Deduction type
Freight / backhaul / detention deductions
Shipping-related deductions — backhaul allowances, detention, lumper fees, fuel, and freight-audit charges. Recoverable when applied on the wrong freight terms, at the wrong rate, or duplicated.
Mihir Naik · Founder, OverDeduct — deduction recovery for emerging & mid-market CPG brands
Last reviewed: August 4, 2026
Educational content — not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Verify deadlines and fee details against your current distributor agreement before disputing.
A freight deduction covers a shipping-related charge the buyer passes to you. Common forms include backhaul allowances (a credit the buyer takes for picking up product itself), detention (charged when a truck waits beyond its window), lumper fees (for unloading labor), fuel surcharges, and freight-audit deductions when a shipment's freight cost is reconciled after the fact.
Whether a freight charge is even yours to bear depends on the freight terms — who owns the freight and its cost, prepaid or collect. That's what makes freight deductions frequently recoverable: a charge applied against the wrong party under the agreed terms, a backhaul allowance taken at the wrong rate, detention billed for a delay that wasn't your fault, or the same freight charge deducted twice.
The documents that decide a freight dispute are the freight terms in your agreement, the bill of lading, and the carrier's records. UNFI, for example, takes freight allowances and freight-audit deductions on underutilized trucks, so reconciling each freight line against the agreed terms and the BOL is what separates a valid charge from a recoverable one.
Wondering how many freight / backhaul / detention deductions you're actually being charged? Run a real remittance through the free deduction recovery analyzer to see every line categorized and what's realistically recoverable.
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Use the free deduction recovery analyzer →Frequently asked questions
What is a backhaul allowance?
A backhaul allowance is a credit a buyer takes for picking up product from you with its own trucks instead of you shipping it. It's recoverable when taken at the wrong rate or when the buyer didn't actually perform the backhaul.
When is a freight deduction recoverable?
When it's applied against the wrong party under the agreed freight terms, billed at the wrong rate, charged for a delay that wasn't your fault (detention), or deducted more than once for the same shipment.
What proof wins a freight dispute?
The freight terms in your agreement (who owns the freight, prepaid or collect), the bill of lading, and the carrier's records. These establish whether the charge was yours to bear and at what rate.
Other deduction types
- Shortage deductionsA charge for units the buyer says it didn't receive against your invoice — one of the most recoverable deduction types because it turns on delivery documentation.
- Manufacturer chargebacks (MCB)A promotional discount a distributor gives a retailer and bills back to the manufacturer — often with a processing fee on top.
- Pricing & deal discrepanciesShort-pays where the buyer paid a different price than invoiced, or applied a deal you didn't agree to — among the most recoverable deduction types.
- Fill-rate / service-level penaltiesA penalty for shipping fewer units than were ordered — distinct from a shortage at receiving, and typically a percentage of the shorted value.
- Co-op advertising (co-op) deductionsA deduction taken to recover advertising or marketing spend the buyer claims to have run on your behalf — recoverable when the spend wasn't approved, documented, or was billed twice.
- Returns / RTV deductionsA deduction for product the buyer returned — unsold, damaged, or non-conforming. Usually legitimate; recoverable mainly when the return wasn't authorized or was double-counted.
- Duplicate deductionsThe same deduction taken more than once — on one invoice, across invoices, or as both a chargeback and a short-pay. Highly recoverable because it's a pure paperwork error.
- Post-audit deductionsCharges raised by an auditor reviewing past invoices — often months after the transaction. Recoverable when the audit's claim is wrong, undocumented, or falls outside the dispute window.
- Unearned / unauthorized cash discount deductionsA prompt-payment (terms) discount the buyer took without actually earning it — paying late but still deducting the discount, or taking a rate it wasn't entitled to. Among the most recoverable deductions.
- Promotional billback / scan-down deductionsDeductions that recover promotional discounts — billbacks, scan-downs, off-invoice and temporary price reductions. Recoverable when unauthorized, mis-keyed to the wrong dates or SKUs, or billed more than once.
- Slotting / new-item / free-fill deductionsFees charged to place a new item — slotting, new-item, placement, and free-fill (free initial cases). Often contractual, but recoverable when duplicated, charged beyond the agreement, or taken for items never stocked.
- Spoilage / swell / unsaleables deductionsDeductions for damaged, expired, or unsellable product — spoilage, swell, and unsaleables. Usually valid within an agreed allowance; recoverable when they exceed the allowance, aren't documented, or are duplicated.