Answers for retailers and manufacturers
Common questions about how our coupon clearinghouse and rebate processing services work. Don’t see your question? Contact us directly.
How coupon clearing works
A claim can pass through two different clearinghouses: one acting for the retailer that submits it, and one acting for the manufacturer that issued the coupon. They do different jobs, so each answer below says which side it describes.
What is a coupon clearinghouse?+
A coupon clearinghouse provides two services to a manufacturer: the validation of retailer coupon claims, and the settlement of those claims. When a shopper redeems a coupon, the retailer discounts the bill and then wants that money back, so it submits a claim — the coupons accepted plus an invoice — to the coupon issuer. The clearinghouse receives those claims on the manufacturer’s behalf, validates them, invoices the manufacturer, and pays the retailers once that invoice is funded.
How does coupon processing work, from the register to payment?+
A shopper redeems a coupon and the retailer discounts their bill. The retailer then submits a claim to the coupon issuer for the coupons it accepted, and the manufacturer’s clearinghouse receives that claim on the issuer’s behalf. The claims are reviewed there — at Mandlik & Rhodes, for the manufacturers we serve. The clearinghouse then sends the manufacturer a consolidated invoice covering every claim processed that week, with supporting documentation detailing claims by retailer and offer, total dollars claimed by retailer, and which offers are being claimed. The manufacturer’s finance team reviews it, pays the clearinghouse, and the clearinghouse pays the retailers.
How do retailers get reimbursed for coupons?+
By submitting a claim to the coupon issuer detailing the coupons accepted, plus an invoice for what is owed. The issuer’s clearinghouse — Mandlik & Rhodes, for the manufacturers we serve — validates that claim, includes it in the consolidated invoice it sends the manufacturer, and pays the retailer once the manufacturer has funded it. An audit trail is kept behind every payment: whether the invoice was received and paid in full, whether payment went out electronically or by check, and whether the check cleared the bank.
How does a clearinghouse validate a coupon claim?+
The claimed count and the coupon value need to reconcile — a claim for 10 coupons worth $10.00 means counting 10 coupons whose values total $10.00. Each coupon is validated against the manufacturer’s list of valid offers, held at the manufacturer’s clearinghouse. Paper coupons then get a physical review for signs of misredemption, which is a judgement about whether a coupon was genuinely redeemed by a shopper, not only whether it is authentic.
Digital coupons have no physical review, so validation becomes forensic work on the transaction data submitted with the claim — offer ID, the date and time of each coupon transaction, product UPCs, the purchase requirement, the transaction ID. The checks look for duplicate transactions, whether each claim satisfies the offer’s purchase requirement, and whether the offers being submitted are valid offers.
What is a coupon chargeback?+
A coupon chargeback is similar to a chargeback on a credit card. Occasionally a retailer receives payment for coupon claims, only to have that payment charged back at a later date, following a review by the manufacturer or the manufacturer’s processor.
What is coupon misredemption?+
Misredemption is dollars claimed that should not be paid, and it takes many forms. Some are obvious once the submission is examined: expired coupons, counterfeit or photocopied coupons, coupons issued for another country, and material submitted in a claim that is not a coupon at all. Others turn on whether a shopper ever redeemed the coupon — if a tear pad sits on a shelf in a store, the retailer should not be able to strip the pad and submit the whole lot as claims, and coupons that genuinely passed through a shopper’s hands and a register do not arrive in mint condition. Control comes from thorough review of incoming submissions, retailer verification procedures, and system fraud-detection tools such as MIMS.
How can a retailer spot a counterfeit or invalid coupon?+
Valid coupons scan accurately at the register and show a current, unexpired date. Free-product and high-value coupons deserve extra scrutiny. Reject any coupon that looks copied, blurry, distorted, or altered, and check the Coupon Information Corporation’s counterfeit notifications for coupons currently circulating as known fakes.
What is the GS1 DataBar?+
The GS1 DataBar is the barcode standard used on modern coupons. It encodes information about the coupon’s requirements and discount type — including purchase requirements (buy 1, buy 2, BOGO, get 1 free) and the expiration date — which lets the register validate a coupon at the point of sale rather than after the fact. Coupons produced today should be built to this standard.
What should you look for when choosing a coupon clearinghouse?+
The most important thing is that retailers are paid on time, and that the processor provides real-time, web-based information so you can verify that retailers are paid. Beyond that, ask what is deducted from settlement and when it is disclosed, whether the processor issues chargebacks after payment, what fraud controls it runs, and whether it is independently audited.
Retailer Questions
What will Mandlik & Rhodes do for us?+
We count, sort, and invoice your coupons to all the manufacturers or their agents and send you one check for the entire shipment. We also provide detailed reports, track payments, and assist with recovery of unpaid amounts.
Do we have to pay any deposits or dues upfront? Is there a minimum shipment size?+
No. There is nothing to pay upfront — a one-time setup fee and any applicable association dues are deducted from settlement rather than billed to you, and both are disclosed before you ship. We accept any size coupon shipment and never charge a penalty for small shipments.
How does Mandlik & Rhodes make money from my coupons?+
Most of our costs are covered by the handling fees paid by the manufacturers. Anything deducted from your settlement — a one-time setup fee and any applicable association dues — is disclosed before you ship, and we never issue postage or fee chargebacks after payment.
We can send coupons directly to the manufacturer ourselves. Why use a clearinghouse like Mandlik & Rhodes?+
A clearinghouse eliminates sorting hassles, tracks payments across many different manufacturers, maintains an updated shipping database, and handles address changes automatically whenever a manufacturer switches processors or brands.
Why should retailers trust Mandlik & Rhodes?+
We have served the coupon industry since 1995, and one out of every ten coupons in the United States is redeemed using our technology and/or services. We’re known for integrity, fraud vigilance, and technology trusted by major manufacturers.
How do we know if our shipment has reached your plant?+
We send you an email notification as soon as your shipment is received and sorted.
Can you help protect us against accepting counterfeit coupons?+
Yes. We send email alerts from the Coupon Information Corporation (CIC) to keep you informed about all known counterfeits.
Why do manufacturers not pay for some coupons?+
Common reasons include proof-of-purchase requirements, grace period policies, and counting errors. In each case, we provide detailed adjustment documentation and pursue collection efforts on your behalf.
Should we count the coupons before sending them to you?+
It is not necessary — we will count them when we receive your shipment. We do recommend recording an approximate weight and value on your manifest.
How do we distinguish between valid and invalid coupons?+
Valid coupons scan accurately at the register and show a current, unexpired date. Free-product and high-value coupons deserve extra scrutiny. Reject any coupon that looks copied, blurry, distorted, or altered, and check the Coupon Information Corporation’s counterfeit notifications for coupons currently circulating as known fakes.
Are invalid coupons sent back to us?+
Yes. You may then contact the manufacturer’s sales representative to recover money for those coupons where applicable.
Manufacturer Questions
We’ve never distributed coupons before — what will Mandlik & Rhodes do for us?+
We specialize in working with new couponers. From concept to completion, we’ll guide you through launching your coupons, creating barcodes, setting payment policies, and reviewing performance.
What is the single most important thing to consider when selecting a processing agent?+
The most important thing is that retailers are paid on time, and that the processor provides real-time, web-based information so you can verify that retailers are paid.
We’re switching to Mandlik & Rhodes, but our current processor’s address is already printed on our coupons. What happens to those submissions?+
You’ll notify your current processor to forward coupons to the new address we provide. All processors forward coupons in these cases.
How do I sign up with Mandlik & Rhodes?+
Contact us for a quote and provide information about your company and planned coupon activity, and we’ll send you a proposal.
We can process coupons ourselves, in-house. Why use a processor like Mandlik & Rhodes?+
Unless you have millions of coupon submissions, it may not make sense to tie up your own resources to count coupons, verify retailers, control fraud, and disburse payments to hundreds of retailers.
Why should manufacturers trust Mandlik & Rhodes?+
We’ve been in the coupon industry since 1995, with a reputation for honesty, integrity, fraud vigilance, and sophisticated technology.
Our coupon volume is in the millions — can Mandlik & Rhodes handle it?+
Yes. Our plant has significant capacity and our systems are built to handle large volume.
How should we protect against misredemption?+
Our staff perform thorough physical reviews of incoming submissions, and our retailer verification procedures and system fraud-detection tools, such as MIMS, provide an additional layer of defense.
Are you compliant with the GS1 DataBar?+
Yes — all of our manufacturers’ coupons are produced using the GS1 DataBar.
What are the hurdles of converting our data and historical redemption records from our current processor?+
We’ll load your coupon information and historical data into our system. We’ve handled many conversions — it’s a smooth process.
How many users from my company will get access to your system?+
There is no limit, and there is no per-user charge.