the window to dispute keeps closing.
The analysis gets assembled from the tools already on the desk: Microsoft Excel spreadsheets where each account manager tracks their own cases, email to chase a copy of the delivery note or proof that the promotion ran, and Microsoft Power BI reporting on the outstanding deduction balance. Each of those does a useful job on its own, and none of them records what was claimed, who gathered the evidence, what was negotiated, or under whose authorization the difference was closed.
The problem is not missing information: it is a monetary difference with no owner, no deadline and no closure anyone can defend to the customer.
02 · The solution
Each deduction is handled as a case that follows a defined workflow. The team logs the claim or the remittance advice, classifies the reason, gathers the evidence, separates the amount accepted from the amount rejected, and records the negotiation with the customer. The approver set for that reason and amount band then authorizes the outcome, which is confirmed through the agreed source.
The workflow uses relationships already approved in the Operational Graph, keeping each deduction linked to the disputed invoice, the underlying order and delivery, the applicable commercial terms or promotion, the legal entity, the account owner, and earlier claims from the same customer for the same reason. BPMflow orchestrates cases, assignments, deadlines, authorizations and evidence in that context, rather than in a standalone process diagram.
When the order or the delivery also has to be put right — rescheduled, substituted, redelivered or cancelled — that is a separate workflow: Order and Logistics Exceptions handles the operational side and this one settles the monetary difference. One incident opens both cases and each closes on its own. Where the difference starts from a supplier invoice rather than a customer deduction, it belongs to Invoice Exception Resolution.
03 · Capabilities
Claims sit in a single queue, each showing its reason, customer, amount in dispute, aging, dispute window and the authorization still pending. Max answers questions about a case within the authorized context: it explains what evidence is missing, what has already been recorded, and how earlier claims for the same reason ended.
Opens the case from the customer's remittance advice, an incoming debit note, an account review or a claim raised by the account manager.
A remittance that short-pays several items at once is split into cases by reason and document, each with its own owner, deadline and outcome.
Brings together the disputed invoice, the order, proof of delivery, the agreed commercial terms and the promotional agreement that applies, showing who supplied each document and when.
Records the amount accepted, the amount rejected and the reasoning behind each, so the position put to the customer rests on evidence rather than on goodwill.
Records each offer, response and agreement, including the rounds in between. The customer takes part through scoped access to their own claim where the organization enables it.
Applies the rule that governs the reason and the amount band, records the approval, approver and timestamp, and captures confirmation of the adjustment or the rejection from the agreed source.
04 · Roles
Owns the account and the commercial rationale for the agreement.
What they see
Open claims on their accounts, with the reason, the amount in dispute, the deadline and the commercial terms or promotional agreement that applies.
What they do
Gives the background to the agreement, proposes how it should be resolved and leads the negotiation with the customer.
Manages outstanding deductions through to closure.
What they see
The outstanding deduction balance by customer, reason and aging, with the disputed document and the status of each case.
What they do
Opens or confirms the claim, asks logistics for proof of delivery, records the outcome and tracks the document until it is applied to the customer account.
Approves the outcome within their scope.
What they see
Claims waiting at their level, with the amount accepted, the amount rejected and the reasoning behind each.
What they do
Approves, rejects or sends the case back with a question, depending on the reason, the amount band and the rule that applies.
Substantiates or reviews their own deduction.
What they see
The status of their own claim and the evidence being asked of them.
What they do
Supplies documentation, responds to the position put to them and receives the outcome with the reason on record.
05 · Implementation
The work starts with the process as it runs today: the minimum context of that first reason is enough, with no architecture project to clear first.
1 · Agree on the outcome
Which deduction reasons are in scope, who answers for each one, which authorization applies at which amount, and what counts as a confirmed adjustment and as a substantiated rejection.
2 · Connect the sources already in use
The disputed invoice, the order, proof of delivery and the agreed terms come from the ERP and the commercial management system; the organization's document repository is added where the promotional agreements are kept.
3 · Run it on live claims and hand it over
The workflow is tested with claims from the current period; rules, deadlines and authorization bands are then refined, and the client team takes over daily operation.
06 · Typical scenarios
Several legal entities, customers who deduct on criteria of their own, promotional agreements that differ by channel and sales teams spread across territories: these issues recur every collection cycle.
A trade claim closes when the outcome is substantiated and authorized: either the adjustment is confirmed on the customer account, or the rejection and the balance still due are recorded and communicated to the customer. The place to start is a single deduction reason.
Trade Claims and Deductions is an EAFlow cross-industry solution on the Operational Graph, supported by BPMflow’s automation capabilities. It settles the monetary difference; recovering the order itself is handled in Order and Logistics Exceptions. The reasons and scenarios on this page are illustrative: rules, authorization bands and confirmation sources are configured with each organization.
