At a Glance
- Yes — ShelfiQ answers vendor questions on your credit memos automatically, for every memo you send
- It works out of the box; it does not depend on having an AP email address or auto-responder set up
- Replies to your credit memos route to ShelfiQ, which reads them against your real returns and memo data and answers accurately
- ShelfiQ drives each memo to one of three outcomes — Approved, a partial amount, or Declined
- You're not on the email thread, but the full conversation shows up in your portal and you're notified when a memo resolves
Yes — ShelfiQ Answers Every Credit Memo Reply Automatically
Short answer: yes. ShelfiQ answers vendor questions on your credit memos automatically, for every credit memo you send — whether or not you've set up an AP inbox. When you send your monthly credit memos to vendors, ShelfiQ handles the back-and-forth on your behalf. If a vendor replies with a question, a partial-approval offer, or a decline, ShelfiQ reads the reply, answers using your actual returns and memo data, and drives the memo to a resolution — without you being on the email thread.
This works with no setup. It does not depend on having an AP email address or AP auto-responder configured — those are a separate feature for wholesale invoices. You can have one without the other.
How ShelfiQ Handles Credit Memo Replies
Every credit memo you send goes out under your business name, but replies are routed to ShelfiQ. So the moment a vendor hits "Reply," their message lands with ShelfiQ — no configuration on your end.
- Credit-memo emails reply back to ShelfiQ. The memo is sent from you, but the reply-to address routes the vendor's response to ShelfiQ automatically.
- ShelfiQ recognizes the vendor and the memo. It identifies who's replying and which credit memo they're responding to, then pulls the underlying detail — the returns, the destruction records, the amounts — so it answers accurately instead of guessing.
- ShelfiQ drives to one of three outcomes. Approved (the vendor accepts the full memo), a partial amount (the vendor accepts a specific dollar figure), or Declined (the vendor explicitly declines). If the vendor asks a question first, ShelfiQ answers it directly with your data, then guides them back to one of the three choices.
- You stay informed without being in the inbox. The full conversation shows up in your portal, and you get a notification when a memo resolves.
The AP Inbox Is a Separate Feature
The AP email address and auto-responder stand up a dedicated inbox for your wholesale invoices. It's an accounts-payable feature, entirely separate from credit-memo conversations. ShelfiQ answering credit memo replies happens automatically either way — the AP inbox is something you set up only if you also want automated wholesale-invoice handling.
| AP inbox (auto-responder) | ShelfiQ on credit memos | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Ingest & match wholesale invoices | Answer vendor questions on credit memos and resolve them |
| Setup required? | Yes — you configure the AP inbox | No — works automatically |
| Who emails in | Vendors or your team sending invoices | Vendors replying to a credit memo you sent |
Good to Know
- New vendor email addresses. ShelfiQ matches a replying vendor by their email. A reply from a brand-new, never-seen address may not be auto-recognized — keep your vendor contacts current so replies land cleanly.
- Unsubscribed vendors. If a vendor previously unsubscribed, some automated messages can be suppressed. Direct replies inside an active conversation are generally still delivered.
The bottom line: send your credit memos with confidence. ShelfiQ fields the vendor replies and closes each memo to Approved, a partial amount, or Declined — no AP inbox required. Want the narrative version? Read you send the credit memo, ShelfiQ handles the replies, or see how the credit recovery system turns returns, destruction, and co-marketing into monthly credit memos.