Example project · Pricing and cost checks - A supplier cost increase, checked against every invoice
A major supplier raised costs in April. The owner suspects the increase never fully reached sell prices. We run the 10-Day Pricing & Cost Check on that supplier and that quarter.
Harbor Industrial Supply. $45M revenue, MRO and cutting tools, 1,400 active customers.
The situation
Costs were updated in the ERP on 1 April. Customer-specific pricing lives partly in the ERP and partly in a spreadsheet the pricing manager maintains.
Margin reports show the supplier line running two points below plan, but nobody can say which invoices are wrong and which are covered by a contract.
What we build
- A scoped data request: invoice lines, credits, the supplier cost file with effective dates, customer price records, and the list of fixed-price agreements.
- A reproducible reconciliation that compares every invoice line after 1 April with the price your approved rules say should have applied.
- An exception register with the evidence behind each flagged line and a column for your reviewer’s decision.
The workflow in action
The source records
Invoice INV-0902, line 4 Approved customer price record CP-008 Item ITEM-018 · same currency, EA unit Applicable rule: $13.10 per EA, effective August 31, 2026 Observation: invoice dated September 2, 2026, 400 EA at $12.40 per EA
What the reviewer sees
Calculation: ($13.10 − $12.40) × 400 = $280.00
- Status: under review. Confirm agreement scope, effective date, credits, returns, and authorized overrides.
- Financial treatment: $280 potential invoice discrepancy, ready for the pricing reviewer to confirm.
- Next action: the designated finance or pricing reviewer validates the rule and exceptions before approving any correction.
A flag we dismiss
- Fixed-price agreement
- A second customer has a valid fixed-price agreement allowing the invoiced price. The reviewer records it as an authorized exception and attaches the agreement.
- What a completed review gives you
- A reproducible reconciliation, an evidence-backed exception register, and a prioritized correction plan with named owners and required approvals.
Example project timeline - What lands on your desk, and when.
Days 1 to 2
The written scope, the exact export list, and a short call with your pricing manager to confirm which agreements apply.
Days 3 to 6
A draft register of flagged lines, plus a list of any records that were missing or contradictory.
Days 7 to 8
A two-hour review session where your pricing manager confirms, dismisses, or defers each consequential line, on screen, with the evidence beside it.
Days 9 to 10
The final register, a one-page financial summary separating confirmed discrepancies from possible recoveries, and a prioritized correction plan.
What you get
- The exception register as a spreadsheet you can filter, with evidence references on every row.
- A one-page financial summary separating confirmed discrepancies, potential recoveries, and dismissed exceptions.
- A correction plan with an owner, the approval needed, and how to verify each fix.
- Optionally scoped afterwards: the same check run monthly, emailing new exceptions to the pricing manager.
What you don’t get
- Changing prices or contacting the supplier or customers.
- Write access to your ERP. Everything runs from exports.
- Collecting historical adjustments. Your finance lead decides which confirmed discrepancies to pursue.
How we measure performance
- Confirmed discrepancies by count and value, after review.
- Corrections completed against the plan within 30 days.
- For a recurring check: new exceptions per month, trending down.
Let’s start with one thing.
Give your team more time for the work that needs them.
Show us the quoting, order-entry, or follow-up work that keeps piling up. We’ll map it with you and find a practical place to start.
Start with a free workflow conversation with Alex.