At a Glance
- Credit memo approval runs on three vendor choices — Approve, Approve a specific amount, or Decline — all handled end to end by ShelfiQ, with no action needed from your team
- Vendors respond by email reply or in the vendor portal; ShelfiQ answers their questions with real data — calculation breakdowns, return detail, promotion math
- If a vendor doesn't respond within 10 calendar days of the email being delivered, the documented credits (returns, destruction, pre-approved co-marketing, and aging markdowns) move forward — applied automatically for vendors you've set to auto-approve on silence, or staged as Ready for Approval for your one-click sign-off otherwise
- A vendor can reply "Approve $X" with an exact figure — the memo adjusts down to that amount and approves in one step, and you're notified
- A decline is recorded with the vendor's reason; you're notified and can reopen the conversation
- Vendors keep 60 days to dispute any applied credit, including one approved on silence
- Applied credits are deducted from the next payment or settlement
How Credit Memo Approval Works in Cannabis
The credit memo approval process in cannabis determines how a credit moves from creation to final application against a vendor payment. ShelfiQ, our AI, handles the vendor side end to end — sending the memo, answering questions with real data, and executing whatever the vendor decides — so the routine flow needs no action from your team. Every credit memo follows the same path, whether it originates from a return, expiration or destruction, or co-marketing deal.
Our credit recovery system replaces the back-and-forth that usually happens over email and phone. Vendors respond through their portal or by email reply, and the entire conversation is recorded in the credit memo's event log.
The Three Ways a Vendor Can Respond
When a credit memo is sent, the vendor gets an email and a portal entry with the amount, the reference number, and the line-item detail. From there they have exactly three actions, and ShelfiQ carries out each one automatically:
- Approve — The vendor replies "Approved" (or clicks Approve in the portal). The credit is approved at the full amount and queued for application against their next payment.
- Approve a specific amount — The vendor replies "Approve $X" with an exact figure. The credit memo is adjusted down to $X and approved in one step, and you're notified of the change. There is no negotiation round — the vendor's number is the number.
- Decline — The vendor declines and gives a reason. The decline is recorded, you're notified, and your buyer can reopen the conversation if it's worth another look. Explicit declines are honored.
Questions are not a fourth option — they're just part of the conversation. If a vendor asks how a number was reached, ShelfiQ answers with the underlying data: the calculation breakdown, the return detail, or the promotion math. The same three actions are available whether the vendor works by email or in the vendor portal.
What Happens on Silence
If a vendor doesn't respond within 10 calendar days of the email being delivered, the documented credits — customer returns, product destruction, any co-marketing the vendor pre-approved through a promotion, and aging markdowns — move forward to that vendor's next payment. Whether they book on their own or wait for you is a per-vendor setting: for vendors you've set to auto-approve on silence, the documented credits are applied automatically; for everyone else, they're staged as Ready for Approval for your one-click sign-off, so nothing books behind your back. You choose which vendors auto-approve on silence in your credit recovery settings. It's counted in calendar days from confirmed delivery, not business days — credits don't sit in limbo on an unanswered email. Co-marketing the vendor never pre-approved is the exception: it's shown for transparency but isn't charged unless the vendor says yes.
Nothing is final behind a vendor's back. Every vendor keeps 60 days to dispute any applied credit, including one approved on silence — so an auto-approval is always reversible if the vendor comes back with a legitimate reason.
Approving a Specific Amount
A vendor who agrees with the credit in principle but not the figure doesn't open a negotiation — they name their number. For example, if you submit a $500 credit for returned product and the vendor believes only $400 is justified, they reply "Approve $400." ShelfiQ adjusts the memo to $400, approves it in that single step, and notifies you of the adjustment. You don't have to counter or confirm; the credit moves straight to applied at the vendor's stated amount.
If the gap is large enough that you'd rather not accept the vendor's number, your buyer can pick the relationship back up outside the memo — the software surfaces the decision, it doesn't make it for you.
Notifications at Every Step
Both the retailer and vendor receive notifications throughout the process. Emails go out when a memo is sent, when the vendor approves, approves a specific amount, or declines, when a credit is applied or voided, and on reminders before the response deadline. In-app notifications appear in each party's portal dashboard. See responding to credits for the vendor's perspective.