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We’ll use your information to understand your current TPM requirements and help you get started with planning, tracking, and validating your trade promotions.

  • Built by CPG accountants, not generalists
    25+ years in trade and deduction accounting, working alongside AI automation engineers.
  • Live before your next planning cycle
    Start now and your promotions are loaded before the plan locks, planned by customer, product and period. No more unapproved deals.
  • Every claim matched to the promotion it belongs to
    Including shortage claims, checked against what you actually shipped.

TRADE PROMOTION MANAGEMENT EXPLAINED

What Is Trade
Promotion Management Software?

Trade promotion management software helps CPG companies plan, approve, execute, track, and evaluate promotions with retailers, distributors, and other customers.

It replaces disconnected spreadsheets and manual processes with structured workflows for promotion planning, demand forecasting, budgets, approvals, trade spend, deductions, and performance reporting.

Expertise Accelerated brings these activities together so commercial and finance teams can work from consistent promotion data from initial planning through final reconciliation.

See the Trade Promotion Management Process >

One connected promotion record

From customer plan to financial reconciliation

01 · Plan
Customer, SKU, dates, mechanics
02 · Forecast
Baseline, lift, expected volume
03 · Approve
Commercial and finance controls
04 · Execute
Track activity and trade spend
05 · Reconcile
Deductions, accruals, settlements
06 · Evaluate
Margin, lift, plan vs actual, ROI

When Spreadsheets Stop Being Enough

Trade Promotion Management Gets More Complex as the Business Grows

A promotion does not end when a discount is approved. Teams still need to connect the customer, products, plan, actual activity, deductions, and final financial result.

Promotion Data Lives in Different Places

Product structures, retailers, promotion groups, discount types, plans, and actual results may be managed separately.

Promotion Structures Vary

Trade, non-trade, marketing, and other promotion expenses can be classified differently from one company to another.

Deduction Claims Need Verification

Retailer claims may need to be checked against actual volume, shipment records, and proof of delivery before they are accepted.

Planned Spend Changes

If actual case volume differs from the plan, final promotional spend and accrual requirements may change.

Reporting Becomes Manual

Teams need planned-versus-actual views across retailers, periods, promotion groups, deduction types, revenue, and spend.

More Complexity Requires More Control

As users, departments, approvals, data, and deduction volumes increase, a simple spreadsheet process becomes harder to govern.

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From Setup to Reporting

One TPM Workflow for the Work Behind Every Promotion

TPM tool organizes the core activities involved in planning, tracking, reconciling, and reporting trade promotions.

CPG Setup

Product tree, retailers and distributors, deduction types, promotion groups, and configuration.

Planner & Calendar

Create promotion plans and see scheduled activity in one structured calendar.

Deductions

Record retailer deductions, validate them, and connect claims with promotion activity.

Actual Volume

Record actual volume and compare the promotion plan with what occurred.

Retailer P&L / Roll-Ups

Review planned and actual financial performance by retailer.

Reporting

Generate period, retailer, promotion group, deduction type, and plan-versus-actual reports.

Configure the Promotion Structure

Set Up Products, Customers, Discounts and Promotion Groups

Every CPG company structures trade promotions differently. TPM tool provides a defined environment for organizing the information used when promotions are created.

Product treeRetailers & distributorsDeduction typesPromotion groups

Multiple products can be organized into promotional groups, while deduction types can reflect the way your business classifies trade and other promotional activity.

TPM Settings
Core Configuration

Products
128
Retailers
24
Promo Groups
18

Product Tree
Brand → Category → SKU
READY

Deduction Types
Trade / Non-Trade / Other
READY

Promotion Groups
Customer-specific promotional combinations
READY

Promotion Planning

Build Your Promotion Plan in One Structured Planner

Move promotion planning away from disconnected spreadsheets. Create promotion activity inside the TPM planner and use the calendar to see when promotions are scheduled.

The full Planner and Calendar are included in both the free and expanded versions of the TPM tool.

Customer and SKU-level planningPromotion mechanics and datesBudget and approval statusShared promotion calendar
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Verify Before You Accept the Deduction

Match Retailer Claims Against What Actually Happened

Suppose a retailer claims that part of a delivery was short. Before accepting the deduction, your team needs to compare the claim with the quantity shipped, proof of delivery, quantity received, and the amount deducted.

If shipment records show there was no shortage, the deduction may need to be disputed. Deduction management is therefore more than recording a claim. It connects the claim with the operational and financial evidence behind it.

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DEDUCTION CHECK

Claim → Evidence → Decision

Retailer Claim
What is being deducted?

Shipment Volume
What quantity left the warehouse?

Proof of Delivery
What was documented as received?

Validation
Does the deduction agree with the records?

Plan vs Actual Volume
Current Period
Planned Cases
24,000
Actual Cases
21,800
Variance
−2,200

Plan vs Actual

Connect Your Promotion Plan With Actual Volume

A promotion starts with a plan, but the final financial result depends on what actually happened.

Record actual volume so teams can compare planned promotional activity with actual business performance. When promotional spend depends on case volume, a difference between planned and actual sales can also change final spend and accrual requirements.

Financial Visibility

See Planned and Actual Performance by Retailer

Promotion managers need more than a calendar. TPM tool includes retailer-level P&L and roll-up views so teams can review how promotional activity translates into financial results.

Planned revenueActual revenuePlanned spendActual spendRetailer roll-upsPromotion-level visibility
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Retailer P&L
Plan vs Actual
Planned Revenue
$2.4M
Actual Revenue
$2.2M
Actual Spend
$420K
Retailer Plan Actual Spend Status
Retailer A $820K $790K $132K Closed
Retailer B $640K $602K $118K Active

REPORTING & VISIBILITY

Turn Promotion Data Into Reports Your Team Can Use

Bring promotion, spend, deduction, and actual-volume data together to understand performance without rebuilding reports in spreadsheets.
The TPM tool gives teams structured reporting views across:

Monthly and quarterly performanceYear-to-date resultsRetailer performancePromotion group performanceDeduction and discount typesPlanned vs. actual revenuePlanned vs. actual trade spend
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THE TPM WORKFLOW

From Promotion Planning to Reconciliation

 

Plan

Customer, products, dates, mechanics and terms

Approve

Commercial and financial review

Execute

Track promotions and trade spend

Validate

Match deductions and documents

Reconcile

Resolve, record accruals and report

CASE STUDY

A $50M CPG Brand Turned TPM Costs Into Real Savings

A $50M CPG brand was paying about $180,000 a year for TPM software and still doing the work manually, including trade planning, deduction reconciliation, and customer profitability.

The team moved to this TPM Tool and that license line went to $0. With the money freed up, they put two people on the deduction work properly and turned up $150,000–$200,000 a year in retailer claims that should never have been paid.

Built Around Complex Promotion Environments

Trade Promotion Management for CPG and FMCG Companies

Promotional structures vary by category, customer, channel, and market. The platform can be configured around the commercial and financial workflows used within your business.

Consumer Packaged Goods

Manage customer promotions, trade budgets, deductions, and performance across large product portfolios.

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Food & Beverage

Coordinate promotions with demand planning, seasonal activity, customer programs, and inventory requirements.

Retail & Wholesale

Improve visibility across customer programs, pricing, promotional spend, deductions, and performance.

Personal Care

Manage promotional programs across retailers, products, categories, and sales channels.

Household Products

Track trade investment and promotion results across customers, products, categories, and retail programs.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Trade Promotion Management Software FAQ

What is trade promotion management software?

Trade promotion management software helps CPG companies plan promotions, manage retailers and distributors, track deductions, and report on promotion spend in a structured workflow.

What is the trade promotion management process?

The process typically includes promotion planning, approval, execution, deduction matching and validation, reconciliation, and reporting. The exact workflow depends on your customers, channels, and financial controls.

How does TPM help control trade spend?

It provides visibility into planned budgets, commitments, accruals, actual spend, and deductions, so finance and commercial teams can compare planned versus actual results.

Can TPM software integrate with ERP and CRM systems?

Actual shipment volume is entered manually and used to investigate deductions and shortage disputes.

How are trade promotion deductions managed?

Deductions can be uploaded via Excel or entered manually, then matched against approved promotions and supporting documents. Exceptions can be disputed and tracked through reconciliation.

How is promotion ROI measured?

Cash App lets teams upload checks, contracts, and backup documents, then uses OCR to extract information and automatically create and link deductions, reducing rather than eliminating manual review.

Who uses trade promotion management software?

The Free TPM Tool provides core functionality including planning, calendar, retailer records, manual deductions, manual validation, and reporting. Expanded TPM adds Customer Assortment, Cash App/OCR, automated validation, accruals, approvals, persistent data, and multi-user collaboration.

Is TPM only for large CPG companies?

Typical users include sales teams, trade marketing, finance, FP&A, controllers, and commercial leadership.