Referral program · for brokers, bookkeepers and advisors

Introduce a brand. Share in what comes back.

If you keep the books, submit the deals or run the freight for a brand that ships through UNFI, you see the deductions before anyone else does. Introduce the brand to us. If we recover money for it, you receive a share of our fee. Nothing at signing, nothing if nothing posts.

Introduce a brand or read the terms first

5¢ per recovered dollarOur fee is 25¢ of every dollar UNFI puts back. You get 20% of that fee, 5¢, for 12 months from the brand's engagement date.
The brand still pays 25%Your share comes out of our fee, not the brand's price. We keep 20¢; the brand keeps 75¢.
Paid on posted creditsonly. UNFI posts, the brand pays us, your share accrues.

How it works

You introduce the brand.

One email with the brand copied, or the brand names you on our intake form. That registers the referral to you for 90 days.
The brand gets the free look.

Twelve months of remittances tell us what is disputable and roughly how much. If the brand goes ahead, it signs our engagement letter, which names you and states what you receive.
We recover; you share.

We audit every line, file, escalate and appeal. When UNFI posts a credit and the brand pays our fee, your share accrues. Quarterly statement and ACH, within 30 days after quarter end.

The terms, in plain words

A one-page referral agreement says the same thing with the legal words in. This is the whole of it.

Your share20% of the fees we actually collect from the brand, for 12 months from the brand's engagement date. Our fee is 25% of what we recover, so your share is about 5¢ of every recovered dollar. No cap.
The brand's priceThe same with or without you: 25% of what we recover, no retainer, no minimum. Your share comes out of our fee, not the brand's pocket.
The alternativeWould you rather not take a fee? Say so, and the brand pays 20% instead of 25%. You get the credit for a lower rate; we net the same.
When it is earnedOnly when UNFI posts a credit and the brand pays us. Not on the intro, not on the signature, not on a filing, not on "approved" until it posts. A denied line earns nobody anything.
When it is paidQuarterly, by ACH, within 30 days after quarter end, with a statement per brand: engagement date, fees collected in the quarter, your share. W-9 on file before the first payment; 1099 where the law requires it.
What counts as a referralA written intro with the brand copied, or the brand naming you on our form or arriving on your tagged link. First registration wins and holds for 90 days. No fee on a brand we were already talking to in the prior 12 months, and no fee for a forwarded list.
What you do beyond the introSend the promo planners when the brand asks; join the findings call if the brand wants you there. That is all. You never file, never touch the brand's portal, and never quote terms beyond this page.
Term and exit12 months, renews unless either side gives 30 days' notice. Not exclusive either way. Shares already earned survive.

Straight talk, especially for brokers

Our audit compares every promotion deduction with what was submitted: the deal sheets, the chargeback authorizations, the turnover and free-fill forms. Most of what we find is on the distributor's side, and the submitted paperwork is the evidence that wins. Sometimes the submission itself is the issue: a deal at a depth the brand did not intend, the wrong month or the wrong warehouse, a free fill billed at resale without a form on file. Free-fill and turnover programs get the same line-by-line look as everything else.

What we promise you

Findings are written as what UNFI billed against what was submitted. There is no "whose fault" column.
If the brand agrees, you receive the findings summary at the same time the brand does, and a seat on the review call. You hear it from us, in writing, never from your client first.
A discrepancy caught now is a process fix for next year, and we will write it up for you as one.

What we will not do

Soften, delay or omit a finding for anyone's benefit. Every finding goes to the brand, unedited.
Condition your fee on what the audit finds, including findings about your own submissions.
Share the brand's dispute-level details with you unless the brand tells us to.

The honest test. Referring us is a decision to have your brands' deductions looked at closely. If your deal book is clean, that is what we win with, and you look the way you should. If it is not, you would rather hear it from us than from a check.

Who this is for

Referrers we work with

Bookkeepers, fractional CFOs and controllers, CPG accountants
Trade-spend and deduction consultants
3PLs, freight and EDI providers who see the remittances
Sales brokers and agencies (the agreement is with the agency; payments go to the agency)

Not eligible

Employees of UNFI, KeHE or a retailer
The brand's own owners or staff (that is a client conversation, not a referral)
Anyone without a real relationship with the brand. We do not pay for lists.

The brand always knows. The engagement letter names you and states what you receive. Say it yourself when you recommend us: "I get a share of their fee if you sign." That is how it should be, and it is how we do it.

Questions referrers ask

Does the brand pay more because I introduced them?

No. The brand pays 25% of what we recover whether it found us on its own or through you. Your share comes out of our fee.

How much is that in dollars?

On every dollar UNFI puts back, the brand keeps 75¢ and our fee is 25¢. Your share is 20% of that fee, 5¢; we keep 20¢. On a $10,000 recovery: the brand keeps $7,500, we are paid $2,500, and you receive $500. What a brand recovers depends on its promotion activity and its deduction history; the free look gives the brand a number before anyone commits.

When do I actually see money?

UNFI's own window is 30–45 days to resolve a dispute and 7–10 business days to post the credit; audit-firm claims run by email on their own clock. The brand pays us when a credit posts; your share goes on the next quarterly statement and is paid within 30 days after quarter end. Expect the first payment a few months after the intro, not weeks.

Can I give the fee to my client instead?

Yes. Tell us before the brand signs and the brand's rate is 20% instead of 25%. You receive nothing, and the engagement letter says the lower rate is because of you.

Will you tell me what you found on the brand's account?

Only what the brand allows. The engagement letter has a box the brand ticks to have the findings summary sent to you at the same time and to invite you to the review call. Without it, your statement shows fees collected per brand and nothing at the dispute level.

What if I already mentioned a brand to you months ago?

If we were already in a conversation with that brand in the prior 12 months, it is not a referral. Everything else is: register it in writing and it is yours for 90 days.

Is there a cap, a minimum, or a limit on how many brands?

No cap on the share, no minimum number of brands, no limit. One brand or thirty.

My contract with the brand may not allow me to take a fee from a third party.

Check it first. If it does not allow it, take the alternative: the brand pays 20% instead of 25% and you take no fee. Either way the brand is told, in writing, in the engagement letter.

Are you affiliated with UNFI?

No. Deduction Disputes is independent and not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by UNFI, KeHE, SAS Recovery, PRGX or any distributor or audit firm; their names appear here only to identify whose deductions we work on. We are not a law firm and not a collection agency.