Advanced Distributor Free Goods Credit Status Report | Addon Feature

Advanced Distributor Free Goods Credit Status Report | Addon Feature

Advanced Distributor Free Goods Credit Batches

If you have not yet learned how the Standard Distributor Free Goods Credit Status Report functions independently I recommend starting there first so you have a foundational understanding of how the Distributor Free Goods Reports function without these extra features.

This Advanced portal provides you a way to track and plan for expected monetary credits for items redeemed. This is not an exact science, as you know Cost fluctuates so the Estimated Expected Value may be a little different from the Actual Credited Value your distributor issues you on your credit memo.

The Estimated Reimbursement Values default to $0.00, it will be up to you to record your estimated item values on the reports themselves, or you can upload them into Astro using another Addon called MFG Pricing Maintenance.

If you would like to use the Advanced Distributor Free Goods Credit Batches or the MFG Pricing Maintenance Tool please submit a ticket to our Help Desk requesting them. 

The Estimated Reimbursement Values that you add to these reports should reflect the Cost you pay a distributor for each item. The Values you assign to these items are not communicated to the distributors. The reason being is Astro has absolutely no say in how a distributor issues credits to you. Astro is still only a reporting and tracking tool. Astro does not guarantee that your Actual Reimbursement Value will match the Estimated Reimbursement Value. The act of tracking these values is meant to help give you a general idea of your actual credit. Astro does not have the means to provide you with these values since we do not know your costs. You will need to determine these values either by referencing your distributor invoices, requesting price sheets from your distributor, or by exporting a product list from your POS that shows the average cost you pay the distributor for each item (if you receive invoices on your POS you should be able to access these product lists.)

How to Assign Cost and MSRP Values to the products in your Frequent Buyer and Offer Programs

The absolute fastest way to do this is by using the MFG Pricing Maintenance Tool. This tool includes an upload feature that will allow you to upload your store's personal Item MSRP and Cost values in an expedited manner. This tool also allows you to manually adjust values if the need arises. 

How To Add or Update the Estimated Reimbursement Values on your Uncredited Free Goods Batch Reports

You will also be able to adjust the Estimated Values associated with your free goods reports once redemptions start compiling under Distributor Free Goods Credit Batches. 

  • Select Distributor Free Goods Credit Batches from your Reports menu. 
  • Make sure you are under Uncredited Free Goods (this is the page Astro will default to when you first enter) These items have either not been batched in reports by your distributors yet, or they have been batched but they are still in the process of being reviewed. 
  • Click on either the Distributor (opens a batch containing all manufacturers listed below) or the individual Manufacturer (opens a batch containing only items from that manufacturer) See image below. 
Red: Distributor Grouped Batch | Green: Manufacturer Specific Batch

  • Now click on the Estimated Reimbursement Value that you want to Add or Update. See Red arrow below.


  • Doing so will create a pop-up. If you only have one location there is only one field to Add or Update the Reimbursement Value. If you have Multiple Locations each location is able to have their own estimated value assigned independently of one another, or you can apply the estimated value to all locations by selecting Apply to All.


  • Save Changes. Astro will now calculate the total estimated reimbursement value for that item by multiplying the total number that item was redeemed by the estimated value that you set for that item.  

How to Reconcile an Advanced Free Goods Batch


When a batch has been credited by your distributor it will appear under Credited Free Goods. These reports are batched according to Distributor and Month. Manufacturers included in a batch are listed under the Distributor's name. Each batch will contain all credits issued to you in that month by that distributor. You are able to view one month at a time using the drop-down menu provided. This keeps your screen clean and manageable while reconciling. Once you receive a Credit Memo from your distributor you are ready to Reconcile the corresponding batch in Astro. 

Credited Free Goods View

  • Click on the Distributor Batch that you want to Reconcile. In this example, it would be "Pet Food Distributors". 

Click Reconcile
  • Clicking on Reconcile will open the batch and allow you update or add the actual credited values the distributor has issued you. This will help you make sure your value database is as up to date as possible.
Reconciliation Process
  • Click on the Value corresponding to the item that you wish to adjust the actual credited value for. The Reconciled total will appear at the top left of your screen and will update as you adjust your values. 
Do the best you can. All distributors write up their credit memos a little differently. Some will itemize their credit memos and reveal the exact amount credited back for each item, while others will simply credit you back a bundled dollar amount. 
  • Once you are satisfied that you were properly credited and you are happy with the way the Values have been recorded on your report in Astro you can click the Mark Reconciled button. The batch report will now move to the Reconciled Free Goods section where it will stay for your records. You can filter batches according to the month they were fulfilled.




The Reconciled Values will be saved on these reports. They are no longer editable. If you end up updating an item's Expected Value or Credited Value on either an Uncredited or Credited batch report it will not affect the saved Reconciled Values on any previously Reconciled batch reports. 


How to Export Free Goods Credit Reports


During any part of this process, you can export your reports into spreadsheets or generate PDFs just like you can on the Standard Distributor Free Goods Credit portal. The main difference is that these reports will also show the Expected, Credited or Reconciled Values that you entered into the system.

There are multiple ways of exporting free goods credit reports out of Astro, Export Free Goods Only (aka Export for Review), Generate Summary PDF, Generate by Location PDF, and Export Backup. To access these export buttons you must first open the report by clicking on the Batch Description of the  report listed under any section.