EDI chargeback cost estimator
Add up what late ASNs, labels that do not match and other compliance violations cost you per year, using your own shipment numbers and your customers' penalties.
- Your numbers, not benchmarks
- Formulas shown
- Runs in your browser
Example values: replace them with yours
The numbers already filled in only show how the calculator works. They are not benchmarks or Comparatio figures. Type your own and the results update as you go. 11 fields still hold an example value.
Your numbers
Your results
Chargebacks and dispute work: $29,760 a year from 336 violations. At 0.5% or lower per violation type: $6,120, $23,640 lower.
Chargebacks and dispute work per year
$29,760
- Violations per month
- 28
- Violations per year
- 336
- Late or missing ASN, per year
- $14,400
- ASN or labels do not match the delivery, per year
- $7,200
- Other violations, per year
- $4,800
- Dispute labor per year
- $3,360
- Total per year
- $29,760
What if each rate were at most 0.5%?
Per year. Rates already at or below 0.5% stay as they are; dispute work shrinks with the number of violations.
| Figure | Today | At 0.5% |
|---|---|---|
| Violations | 336 | 72 |
| Chargebacks | $26,400 | $5,400 |
| Dispute labor | $3,360 | $720 |
| Total | $29,760 | $6,120 |
Difference: $23,640 lower per year.
How it is calculated
Each rule in words, then with your numbers. Each violation type is counted on its own, so a shipment with two problems counts twice. Counts and hours are rounded to one decimal before the next step.
Late or missing ASN, per year
Shipments per month × 12 × violation rate × penalty per violation
400 × 12 × 3% = 144 violations × $100.00 flat → $14,400
ASN or labels do not match the delivery, per year
Shipments per month × 12 × violation rate × penalty per violation (a % of the average shipment value)
400 × 12 × 2% = 96 violations × 3% of $2,500 = $75.00 → $7,200
Other violations, per year
Shipments per month × 12 × violation rate × penalty per violation
400 × 12 × 2% = 96 violations × $50.00 flat → $4,800
Dispute labor per year
Staff hours per month × 12 × hourly labor cost
8 × 12 × $35 = $3,360
Total per year
Chargebacks of every type + dispute labor
$14,400 + $7,200 + $4,800 + $3,360 = $29,760
What-if chargebacks
The same, with each violation rate capped at 0.5%
0.5% → $2,400, 0.5% → $1,800, 0.5% → $1,200
What-if dispute labor
Dispute labor × what-if violations ÷ today's violations
$3,360 × 72 ÷ 336 = $720
Difference
Total today − total in the what-if
$29,760 − $6,120 = $23,640
Background
What is an EDI chargeback?
A chargeback, also called a compliance fee or deduction, is an amount a customer takes off what it pays you because a shipment or a document did not follow its supplier requirements. Retailers and large distributors set those requirements out in a vendor compliance manual or routing guide, with their own fees: some charge a flat amount per violation, others a percentage of the invoice or shipment value.
| Violation | What goes wrong | Document or label involved |
|---|---|---|
| Late or missing ASN | The ship notice arrives after the customer's deadline, typically before the goods reach the dock, or not at all, so receiving cannot check the delivery against it. | EDI 856 ship notice (ASN) |
| ASN does not match the delivery | The cartons, items or quantities in the 856 differ from what is on the truck. | EDI 856 pack and item levels |
| Wrong or unreadable carton labels | A GS1-128 carton label is missing or will not scan, or the SSCC printed on it is not the one in the ASN. | GS1-128 label with an SSCC-18; check an SSCC check digit |
| Late or wrong invoice | The invoice arrives late or does not match the order or the shipment. | EDI 810 invoice |
| Wrong routing | The goods ship with a carrier or service the customer did not ask for, or without asking for routing instructions first. | EDI 753 routing request and EDI 754 routing instructions |
Requirements and fees differ from customer to customer. Check each customer's own compliance manual.
FAQ
Questions about the estimator
Where do I find the numbers to enter?
The fees are in each customer's vendor compliance manual, routing guide or supplier portal. The violations themselves show up as deductions on the customer's remittance advice (often an EDI 820) or in your accounts receivable deduction report. Counting a few months gives a steadier rate than a single month.
Does a shipment with two problems count twice?
Yes. The estimator counts each violation type on its own. If a customer charges only once per shipment however many problems it has, put the combined rate in one type and set the others to 0.
Why does the what-if reduce the time spent on disputes?
Fewer chargebacks mean fewer deductions to research and dispute, so the estimator scales the dispute hours by the change in the number of violations. If most of that work is fixed whatever the volume, read the what-if dispute figure as a best case.
Does Comparatio see the numbers I enter?
No. The estimator runs in your browser and does not send or store what you type. Copy results puts a text summary on your clipboard so you can paste it into an email or a spreadsheet.
Want to talk through your chargebacks?
Comparatio runs managed EDI for distributors on Epicor Prophet 21, NetSuite and Infor CloudSuite Distribution, including the ship notices and invoices your customers check. We can walk through where your violations come from.