Whose Job Is It Anyway? Why Deduction Recovery Fails When Sales and Finance Don’t Work Together
- Jon Allen
- Jul 22
- 2 min read
Let’s play a game of blame ping-pong. Sales hits the deduction over to finance. Finance smacks it back with a “not my job.” And while the back-and-forth continues, your margin quietly bleeds out.
This isn’t just an internal turf war—it’s a strategic failure.
The $3 Million Problem
For every $1 billion in revenue, the average CPG brand loses $2 to $3 million annually to deductions—many of them invalid or unsubstantiated. Most of that loss isn’t because the deductions are justified. It’s because no one is truly owning the process of fighting them.
And honestly, that’s understandable. Deduction recovery doesn’t live cleanly in one department. It’s a weird gray zone—a blend of finance, operations, sales, compliance, and logistics.
It’s too transactional for sales, who are focused on top-line growth.
It’s too contextual for finance, who don’t have boots-on-the-ground insight.
It’s too siloed for operations, who may not see the whole picture.
But without cross-functional ownership, it simply doesn’t get done—and you lose real dollars.
A Fictional Case Study: The Beauty Brand Breakdown
Let’s say a mid-sized beauty brand starts seeing a wave of short-ship deductions from a major retailer.
Sales says, “We filled the order in full. We should get paid.”
Finance replies, “There’s no proof. The invoice shows a short-ship.”
Logistics chimes in: “That’s not our problem—we handed it off to the carrier.”
Customer Service doesn’t even know it happened.
End result? No one disputes the deduction. The retailer keeps the money. Multiply that by 100 deductions a quarter and now we’re talking about real margin erosion.
What If Deduction Recovery Looked Different?
Instead of finger-pointing, imagine a shared, strategic process with clear roles and accountability. Here's how it could look:
Sales flags suspicious deduction patterns early, based on buyer conversations or shipment irregularities.
Finance reviews deductions in real time, escalating discrepancies that don’t align with known issues.
Operations and logistics track supporting documentation (like BOLs, PODs, ASN logs) in a shared system.
Leadership creates KPIs around deduction recovery—treating it like the profit-saving function it truly is.
Real Talk: No One Has Time to “Own” Deductions Alone
This is where many brands get stuck. Sales is busy closing deals. Finance is heads-down in month-end. Ops is juggling inventory issues. The deduction lands in someone’s inbox—and quietly dies there.
The fix isn’t a hero in one department. It’s a repeatable, team-based process supported by tools, timelines, and outside experts when needed.
Where Woodridge Comes In
Woodridge Retail Group see this scenario play out in brand after brand. That’s why we partner with HRG, the leading deduction recovery experts in retail. Together, we help unify your teams around a process that actually gets money back.
Because here’s the truth: Retailer playbooks are evolving. If your internal playbook hasn’t, you’re already behind.
What You Should Do Right Now
Stop the blame game. Deductions aren't just a finance issue or a sales problem. They're an organizational risk.
Build a shared process. Everyone plays a role—sales, finance, ops, and leadership.
Bring in help. A partner like HRG can recover deductions you didn’t even know were there.
Take Action
If deductions feel like they’ve slipped into a black hole, you’re not alone. Let’s change that.
Book a call with our team to learn how Woodridge + HRG can recover what’s rightfully yours.
