How to prevent Walmart chargebacks
Every Walmart deduction we track traces back to a preventable error — in the ASN, the label, the routing, or the invoice. This playbook aggregates the prevention steps from all 27 Walmart codes in our database, grouped by the operational area that owns them.
Accounts Payable / Pricing
- Sync item cost between your system and Walmart's item file before billing
- Confirm any cost change is effective on both sides before the PO ships
- Apply agreed allowances on the invoice
- Bill the exact cost stated on the PO
- Reconcile invoice cost against the 850 (PO) before sending the 810
- Confirm any price change updates the PO first
- Invoice the item and cost that actually shipped, not the ordered item
- Avoid unauthorized substitutions; confirm any substitution with Walmart
- Reconcile UPC and cost on the invoice against the physical shipment
- Apply agreed volume/quantity discounts on the EDI 810
- Configure discount tiers correctly in the billing system
- Validate discounts against the vendor agreement before invoicing
Accounts Payable / Invoicing
- Validate invoice math (cost × qty = extended) before transmitting
- Automate EDI 810 generation to remove manual calculation errors
- Reconcile line totals against the invoice total
- De-duplicate invoices per PO before transmitting to Walmart
- Make EDI 810 generation idempotent so a retry cannot create a second invoice
- Check remittance and the APDP before ever re-invoicing a PO
- Pull the PO number directly from the 850 into the 810 (no manual entry)
- Validate the PO number exists before transmitting
- Automate PO-to-invoice matching
- Only bill handling charges explicitly agreed
- Confirm handling terms in the vendor agreement
- Remove unagreed fees before invoicing
- Only bill charges explicitly agreed with Walmart
- Get written approval before adding any fee to an invoice
- Match invoice line items to the agreed cost structure
Accounts Payable / Shortage
- Verify the loaded count and condition before sealing the trailer
- Photograph the sealed, loaded trailer as dispute evidence
- Reconcile the bill of lading to the actual loaded quantity
- Build and shrink-wrap pallets to Walmart's stability spec
- Verify unit counts per pallet before wrapping
- Secure loads to prevent transit damage
- Ensure carton and unit counts are accurate and labeled before shipment
- Keep signed delivery proof to dispute store-level shortages in the APDP
- Reconcile DSD deliveries against store receipts
- Invoice from the confirmed pick/ship quantity, never from the PO quantity
- Reconcile the ASN (856) and invoice (810) against the signed POD/BOL before billing
- Retain the signed proof of delivery so an invalid deduction can be disputed in Walmart's APDP
- Physically verify the loaded count matches the BOL before sealing the trailer
- Use accurate pallet and carton counts on the SLC bill of lading
- Verify physical carton counts against the BOL before the truck is released
- Obtain an accurate, signed BOL/POD at pickup and delivery
- Dispute in the APDP with a signed POD showing the full quantity was delivered
- Transmit the invoice at or after delivery, never before the shipment moves
- Ensure the ASN (856) matches the PO so the receipt reconciles automatically
- Keep the signed POD to prove delivery and dispute the code in the APDP
- Reconcile carton counts across the ASN, BOL, and physical load
- Scan cartons at loading to confirm the count
- Keep signed delivery proof to dispute in the APDP
Accounts Payable / Damage
- Use carton and packaging rated for the product and transit
- Secure and stack loads correctly
- Inspect carton condition before shipping
Protects against: 28
Accounts Payable / Allowance
- Apply the agreed truckload allowance on the invoice
- Align TA terms between the vendor agreement and billing
- Confirm which shipments qualify for the truckload allowance
- Apply all agreed allowances on the invoice
- Track allowance agreements in the billing system
- Validate against the vendor agreement before invoicing
Labeling
- Validate label item numbers against the item file before printing
- Verify UPC-to-item mapping
- Scan-check a label sample before shipping
Protects against: 71
Accounts Payable / Payment terms
- Apply the agreed anticipation terms on the EDI 810 when they exist
- Align payment terms between the vendor agreement and the billing system
- Validate payment/discount terms before each invoice is transmitted
Protects against: 82
Accounts Payable / Returns
- Track recall and return authorizations against remittance
- Reconcile returned quantities and cost against the Code 92 deduction
- Keep return documentation to validate the deducted amount
- Improve protective packaging for fragile items
- QA product condition before shipping
- Secure loads to prevent transit damage
- Strengthen functional QA and testing before shipment
- Track defect rates by SKU
- Address recurring quality issues at the source
- Verify picked items against the PO (850) before shipping
- Scan-confirm UPCs at pack-out
- Avoid unauthorized substitutions
Compliance / OTIF
- Ship and deliver within Walmart's must-arrive-by window
- Fill orders completely to hit the In-Full target
- Review the OTIF Scorecard in Retail Link weekly
Protects against: OTIF
Already been charged? Dispute it.
Deductions are disputed through the Accounts Payable Dispute Portal (APDP) in Retail Link. Winning disputes generally requires shipment evidence — signed BOL/POD, ASN transmission records, and invoice data that reconciles.
Full program details: Walmart vendor compliance guide →
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