Walmart Chargeback Code 11: PO vs Invoice Price Difference

Executive Summary & Quick Answer

Executive summary: Code 11 is the simplest deduction Walmart takes and the hardest to argue with: the purchase order said one cost, your invoice said another, and Walmart paid the lower number. It's a pure process failure — the fix isn't a better dispute, it's making the 810 mechanically incapable of disagreeing with the 850.

Quick answer: Walmart Chargeback Code 11 is an accounts-payable deduction taken when the item cost on a supplier's invoice (EDI 810) is higher than the cost on the purchase order (EDI 850). Walmart automatically deducts the difference. It's prevented by always billing the exact PO cost — never an internal price list.

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Deep Dive: What Triggers Code 11

Walmart's AP match compares the IT1 unit price on your 810 invoice against the PO1 unit price on the 850 purchase order, line by line. Any line where invoice > PO gets the difference deducted under Code 11.

The trap: most billing systems don't price invoices from the PO. They price from the internal item master. The 850 arrives carrying Walmart's cost; your ERP acknowledges the order, ships it — and then the invoice module reaches into its own price list. If those two numbers ever drift (price change mid-cycle, wrong cost tier, promo cost expired), the drift lands on the remittance as Code 11.

Where the numbers live:

Document	Segment	Field
850 (PO)	PO1	Walmart's cost for this order
855 (PO ack)	PO1/ACK	Your chance to reject a wrong price — before shipping
810 (Invoice)	IT1	What you billed — must equal the 850, line for line

The 855 acknowledgment is the underused control point. If the PO price is genuinely wrong (old cost, missed increase), the time to fight is at acknowledgment — not on the invoice. Billing above the PO "because our price is right" never wins; it just converts your margin into a Code 11.

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Business & Financial Impact

• Deduction = per-unit difference × billed quantity, per line, per invoice.
• Like Code 10, it repeats until the source is fixed — a stale cost tier bleeds on every PO cut against it.
• Disputes are nearly unwinnable when the PO clearly stated the cost — Walmart's position is "you accepted the PO." Recovery effort is better spent preventing.
• Cash-flow noise: deductions land weeks after shipment, complicating AR reconciliation.

Quantify your exposure: chargeback cost calculator.

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Root Causes (Ranked)

1. Invoice priced from the item master, not the PO — the structural cause behind almost all Code 11.
2. Cost increase agreed but not yet on the PO — supplier bills the new price against an old-price PO.
3. Wrong cost tier / bracket pricing — volume or freight-inclusive tier misapplied.
4. Promo cost expiry mismatch — PO cut during a promo window, invoiced after it ended.
5. Manual invoice corrections — keyed re-bills that skip EDI validation.

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Step-by-Step Prevention Workflow

850 received ──► price check vs ERP ──► mismatch? ──► 855 reject / escalate
     │                                        no
     ▼                                        ▼
 pick & ship ──────────────────────► 810 built FROM 850 prices ──► transmit
                                          (copy, don't re-derive)

1. Copy, don't re-derive. Configure the 810 map to carry the 850 PO1 price into IT1 directly. The invoice should be incapable of disagreeing with the PO.
2. Fight price at acknowledgment. Validate PO price on receipt; if wrong, resolve via 855/merchandising before shipping. Shipped = accepted.
3. Effective-date discipline for cost changes. New cost applies only to POs cut on/after the confirmed effective date — never re-price open POs.
4. Weekly remittance sweep. Recurring Code 11 on one SKU = a standing price disagreement; route it to merchandising, not AP.

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Code 11 vs Code 10 (the pair everyone confuses)

	Code 10	Code 11
Compares invoice against	Walmart's item file + allowances	The purchase order
Typical root	Cost change timing, missing SAC allowance	Billing from internal price list
Dispute odds	Winnable with signed cost agreement	Poor — the PO is the contract
Fix	Sync item file, fix 810 SAC map	Price 810 from 850 mechanically

Related: Code 10 (allowance/price difference) · Code 13 (substitution cost) · Code 12 (invoice math)

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Supplier Checklist

• 810 map copies PO1 price from the 850 (no item-master lookup)
• PO price validated against ERP within 24h of 850 receipt
• Price disagreements resolved via 855/merchandising before shipping
• Cost changes carry confirmed effective dates; open POs never re-priced
• Weekly: remittance grouped by code; repeat Code 11 SKUs escalated

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FAQs

What is Walmart chargeback Code 11? A deduction taken when the invoiced item cost exceeds the cost on the purchase order. Walmart deducts the per-unit difference across the billed quantity.

What's the difference between Code 10 and Code 11? Code 10 compares your invoice to Walmart's item file (including allowances); Code 11 compares it to the specific PO. Different comparison, different fix.

Can I dispute Code 11? You can, via the APDP in Retail Link, but odds are poor when the PO clearly stated the cost — shipping against a PO is treated as accepting its price. Fight wrong prices at PO acknowledgment instead.

Why does Code 11 keep repeating on the same item? Your billing system prices from an internal list that disagrees with Walmart's PO cost — usually a stale tier or an unconfirmed cost change. Fix the source; the deduction stops.

Which EDI documents are involved? The 850 (PO price), optionally the 855 (acknowledgment — your rejection window), and the 810 (invoice price). Code 11 is the 810 disagreeing with the 850.

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