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Trade spend: programs between a brand and its distributor

A lot of the money between a brand and its distributors moves as trade spend, not list price. Trade Spend keeps those programs in one place that both businesses see: what was agreed, what it has earned so far, what was claimed, and how each claim was settled.

Brand owners find it under Brand Intelligence → Trade Spend. Distributors find it under Trade Programs.

What DISTRYB does — and what it doesn't

  • DISTRYB records trade spend. It never moves it. Nothing on this page pays, credits or deducts money. Payments, credits against an invoice and deductions happen between the two businesses, outside DISTRYB, and are recorded here with a reference.
  • Programs are between a brand and its distributor only. DISTRYB doesn't record or arrange free goods, retailer incentives, payments for placement or display, or anything tied to a named store, bar or account. A request like that is refused with a plain explanation — including terms or a claim note that name a retailer, store, bar or account, or describe free goods, placement, display or a retailer incentive. The other business is always a distributor or importer, never a business registered on DISTRYB as a retailer. A distributor that also has a bar or store location isn't refused — the form reminds you to check it holds a wholesale licence.
  • Nothing here is legal advice. Whether a program has to appear on your state's posted price schedule, and whether a distributor may pass an allowance on to retail, depends on federal and state law — this page is not legal advice; check with your own counsel.

Where it's open

New York and Connecticut, to start. More states open one at a time.

The programs

  • Depletion allowance — the brand pays the distributor an agreed amount per case the distributor sells to its accounts in the period.
  • Billback — the distributor lowers its own selling price by an agreed amount per case and bills the brand back for the cases it sold in the period. Whether a billback that funds a lower price to retailers is allowed, and on what terms, depends on federal and state law — DISTRYB doesn't decide that; ask your own counsel.
  • Volume incentive — the brand pays the distributor per case once the distributor's own sales in the period are counted.

Each program is one brand, one state and one distributor, with a rate per case (9-litre or physical cases), a start and end date, an optional cap, and how many days the distributor has to claim after it ends. You can add the price structure per case — FOB, freight, state taxes and frontline, with laid-in worked out for you — for reference; nothing at checkout reads it.

Offering a program (brand owners)

  1. Appoint the distributor for the brand in that state on Distributors by State — a program can only be offered to a distributor or importer you've appointed there. A program can't start before the appointment began. If the appointment ends, an offer can no longer be accepted, and claims can cover only the days it was in place.
  2. On Trade Spend, choose Offer a program, fill in the terms and send it.
  3. The distributor is told, and accepts or declines it with one click.

You can withdraw an offer, or close a running program early — it stops accruing that day, and the days before can still be claimed. Trade Spend for your brands is part of Brand Intelligence, alongside Depletions.

What a program accrues

A program accrues from the distributor's sales of that brand in that state made on DISTRYB — the same sales Depletions counts. Imported sales, sales recorded after the fact, and voided invoices never count. When a bottle's size can't be read, it isn't counted toward 9-litre cases and the page says the figure is a floor.

Claims (distributors)

Choose File a claim on an accepted program. Leave the dates blank to claim every unclaimed day so far, and the amount blank to claim DISTRYB's own figure — your sales on DISTRYB at the program's rate. The brand sees DISTRYB's figure next to yours. Claim periods can't overlap, a claim can't take a program past its cap (left blank, the amount stops at what the cap has left), and claims close when the program's claim window does. Accruals count your sales of the brand anywhere in the state on DISTRYB — including outside a ZIP-limited appointment's territory.

Approving and settling

The brand approves a claim (in full or for less) or rejects it with a reason — never automatically. Once the money changes hands outside DISTRYB, either side records how: paid (check, ACH, wire), credited against a brand invoice, or deducted by the distributor — with the reference and the day. Both businesses see it, and every step is in both change logs.

Exports

Export CSV downloads every program and claim on the page, with accruals, amounts claimed, approved and settled.

Ask PLUG

In your own PLUG chat, ask "what trade programs are running?", "what has accrued?", "what claims are open?" or "brief me" — PLUG reads the same figures as the page and tells you what needs you, like claims due and programs ending. A distributor can ask PLUG to draft a claim: it shows a card with the amount and DISTRYB's figure, and only your tap files it. PLUG can't approve, reject or settle a claim, or offer a program.

Related

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