This system map is part of the rebate claim reconciliation guide. That guide explains why a settled figure can differ from a claimed one; this page traces where each record lives and which identifier carries a single claim from one application to the next.
The four systems behind one rebate claim
Most distributors spread a rebate claim across four places, even when one of them is a dedicated rebate module.
- Rebate tool or module. Agreements, tier tables, eligibility rules, group affiliations, accruals and approved amounts. Microsoft's documentation for Dynamics 365 describes deals that control how the calculation works, with deal lines that specify the customers or vendors, items, time frames, basis and calculation method. This is where the terms of each program are kept.
- ERP sales ledger. Invoice lines by customer, item and date, plus returns and credits. This proves the claimed volume was real and qualified.
- Receivables and cash application. Payments, short payments and their reason codes. Microsoft documents that a customer can take an amount it is owed as a deduction on a payment, and that a dedicated screen matches, splits, denies or writes off those items, logging each event in a claim journal.
- Claim file. The customer's submitted claim, the reconciler's working sheet, approval emails and notes. Often a shared folder or inbox rather than a system.
When all four sit in one suite, the links may be built in. When the program tool is standalone, every link depends on someone having keyed the right reference.
The field map: system, record, linking key, owner
The evidence asset for this page. Each row is one hop a reviewer would need to make.
| System | Record | Linking key to the next hop | Usual owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebate tool | Agreement and tier version with effective dates | Agreement ID, matched to the price or rebate code on invoice lines | Pricing or rebate administrator |
| Rebate tool | Group affiliation with start and end dates | Customer account plus affiliation dates | Commercial finance |
| ERP | Invoice lines and returns by item and date | Customer account, item, invoice date | Finance systems or ERP owner |
| Claim file | Claim as submitted, with the customer's purchase summary | Claim ID, customer account, claim period | Commercial finance head |
| Rebate tool or claim file | Approval or adjustment with reason and approver | Claim ID | Commercial finance head |
| ERP | Credit memo settling the claim | Credit memo number with claim ID in its reference field | Accounts receivable |
| Receivables | Short payment taken as a rebate | Payment ID, deduction reason code, related claim ID | Credit and collections |
Two keys carry most of the weight: the agreement ID that ties invoice lines to program terms, and the claim ID that ties sign-off to the credit. Ask whether each is a field or only a phrase typed into a note.
One joined case, end to end (Illustrative)
A fictional 380-person electrical distributor written for this page, not a real company or completed case. A contractor's agreement pays 2% on qualifying sales. In March the contractor submits a claim on $240,000 of volume, or $4,800, and before anyone signs off it short-pays its next invoice by $4,800.
| Hop | System | Key used | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Receivables | Payment ID, reason code "rebate" | $4,800 short-paid against an open invoice |
| 2 | Claim file | Claim ID quoted in the remittance | Claim for $4,800 on $240,000 of volume |
| 3 | Rebate tool | Agreement ID | 2% rate; returned goods excluded from qualifying volume |
| 4 | ERP | Customer account, invoice dates | $240,000 invoiced, $45,000 returned in a later period |
| 5 | Rebate tool | Claim ID | Approved $3,900 on $195,000 qualifying; approver noted |
| 6 | Receivables | Claim ID on the short payment | $3,900 matched to the approved claim; $900 denied and rebilled |
Without hop 2, the short payment is an unexplained open balance. Without hop 4, the $900 gap looks like haggling rather than the returned-goods clause at work. Linked end to end, the trail shows what went wrong, who acted and how it closed. For month-end parallels, see reconciliation break notes as training data.
Where the joins usually break
- Account re-created. A new account number for the same customer, often opened when it changes program, hides continuity across agreements.
- Invoice lines with no agreement reference. The link must be rebuilt from dates and item codes.
- Late returns. Goods sent back in a later period change qualifying volume after sign-off.
- Credit memos without a claim ID. The credit cannot be traced back to the decision.
- Short payments written off unmatched. The money moved, but the reason is lost.
- A software change mid-history. A distributor that moved from one rebate application to another may hold early years with different keys from later ones, and nobody may have mapped old IDs to new.
If a quality-of-earnings review is under way, rebate accruals and settlements are usually examined there too; see MCP for quality of earnings and MCP for general ledger reconciliation. Before a rebate tool is replaced, the preservation timeline shows which of these records disappear first.
Questions to put to the commercial finance head
Keep the conversation to keys, systems and years. Partners never ask for claims, exports or contracts.
- Which system holds agreements and tier versions, and since when?
- Do invoice lines carry an agreement or rebate code?
- Is the claim ID written on credit memos and on deductions?
- How are short payments taken as rebates coded in receivables?
- Were any customers re-created under new account numbers?
- Has the rebate platform or ERP changed during the years in question?
The answers go into an introduction, not a spreadsheet of records. Authority sits above the person answering; the who-can-say-yes tree covers who signs. Distributors preparing for a sale may also find how to sell a distribution business useful context, and private equity owners can start at specialty distribution.
The introduced company needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license the records, and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application. Buyer interest, the rights review result and any offer stay unknown until SourceX reviews the opportunity.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If a distributor's claim IDs and agreement codes still carry a claim from the rebate tool to receivables, register as a partner, check the company against who qualifies and read the program terms before you brief the commercial finance head.