What is Invoice Defect Rate (IDR)? Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) Evaluation

How to calculate

The Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) is calculated based on working days (Monday to Friday). For example, if you confirm the shipment of an order between 00:01 and 23:59 on Monday, you must upload the invoice (or receipt) for that order before 23:59 on Tuesday. If you confirm the shipment of an order between 00:01 and 23:59 on Friday, you must upload the invoice (or receipt) for that order before 23:59 on the following Monday.

Inspection period

The order date is from the past 7 to 14 days. For example, today is July 22, 2020, and the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) calculation period is July 9, 2020 - July 15, 2020.

Upload method

As of March 20, 2020, Amazon only allows the following three invoice upload methods:

Automatically upload using the free Amazon VAT Calculation Service ( VCS )

Manual upload via Seller Central Order Management (Invoice Document Uploader, hereinafter referred to as IDU)

Choose a third-party service provider to provide invoicing services (hereinafter referred to as VCS Lite)

Invoices uploaded by other means cannot be counted (such as through station letters, emails, paper versions sent with packages, etc.) and will be counted as missing invoices.

How to view

You can log in to [Seller Central] > click [Performance] > view [Account Status] > select [Customer Service Performance] > view [Invoice Defect Rate] to query the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) indicator.

Amazon measures

Currently, Amazon does not take action against accounts with an Invoice Defect Rate ( IDR ) above 5% , but will begin enforcing this in the near future.

FAQ

Q1: How often is the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) performance indicator updated?

The Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) indicator is updated daily.

Q2: How do you define a working day?

Monday to Friday are working days. If you confirm the shipment between 00:01-23:59 on Monday, you must upload the invoice before 23:59 on Tuesday evening. If you confirm the shipment between 00:01-23:59 on Friday, you can upload the invoice before 23:59 on Monday evening of the following week.

Q3: I am not an Amazon Business seller. Will my account also have an Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) performance indicator?

The Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) will count all orders from corporate buyers. Even if you have not opened Amazon Business Purchasing (non-Amazon Business seller), you may still receive orders from corporate buyers. Once an order is generated, you need to provide the corresponding invoice as required.

Q4: Do I need to upload invoices for orders placed before the IDR metric was launched?

Yes. Effective March 20, 2020, Amazon Business invoicing policy requires all sellers to proactively provide valid VAT invoices or receipts for orders from Amazon Business buyers. However, the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) only looks at order invoicing in the past 7 to 14 days.

Q5: Can I refuse orders from corporate buyers?

You cannot reject an order from a business buyer. Amazon business buyers can purchase all products that individual consumers can purchase.

Q6: I do not need to pay VAT on the goods I sell, or I enjoy VAT exemption. What should I do?

According to the Amazon Business invoicing policy, sellers who do not need to pay VAT for the goods they sell still need to provide receipts for each order from business buyers. You can choose to manually upload (IDU) in the seller platform order management, or use a third-party service provider to upload receipts.

Q7: Will credit notes also be calculated into the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) indicator?

Currently, the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) only counts late and missed invoices (or receipts, if you do not need to pay VAT on sales), not credit notes. In the future, Amazon may also include late and missed credit notes in the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) performance metric. However, according to Amazon's relevant policies, you are responsible for providing the credit note within one business day after the return is confirmed.

Q8: If I have more questions about the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR), is there any contact or complaint channel?

You can open a case with Seller Support or provide feedback by clicking the "Post Feedback" link on the Invoice Defect Rate (IDR) page on the Seller Central.

References