Essential Admin Tasks
How do I request reimbursements from Amazon?
Amazon sometimes loses or damages inventory, or processes a refund without crediting your account, and you're entitled to reimbursement when that happens. In Seller Central, go to Finance > Reimbursements, some items are auto-flagged and credited within roughly 7–10 business days; for anything not on that list, use Request Reimbursement, specifying the FNSKU, quantity, and reason (lost, damaged, discrepancy, or an unrefunded return). Claims typically take a couple of weeks to review, and larger claims (£100-plus) often need photo evidence or correspondence, so keep manifest photos of every shipment. It's worth checking monthly, small reimbursements add up over a year.
What is shipment reconciliation and how do I do it?
Reconciliation means checking that Amazon received exactly what you sent. Track shipment status under Inventory > Manage FBA Shipments, and once marked Received, compare it against your original packing list using the Shipment Details report. If quantities don't match, file a discrepancy claim within 180 days of arrival with photographic evidence of what you packed, investigations typically take 2–4 weeks. Photographing every carton's contents before it ships is the single best piece of evidence if something goes missing.
What is MD escalation and when should I use it?
MD escalation pushes a case past first-line support to Amazon's management team, useful when normal channels have given inadequate responses, when a significant amount is owed (typically £500-plus), or when Amazon is clearly in the wrong. Submit through Performance Notifications or Account Health, explicitly request escalation, and include full documentation, manifests, photos, and prior case numbers. Responses typically come within 5–10 business days from someone with real authority to resolve it. Save it for genuine disputes rather than routine queries.
How do I get VAT invoices from difficult suppliers?
Ask directly after purchase, a specific request to the supplier's accounts team for a VAT invoice showing 20% VAT usually works. Overseas suppliers often provide a commercial invoice instead, and VAT-registered UK businesses can typically reclaim that via the reverse-charge mechanism, worth confirming with your accountant. If a VAT-registered UK supplier refuses outright, that can be reported to HMRC. For informal or liquidation-style sellers, keep whatever receipt you can get and discuss the position with your accountant. Never buy without some form of invoice or audit trail.
How do I claim VAT refunds on my inventory purchases?
If you're VAT-registered, you can reclaim VAT paid on inventory, prep services, and shipping through input tax relief, provided you hold valid VAT invoices. Keep records of every purchase (date, supplier, VAT amount, purpose) and include the claim in your VAT return, typically filed quarterly with HMRC. Keep invoices for at least six years. Registration becomes mandatory above the current threshold (£90,000 annual turnover at time of writing, always check the current figure), though voluntary registration below that can still benefit importers. This is worth doing properly with an accountant, mistakes can trigger an HMRC investigation.
What is a letter of authorisation and when do I need one?
It's an official, signed document from a brand or manufacturer confirming you're permitted to sell their products, required for gated categories or whenever Amazon questions your right to sell branded goods. It needs to be on official letterhead, dated, and name your company and Amazon seller ID specifically. Contact the brand's sales or legal team directly to request one, be ready to prove your business is legitimate. Amazon strongly prefers UK-based authorisation; a distributor's letter on their own letterhead sometimes works but isn't guaranteed. Selling without one in a gated category risks suspension and loss of inventory.
How do I raise a case with Amazon Seller Support?
Go to Help > Contact Us in Seller Central, choose the relevant issue type, and if Amazon's suggested solutions don't fix it, select the option for more help to reach a human. State the problem clearly and concisely with order numbers, shipment or case IDs, and the resolution you want, and attach evidence. Amazon typically responds within 24–48 hours, though full resolution can take longer. Keep a record of every case number and response; a documented history of unresolved issues is exactly what supports an MD escalation later.
Helpful Reports Every Seller Should Monitor
What is the reimbursement report and why should I monitor it?
Found under Finance > Transactions > Reimbursements (or Reports, depending on your dashboard), it lists everything Amazon owes you for lost, damaged, or mishandled inventory, broken down by ASIN, reason, claim date, and amount. Download it monthly and check for unrecognised entries, claims sitting unresolved past a few weeks, or amounts that look short, then chase anything that looks wrong with Seller Support. Claims must be raised within roughly 180 days of the shipment being received, miss that window and the money's gone.
What is the inventory ledger and how do I use it?
Under Inventory > Inventory Ledger, this is a full transaction log of stock movement, received, reserved, shipped, and removed, downloadable as a CSV. It's the most reliable way to answer "how many units do I actually have," to spot slow-moving stock before it hits long-term storage fees, and to build an evidence trail if you suspect Amazon has lost inventory (compare received quantity against shipped plus removed). Worth checking weekly for high-value products, monthly for the rest.
What does the returns report tell me?
Under Reports > Returns, it shows every return with the ASIN, order ID, stated reason, and disposition. A return rate around 5% is fairly typical; well above 10% signals a real problem. "Not as described" returns usually point to a listing or photo fix; "defective" returns usually point to a sourcing or quality-control problem. Tracking return rate by product ((returns ÷ units sold) × 100) over time flags issues early, before they start dragging on your account health.
How do I analyse customer return patterns?
Beyond the headline number, cross-reference returns by supplier, product variant, and season using Business Reports. Big gaps between suppliers or variants (one size returning far more than another, for instance) point to a specific, fixable cause rather than a general product problem. A fast-selling product with a high return rate can quietly cost more than it earns, so return-rate context matters as much as raw sales volume when deciding what to reorder.
How do I manage storage fees using the storage report?
FBA storage is charged per cubic foot per month, with higher rates for oversized items and during peak season, and long-term storage fees escalate sharply for stock that lingers, so check current rates in Seller Central regularly as they do change. The storage report (Reports > Fulfillment > Monthly Storage, or Finance > FBA Fees Preview) breaks cost down by ASIN. Identify your worst offenders, remove or discount genuinely slow stock before it crosses into long-term storage territory, and avoid sending in more than you can realistically sell within a few months.
When and how do I remove inventory from FBA?
Use Inventory > Manage Inventory > Create Removal Order to have stock shipped back to you or disposed of; check current removal fees in Seller Central as they vary by item size. It's usually the right call once long-term storage fees are looming, when stock is genuinely slow-moving and unprofitable to keep storing, or when returns have piled up as unsellable. As a rule, removal is almost always cheaper than months of storage penalties, the main mistake sellers make is delaying the decision.
What are Precision's invoicing and payment terms?
Precision invoices on a monthly cycle. At the end of each month we tally up all the prep work completed in that period, units prepped, labelling, bundling, storage, and any shipping costs we've fronted on your behalf (such as pallet freight). Your invoice is issued on the first day of the new month, and payment is due within 5 days. One invoice a month covering everything, rather than billing per shipment, so you can plan your cash flow around a predictable date.