B2B Invoice Disputes in Accounts Receivable
Where a retailer can dispute your invoice, where each stage shows up, and what to do next.
A retailer can dispute your invoice at three points. It can reject it at intake, hold it over a mismatch, or pay less than billed. Each shows up in a different place. Check the first two against the order, the shipment and the receipt. Contest the third through the retailer's own dispute channel.
Where can a retailer dispute your invoice?
Three places: when the invoice arrives, while it is matched, and when it is paid. Each stage shows up in its own place.
X12 says the buyer's systems validate an invoice against open orders, and the buyer contacts the seller about any discrepancy. Burlington uses the 824 to report the rejection of an 810 or 856, and rejects a repeated invoice number as a duplicate.
What does a clean invoice have to match?
The order, the shipment and its own arithmetic. A miss can delay or reduce payment.
- Purchase order: Macy's says an 810 invoice must reflect the terms and merchandise on the 850. Discrepancies between the invoice, purchase order, ASN and physical receipt may result in delayed payment.
- Shipment: Burlington requires invoices to match shipments. It says to invoice the units shipped, and that it pays for the units received.
- Arithmetic: Macy's says every 810 must balance, with quantities times costs minus allowances equal to the invoice total.
- Number: Macy's says invoice numbers must be unique and never repeated.
Retailer guides change, so confirm the edition you're reading.
How are a short payment and an adjustment communicated?
Through the remittance and, where a retailer uses it, an adjustment document.
X12 says the 820 remittance advice carries the detail a payee needs to apply a payment in its receivables system. Unless a payer pays in full, X12 says the payee may be unable to clear the invoice without knowing how the money applies.
Macy's requires remittance advice through the 820. Burlington puts the detail of a shortage debit on the last page of its check remittance.
For adjustments, X12 defines the 812 credit/debit adjustment. It notifies a trading partner of an adjustment or billback, can request one, and runs in both directions. Neither retailer manual cited here lists it, so check which document a retailer uses.
To bill more money owed, Burlington says send a new invoice number. A recycled number needs a manual correction and an expense offset fee, and may delay payment.
When does it become a deduction dispute?
When the retailer pays less and keeps the difference as a deduction or offset. The retailer's dispute channel then takes over.
A rejected or held invoice is a matching problem: compare it with the order, the shipment and the receipt. A paid-short invoice is a deduction: contest it with the retailer. Macy's routes requests about deductions and invoice non-payment through its AP Forms, with the supporting documents attached. Burlington routes shortage disputes to its Vendor Relations team.
Filing windows differ by retailer. See denied deduction disputes if the retailer says no.
Frequently asked questions
Is a rejected invoice the same as a short payment?
- No. A rejected invoice failed the retailer's checks before payment. A short payment pays less than billed, and the gap is a deduction or offset.
Can I reuse an invoice number to bill extra money?
- Burlington says no. It asks for a new invoice number for extra money owed, and Macy's says invoice numbers must never be repeated.
Who can start an 812 adjustment?
- X12 says the 812 can notify a trading partner of an adjustment or request one, in either direction. A retailer's own guide says whether it accepts one.
Where do your invoice disputes stand?
A Chargeback Recovery Assessment reads your deduction data and shows what is disputable.
Sources
All public documents from the X12 standards body or first-party retailer documents. Fetched 2026-10-22.
- X12, X12 Transaction Sets (810, 812, 820 and 824 descriptions). x12.org/products/transaction-sets
- X12, Supply Chain Transaction Flow (sections "8. Invoice" and "9. Payment"). x12.org/flow/supply-chain
- Macy's 2023 Vendor Standards. macysnet.com/mdocweb/documents.aspx?document=Vendor+Standards
- Burlington Stores, Inc. Domestic Vendor Partnership Manual, May 2026. burlington.com/vendors/vendor-manual