Rebates
Rebates accrued as you invoice, not found at year end.
A distributor promises a customer 2% back above $1 million a year and 3% above $2 million. Most teams work out what is owed in January from an export. Apex counts invoiced volume against the tiers as the year runs, shows the accrual, and settles it as a credit note.
Rebate types
The incentive structures distribution and food service run on.
Tiered volume
A percentage back once invoiced volume passes a threshold, retroactive to the first dollar or only above it, as the agreement says.
Growth
A rebate on volume above last year's, so the customer is paid for growth rather than for standing still.
Product mix
A higher rate on a product line you want to grow, counted separately from the rest.
Group and parent
Volume from several locations or a buying group counted together, settled to the parent.
Where the customer stands
Progress against the next tier, at any point in the year.
Sales sees how close a customer is to the next tier, which is a reason to call. Finance sees the accrual the tiers imply today, which belongs in the month-end numbers.
- Counted from invoices
- Volume comes from posted invoices and credit notes in the ERP, not from orders that may not ship.
- Accrual as estimated
- How the accrual is booked follows your accountant's policy; Apex shows the figure the tiers imply.
Settlement
From the final tier to the credit note.
- 01
Close the period
At the end of the rebate period, Apex calculates the final tier and the amount from invoiced volume.
- 02
Review
The settlement, with every invoice that counted, waits for the person your rules name.
- 03
Credit
Once approved, a credit note is written to the ERP against the customer, read back and confirmed.
- 04
Report
The statement goes to the customer, showing volume, tier and amount, so the number does not have to be argued.
Agents propose, people approve
The agent drafts. A person decides.
A rebate agent reads the incentive terms in a customer agreement and drafts the tier structure, and at period end drafts the settlement and the statement. A person approves the settlement before any credit note is created.
Every agent stops at an approval gate until it has earned its way out of one. Nothing releases cash, commits spend or touches a customer without a person saying so.
Your dataModels that read your data run inside your environment, behind your firewall. No client data reaches a frontier lab.
Start here, keep the foundation
Start with rebates. Add the rest without starting over.
Start with rebates alone. Apex brings your customers, invoices and credit notes down from the ERP into your Ferrata foundation, so this year's volume is counted from the first day. When you add price agreements or invoicing later, they read the same customers and invoices.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
What is rebate management software?
Rebate management software tracks the incentives you have promised customers, usually a percentage back once they buy a certain volume, works out what is owed and settles it. Apex counts invoiced volume from your ERP against each customer's tiers and settles rebates as credit notes.
Is volume counted from orders or invoices?
From posted invoices and credit notes, read from your ERP. Orders can be shown as a forecast of where a customer will land, but the rebate is calculated on what was actually invoiced.
Can a rebate be retroactive to the first dollar?
Yes. Each rebate is set up the way the agreement words it: retroactive across all volume once a tier is reached, or incremental on volume above each threshold.
How is the rebate accrual booked?
Apex shows the accrual the tiers imply at any date. How and when it is booked is your accountant's policy, and any journal entry Apex prepares is reviewed before it is posted to the ERP.
How are rebates paid out?
As a credit note against the customer, written to your ERP after approval. Apex does not process payments; if you pay rebates by check or transfer, that happens in your existing process.
Can we track rebates for a buying group?
Yes. Volume from several customers or locations can be counted together under one agreement and settled to the parent account or split as the agreement says.
Related in Apex
- Price agreementsCustomer price lists, blanket POs and call-offs that draw down a framework.View
- InvoicingInvoices calculated in Apex, checked against the PO, posted to your ERP first.View
- Revenue recognitionRevenue schedules computed from your policy, journals posted to the ERP after review.View
- Food and beverageTrade agreements, volume rebates and deductions, priced per customer.View
- DistributionCustomer price agreements, call-offs, rebates and freight on every order.View
From Ferrata Labs
- Ferrata in food and beverageRestaurants, distribution and procurement.
- Tally, reconciliationSub-ledger to general ledger, break by break.
- Human in the loopWhy every consequential action waits at an approval gate.
- Book a discovery callThirty minutes on one workflow, and an honest answer on where to start.
Start with rebates, or talk it through first.
Thirty minutes with Ferrata Labs on one workflow. You leave with a view of where Apex fits, and an honest answer if the sequencing is wrong and you should fix something else first.
Your pricing, approval and billing rules are your advantage, and they stay yours. Apex is configured to the way you sell and bill. You are not handing over a playbook or fitting into a template.