FBA reimbursement reference

This page lists every status, exception, chart band, journal status and setting in FBA reimbursement accounting. It also gives the timing rules that decide when each one appears. For the model behind them, see How FBA reimbursements are accounted for.

Loss statuses

Each loss in Amazon's inventory ledger has one status, shown on the loss panel and counted in Where your lost units went.

Status	Meaning
Researching	Within 30 days of the loss. Amazon is still looking for the units.
Confirmed lost	Research is over, Amazon hasn't paid, and the claim window is still open.
Partially reimbursed	Amazon paid cash, or sent replacements, for some of the units.
Reimbursed	Amazon paid cash or sent replacements for all the units.
Reversed	Amazon took a payment back because it says the units were found.
Found	The units are back in your FBA inventory.
Written off	The claim window closed without a payment.

Can the units come back?

Value	Meaning
May reappear	Misplaced or lost. The units often turn up again, so SKU.io keeps watching for them.
Never returns	Damaged or disposed. The units won't come back as sellable stock.
Cash only	A money-only payment, such as a fee correction. No units were lost.

SKU.io sets the value from Amazon's reason. To override it, open the loss panel, click Change, choose a value and add a note. The panel then shows that the value was set by hand.

Where your lost units went

The bands on the Reimbursements tab:

Band	Meaning
Found by Amazon	Back in your inventory at their original cost.
Reimbursed	Amazon paid cash or sent a replacement.
Settling	Amazon is still looking. Most turn up on their own.
Unpaid, still claimable	Research is over and Amazon hasn't paid. File a claim.
Written off	The claim window closed without a payment.

Reconciliation exceptions

The reconciliation runs every time your reimbursements sync, and again after any link you add or remove by hand. An exception closes by itself once the mismatch is gone. If you've marked it explained, it stays closed.

Exception	Opens when	Value shown
Cash without a loss	A payment is at least 45 days old and no loss in the inventory ledger explains it.	The payment
Loss never paid	A confirmed loss has no payment after 45 days, or after your discrepancy settle days if longer, and its claim window is still open. Opens sooner when the claim deadline is 7 days away.	The cost of the unpaid units
Reversed but stock not returned	Amazon took a payment back, and the units haven't reappeared after 30 days, or after your discrepancy settle days if longer.	The amount taken back
Paid but not on a settlement	A payment is at least 60 days old and no settlement has paid it out.	The payment
Settlement line with no report row	A settlement line of reimbursement cash at least 14 days old has no matching row in the reimbursements report.	The settlement line
Double compensation	Cash plus replacement units, less anything taken back, exceed the units lost.	The excess, at the price Amazon paid

Exception status	Meaning
Open	Needs a look.
Explained	You marked it explained, with a note. It stays closed on future checks until you reopen it.
Resolved	The mismatch went away, for example after a link or a new report.

Adjustment breakdown

Each month's FBA losses are split into these outcomes, at the FIFO cost the units consumed:

Outcome	Meaning
Reimbursed by Amazon	Paid in cash.
Found / reversed	Amazon found the units, taking back any payment.
Replaced by Amazon	Amazon sent replacement units.
Settling (in research window)	Younger than your discrepancy settle days.
Damaged, never returns	Damaged by a customer, carrier or vendor. Amazon owes nothing for these.
Disposed	Destroyed or disposed of by Amazon.
Unpaid & claimable	Not paid, and the claim window is still open.
Unpaid & expired (write-off)	Not paid, and the claim window has closed.
Undetermined	Losses SKU.io can't place yet. The target is 2% or less of the month.

Reimbursed-unit COGS journals

Status	Meaning
Posted	The journal is in your ledger.
Pending	Waiting for the ledger to post it.
Held · locked period	Its settlement falls in a locked period. Post it to the first open day, or reopen the month.
Before start date	Before your inventory start date. Your opening balances already cover it, and it never posts.
Off	Reimbursed-unit COGS is switched off for the Amazon account.

Kind	Meaning
Reimbursed	Moves the cost of units Amazon paid for from the FBA loss account into COGS – FBA Reimbursed Units.
Clawback	The mirror entry, for the units a reversal takes back, at the cost and account of the losses it reverses.

A journal is dated to the end of the settlement period that carried the cash. A payment that no settlement carries within 60 days posts at the end of its approval month, one journal per month and currency.

Settings

In Recovery settings, under Reconciliation & accounting:

Setting	Default	What it does
Discrepancy settle days	30	How long, from 0 to 60 days, a new loss counts as settling before it can become an exception. It never delays a claim past its deadline.
Post reimbursed-unit COGS	Off	Posts the reimbursed-unit COGS journals. Needs COGS – FBA Reimbursed Units mapped. Turning it off withdraws the journals in open periods.

In Accounting → Settings → Nominal Code Mappings:

Mapping	Required?	What posts there
FBA Inventory Loss	No	Units Amazon lost, damaged or disposed of. When it's not mapped, they post to Receiving Discrepancies.
COGS – FBA Reimbursed Units	For reimbursed-unit COGS	The cost of lost units Amazon paid for.

Missing & reappearing

Rule	Value
History used for the estimate	Your losses from the last 12 months that are at least 60 days old, so each has had its chance to be found.
Your own rate replaces the default after	30 such losses
Default estimate	75% of misplaced units return within about three weeks
Removal shipments still counted as in transit	Up to 120 days after they ship

Related

• Check whether Amazon reimburses you at cost
• Reconcile FBA reimbursements
• Post reimbursed-unit COGS
• See missing FBA units likely to reappear