A difference between your records and a marketplace report is a starting point for investigation. It is not proof that a payment is owed. Before submitting a potential claim, reconcile the events, check the applicable policy and prepare evidence for the specific issue.

You can also use the interactive marketplace reimbursement checklist to mark reviewed items and export a working CSV.

This checklist is an operating framework for organising records. Claim eligibility, evidence requirements, submission windows and decisions depend on the marketplace, country, programme and case. Check the current guidance in your account. A review may find no eligible claim, and reimbursements or recoveries are not guaranteed.

1. Identify the transaction and programme

Record the marketplace, country, account programme, relevant order or shipment identifier, SKU, quantity and date. Keep different types of issues separate. An inbound receiving discrepancy, a customer return, a fee question and a supplier deduction do not necessarily follow the same process.

For background on the fulfilment model, Amazon Canada explains FBA. That overview is not a substitute for the policy governing an individual claim. Record the applicable policy reference and when you checked it in your working file.

2. Build one evidence trail

Connect the expected event with what the available records show. Depending on the case, useful working records may include shipment plans, carrier tracking, delivery evidence, receiving records, inventory movements, returns, payment statements and previous case correspondence. The platform may require different or additional evidence.

  • Expected: what quantity, fee or transaction did your records anticipate?
  • Observed: what does the marketplace currently report?
  • Explained: which transfers, returns, adjustments or timing differences account for the gap?
  • Unresolved: what remains after reconciliation?

3. Check for timing differences and prior adjustments

Do not treat reports downloaded on different dates as if they describe the same completed period. Look for subsequent receiving events, reversed entries, existing reimbursements or an open case covering the same issue. Link those records so the same event is not counted twice.

For example, if a shipment was expected to contain 100 units and a report initially shows 96 received, the four-unit difference is unresolved inventory to investigate. It is not automatically the quantity eligible for a claim. A later receipt or another adjustment may explain it.

4. Confirm the submission route and timing

Use the current requirements for the issue and programme in your account. Record any waiting period, submission deadline, required documents and whether the platform handles the event automatically. Avoid reusing an old deadline from another country or issue type. If the guidance is unclear, ask through the appropriate support route before assuming eligibility.

5. Keep the claim register separate from the payment register

Track potential, submitted, awaiting information, approved, declined and reconciled items separately. Record the case ID, amount requested, amount approved if any, payment or adjustment reference, owner and next action. Approval and a reconciled payment are different milestones.

Use totals that make the stage clear. “Potential discrepancies under review” should not be described as recovered money. Close the loop against the settlement or inventory records, including later reversals if applicable.

What to share in a first conversation

Start with the channel, the type of discrepancy, the period involved and whether cases are already open. Do not upload customer records, passwords or a full account export to the public enquiry form. If a detailed review is appropriate, agree on scope, access and document sharing first.

Reimbursement review support can help organise the reconciliation and follow-up work. The marketplace determines eligibility and the outcome of any claim.