If you are involved in the buying and selling of products, you are probably familiar with the concept of inventory. Essentially, inventory refers to any items or goods that a business holds with the intention of selling them in the market, often with the goal of generating a profit. Keeping inventory accurate is paramount to success—otherwise, you don’t know what you have sold and still have yet to sell.  

In this article, we will examine how businesses can streamline the process of accounting for their inventory.

What is a Rebate?

Rebates are a type of sales promotion strategy where a payment is made to the buyer after purchase. Money is returned either as a lump sum or a percentage of the purchase price. From an accounting perspective, rebates are typically treated as a revenue when they are earned, rather than at the time of purchase.

What is Supplier Rebate Accounting?

Supplier rebate accounting involves the recognition and recording of rebates or incentives provided by suppliers to their customers as a part of their sales agreements. These rebates are typically based on the volume of purchases, meeting specific sales targets, or other agreed-upon criteria. 

The purpose of supplier rebates is to encourage customers to buy more from the supplier, fostering a mutually beneficial relationship.

What is Inventory Rebate Accounting?

The basic idea behind inventory rebate accounting is to determine the value of rebates held in your inventory of goods. By recording rebate earnings at the point of sale, rather than at the point of purchase, you can better track your earnings and expenses. If this concept sounds confusing, the illustration below can hopefully bring clarity to it.

Typically, when a distributor buys inventory from a supplier, they may receive a rebate based on the volume of goods purchased. If the rebate is recorded at the point of sale, the rebate value is recognized as revenue when the product is sold to the end customer. However, if the rebate is earned at the point of purchase, it would be recorded as a reduction in the cost of the inventory at the time of purchase. It's important to note that these two types of rebates are accounted for differently.

For example, let’s consider a scenario where a distributor purchases $100,000 worth of inventory from a supplier and the supplier offers a rebate of 2% on all sales made over $50,000 within a quarter. Based on this rebate agreement, the distributor can expect to receive a rebate of $2,000 for that quarter.

For this rebate, the distributor would create a rebate receivable account on their balance sheet and record the expected rebate amount of $2,000 as a credit to this account. As sales are made and the rebate is received from the supplier, the distributor would then record $2,000 as revenue and as a reduction in the cost of goods sold (COGS) account within their P&L statements.

Why Does It Matter?

One of the main advantages of using this method of accounting for rebates is that it allows for a more accurate reflection of the true profitability of sales. This is because the rebate is recognized as revenue when it is earned, rather than at the time of purchase.

To effectively manage these types of rebates, companies need to establish clear policies and procedures. This includes accurately tracking products associated with rebate agreements and ensuring that sales data is correctly mapped to the appropriate agreements to record rebate earnings at the right time.

By implementing a solid inventory rebate accounting process, companies can ensure that their financial statements are audit-proof, eliminating any surprises or discrepancies during the auditing process. This is particularly important as surprises during an audit can be stressful and potentially damaging to a business's reputation.

How to Account for Customer Rebates? 

Accounting for customer rebates involves recognizing and recording incentives in a company's financial statements accurately. Rebate management software helps to clearly identify transactions that qualify for rebates, calculate the rebate amount based on the terms and conditions of the rebate program, and more. 

When the rebate is paid by the supplier to the customer, the vendor will then account for this rebate as a reduction from the cost of goods sold (COGS). 

When customers redeem their rebates, reduce the liability by the actual rebate amount paid. Simultaneously, record the actual expense associated with the rebate.

How Does Enable Help?

Performing calculations related to inventory rebates and tracking sales manually can be challenging and there is no room for error. However, our Inventory Rebate Accounting can make this process much more manageable.  

Here’s a quick example showcased by our very own evangelist, Mark Gilham, that walks you through the importance of auditing your rebates and how Enable can help.

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By centralizing all of the necessary calculations in one place, automating the process and ensuring accuracy, we can help you streamline your rebate calculations, be audit compliant, and clearly communicate with your customers about rebate eligibility and payment. If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to us today!