How Do Co-op Claims and Reimbursement Work?

What are the steps in a co-op claim?

1. Check the balance and the rules: how much the partner has accrued, what's eligible, what share is reimbursed, and the deadlines.
2. Get prior approval if the activity needs it.
3. Run the marketing, meeting the brand's requirements: logo use, product names, required wording, no competing products.
4. Collect proof of performance as it runs: a copy of the piece, invoices, and evidence it ran.
5. Submit the claim before the deadline.
6. The brand, or a company administering the program for it, reviews the claim against the rules.
7. Approved claims are paid; rejected claims come back with a reason, and can often be corrected and resubmitted.

The definitions behind these terms, and how co-op differs from MDF, are in MDF vs. co-op advertising.

When do partners need prior approval?

Your program's rules decide, but approval is commonly required for larger spends, media or channels the program doesn't pre-approve, events and trade shows, creative that isn't from the brand's templates, and anything in a regulated category. A request usually includes what the partner plans to run, where and when, the estimated cost, and a draft of the creative.

Approval protects the partner as much as the brand: it's the difference between knowing a claim will be paid and hoping it will. Marketing made from the brand's approved templates often counts as pre-approved, which removes this step.

What counts as proof of performance for each channel?

Programs set their own requirements; these are the common ones:

• Print ads: the full-page tear sheet showing the ad, and the publication's invoice.
• Radio and TV: the script or recording, the station's affidavit of when it aired, and the invoice.
• Digital and search ads: screenshots of the ads, the ad platform's report showing dates and spend, and the invoice or receipt.
• Social posts: a link or screenshot of each post, and the receipt for any paid promotion.
• Direct mail: a sample piece, and the print and postage invoices.
• Signage, displays and point-of-sale: a photo of the piece in place, and the invoice.
• Events and trade shows: photos of the booth or event with the brand shown, the invoice, and the agenda or listing.

Collecting proof is easiest at the moment the marketing runs, and hardest weeks later when the claim is due.

How much of a claim gets reimbursed?

A share of the eligible cost set by the program, up to the partner's available balance. Some programs reimburse different shares for different media, products or partner tiers, and some cap what any one activity can claim. Ineligible parts of an invoice (a competing product in the ad, an unrelated service on the same bill) are taken out before the share is applied. Check your program's rules for the exact terms.

When are co-op claims due?

Usually within a set window after the marketing runs, and before the accrual period closes, after which unused funds commonly expire. That creates a predictable rush at the end of every period, when partners discover a balance and try to spend and claim it at once. Reminders well before the deadline, and campaigns ready to use the balance, spread that work out.

Why do co-op claims get rejected?

• No prior approval for an activity that needed it.
• Missing or unclear proof: no tear sheet, a cropped screenshot, an invoice that doesn't match.
• Brand requirements not met: wrong logo, old product names, missing required wording, or a competing product in the piece.
• An ineligible expense, such as an activity or medium the program doesn't cover.
• Past the deadline.
• More than the available balance.
• Charged to the wrong fund, or claimed twice.

A rejected claim usually means a partner has already spent their own money, so each one costs the program goodwill as well as funds. Track the reasons: most programs find a handful that cause most rejections, and each can be fixed upstream.

How are approved claims paid?

• A check or bank transfer to the partner.
• A credit memo against the partner's account with the brand, often faster and simpler to administer.
• A deduction the partner takes from a future invoice, where the program allows it.
• Paid at the point of order: funds applied when the partner orders marketing through the program, so there's no claim to file.

How should brands review co-op claims?

Consistently, quickly and with reasons. Review every claim against the same written checklist: eligibility, approval, proof, brand requirements, balance and deadline. Set and publish a turnaround time. When a claim is rejected, say exactly why and what would fix it. Audit a sample of approved claims each period rather than slowing every claim down. And look at the rejections as a set: they show which rules are unclear and which partners need help.

How can you make co-op claims faster and easier?

• Give partners campaigns that qualify by design: brand requirements built into the templates, and pre-approved for funds.
• Capture proof automatically when partners launch or order through the program.
• Apply funds at the point of order where you can, so no claim is needed.
• Show each partner their balance where they choose campaigns, with the expiry date.
• Remind partners before deadlines, with ready-made campaigns to use the balance.
• Publish short, plain rules, and apply them automatically.

Each of these moves the work from after the money is spent to before, which is where it's cheapest. More on why funds go unused in why don't partners use the marketing you give them?

What should you measure in a co-op program?

• Utilization: the share of available funds partners use, by partner, tier and region.
• Claim cycle time: from submission to payment.
• Rejection rate, and the reasons.
• How much is spent through pre-approved campaigns versus partners' own activity.
• What funded marketing produced: leads, sales and results by partner and campaign.

More in how to measure the ROI of partner marketing.

Where does OnBrandify fit?

OnBrandify is the Marketing Hub for brands that sell through partner networks, with co-op and MDF in the same flow as the marketing they pay for. Partners see their balances where they choose campaigns, the program's rules are applied up front, and claims and reimbursement happen in one place, with proof captured as campaigns run and orders ship. See products, orders and fund management, or request a demo.