Quality & InspectionFree calculatorPDF, Excel, Word export

Supplier Nonconformance Chargeback Cost Calculator

A rejected lot costs far more than the price of the bad parts. This calculator adds up sorting, rework, downtime, freight and administration so you can see the full cost of a supplier quality escape before you raise a claim.

Your numbers

Lot quantity received

pcs

Defect rate found

6 %

Percent of the lot that is nonconforming.

Purchase price per piece

Sorting speed

pcs per hour

Pieces one person can inspect and sort per hour.

Loaded labor rate

$ per hour

Rework time per defective piece

min

Line downtime caused

hours

Downtime cost per hour

$ per hour

Expedite and return freight

Administrative and handling cost

Your results

Total chargeback claim

$2,460

Costs only. Check whether your supplier agreement allows each line.

Claim as percent of lot value

29.6%

Defective pieces

120

Lot purchase value

$8,300

Cost to sort the full lot

$304

Assumes 100 percent sorting of the lot.

Rework cost

$228

Downtime cost

$900

Value of defective material

$498

Chargeback per piece received

This is an estimate for internal use. Your right to charge back sorting, downtime and administrative costs depends on your purchase order terms and supply agreement. Check the contract and have the claim reviewed by the right person before you issue a debit memo.

Save results:

Total chargeback vs defect rate

Sweeps Defect rate found from 0 to 30, holding your other inputs fixed.

Chargeback report from your ERP

Optional: we can outline a read-only chargeback summary built from receiving and labor data.

Optional. The tool and every export work without this. No spam.

How to use the calculator

Enter the lot size, the defect rate you found and the purchase price. Then add the sorting speed and labor rate, rework time per defective piece, any line downtime and its hourly cost, freight and administrative cost. The total chargeback claim appears with the cost per piece and the claim as a percentage of the lot value. The chart shows how the claim grows with defect rate. Export to Excel to attach to the debit memo or supplier corrective action request.

Use actual time records for sorting and rework
Use your own downtime cost per hour from finance
Keep freight and admin to real documented costs
Export to attach to the supplier claim

The formulas

Defective pieces equal lot quantity times defect rate. Sorting cost equals the lot quantity divided by the sorting speed, times the labor rate, and assumes the full lot is sorted. Rework cost equals defective pieces times minutes per piece divided by sixty, times the labor rate. Downtime cost is hours times the hourly rate. The total adds the value of defective material, sorting, rework, downtime, freight and administration. The claim percentage compares the total with the lot value.

Worked example

A lot of 2,000 pieces at 4.15 each has 6 percent defective, or 120 pieces. Sorting 2,000 pieces at 250 per hour takes 8 hours, which costs 304 at 38 per hour. Rework of 120 pieces at 3 minutes each is 6 hours, or 228. Two hours of downtime at 450 is 900. The defective material is 498. With 380 freight and 150 admin, the total claim is 2,460, about 30 percent of the 8,300 lot value. The price of the bad parts alone would have understated the cost by a large margin.

Common mistakes

Buyers sometimes claim downtime or overhead that the supply agreement does not allow, or claim without evidence of time spent. Others forget to include the cost of sorting good parts in a lot with mixed quality. Match each line to a clause in the agreement and keep records such as inspection sheets and time logs. A well-documented, moderate claim is more likely to be accepted than a large one with no support.

Check each cost line against the agreement
Keep time and inspection records
Do not double count scrap and replacement
Send the claim with the 8D request

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I always charge a supplier for sorting costs?

Not always. Many purchase orders and quality agreements allow it, but you need a clause that covers sorting, rework and related costs. Without one, a supplier may refuse to pay more than the cost of the defective material. Check your terms before you raise the claim.

How should I value downtime?

Use a figure agreed with finance, such as contribution margin lost per hour or direct cost of idle labor and equipment. Do not use sales value of lost output. Some agreements exclude downtime entirely, so confirm before including it.

Why sort the whole lot and not only the defects?

You cannot know which pieces are bad without inspecting them, so containment normally needs 100 percent sorting until the supplier proves the lot is clean. Use the sorting speed that matches the actual inspection method, and adjust for partial sorting if you only check a sample.

What is a debit memo?

A debit memo is a document the buyer sends to reduce the amount owed to the supplier, in this case to recover costs from a quality failure. It should reference the PO, lot, defect evidence and the clause that allows the claim.

If you want this calculation to run from your receiving inspection and labor data, we can build a read-only report in your ERP that drafts a chargeback summary for the quality engineer to review.

Talk to an Expert Explore More Free Tools

Related Tools

Quality & Inspection

More Quality & Inspection tools

See all

Back to All Tools