Question 1

What is trade promotion management (TPM) software?

Accepted Answer

Trade promotion management (TPM) software is a specialized platform used by consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies to plan, execute, and analyze trade promotions with retailers and distributors. A TPM system centralizes promotion planning, trade spend budgeting, deduction management, customer P&L reporting, and ROI analysis in one place, replacing fragmented spreadsheets and disconnected finance tools.

Modern TPM software like PromoQuery lets sales, trade marketing, finance, and FP&A teams collaborate on the same data: planned volume, actual shipments, deduction claims, and gross-to-net revenue by retailer. For CPG brands between $50M and $500M in revenue, a dedicated TPM platform is typically the difference between knowing trade spend is on plan and finding out at month-end that it was off by six figures.

Question 2

Is PromoQuery really free? What's the catch?

Accepted Answer

Yes: PromoQuery is free for CPG brands. There are no licensing fees, no per-user charges, and no setup fees for the core TPM platform. PromoQuery is built and maintained by Expertise Accelerated, a CPA-led accounting firm that specializes in CPG finance. The business model is simple: we build the software for free so CPG brands can use best-in-class TPM without the $2,000–$10,000 per month that legacy vendors charge. We monetize only through optional, add-on services, managed implementation, deduction recovery outsourcing, advanced AI automation (OCR deduction capture, auto-matching, anomaly detection), ERP API integration, and CPG CFO advisory. These add-ons are completely optional. The free Core platform is complete and self-serve.

Question 3

How is PromoQuery different from Blacksmith, UpClear, Vistex, or Exceedra?

Accepted Answer

Legacy TPM software like Blacksmith Applications, UpClear, Vistex, and Exceedra typically costs $2,000 to $10,000 per month, takes 3 to 9 months to implement, and requires dedicated IT resources. These platforms are powerful but built for the largest CPG enterprises, Fortune 500 scale. PromoQuery delivers the core 80% of TPM functionality (promotion planning, deduction matching, retailer P&L, trade spend tracking, and reporting) for free, with go-live in 5–10 business days instead of 3–9 months. We built PromoQuery specifically for the $50M–$300M CPG brand that has outgrown spreadsheets but can't justify a six-figure annual enterprise TPM commitment. If you don't need SAP-level deployment or SKU counts in the tens of thousands, PromoQuery is faster, lighter, and dramatically more affordable.

Question 4

Who uses PromoQuery inside a CPG company?

Accepted Answer

PromoQuery is designed to be the single source of truth that connects four functional teams: Sales teams: build promotion plans by customer, run customer calendars, model baseline + lift volume.; Trade marketing: design promotion mechanics (TPR, display, feature, ad), set spend parameters, measure lift.; Finance and FP&A: manage trade spend accruals, validate deduction claims, build gross-to-net P&L.; Commercial leadership and the CFO: review retailer P&L, measure promotion ROI, approve trade budgets. Role-based access controls make sure each team sees what they need without exposing confidential financial data to users who don't need it.

Question 5

How does PromoQuery manage retailer deductions?

Accepted Answer

PromoQuery manages retailer deductions through a structured Claim → Evidence → Decision workflow. For every deduction a retailer takes against an invoice, the platform matches the claim against three sources of truth: (1) the approved promotion plan, (2) actual shipment volume to that retailer, and (3) proof of delivery documentation. Deductions with valid promotion backing are automatically approved and posted. Claims flagged for review include: deductions with no matching promotion, duplicate claims, claims exceeding approved spend limits, and claims outside the promotion period. The dispute workflow then produces a complete evidence pack (promotion number, shipment date, POD, approved mechanic) that your AR team can send to the retailer. PromoQuery customers typically recover $150,000–$200,000 per year in previously-paid invalid deductions once this workflow is operational. For add-on managed deduction recovery, our team runs the dispute process on your behalf.

Question 6

Can PromoQuery integrate with ERP, CRM, and accounting systems?

Accepted Answer

Yes. PromoQuery supports structured CSV and Excel data exchange with every major ERP, CRM, and accounting system used by mid-market CPG brands, including: NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Sage Intacct; SAP S/4HANA, SAP Business One, Microsoft Dynamics 365; Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM; SPS Commerce (EDI 852 / 867 for POS and shipment), direct retailer EDI feeds The free core platform handles scheduled imports and template-based uploads, which cover the majority of CPG use cases without requiring IT development. For brands that need real-time, bidirectional sync, direct API integration is available as a paid add-on through our implementation team.

Question 7

How quickly can we go live on PromoQuery?

Accepted Answer

Most CPG brands go live on PromoQuery within 5 to 10 business days. Standard setup includes: Importing your product tree (brands, segments, SKUs, pack sizes); Loading your retailer and distributor master; Mapping your deduction type master (OI, slotting, scan, MCB, free goods, display, feature); Setting up promotion group taxonomy and approval workflow; Importing 12–24 months of historical promotion and deduction data; Role-based user provisioning for sales, trade marketing, finance, and admin A free TPM expert from our team can guide the setup, or you can self-serve using our setup wizard and Excel templates. Compare that to the 3–9 months typical for legacy enterprise TPM software.

Question 8

How do you measure trade promotion ROI in PromoQuery?

Accepted Answer

PromoQuery measures trade promotion ROI by comparing total promotion cost against incremental gross profit generated. Each promotion is evaluated across these dimensions: Baseline volume: expected sell-through without the promotion; Lift volume: incremental cases driven by the promotion; Total trade spend: OI, slotting, scan, display, feature, free goods; Gross revenue uplift: on list vs. promoted price; Net revenue after trade: gross-to-net view; Promotion gross margin: adjusted for COGS and incremental supply chain cost The retailer P&L view shows planned versus actual versus latest estimate (LE) across cases, units, gross revenue, trade spend, non-trade spend, and net revenue, giving finance a complete gross-to-net evaluation by customer, period, and promotion group.

Question 9

What size CPG company is PromoQuery built for?

Accepted Answer

PromoQuery is purpose-built for growing, mid-sized, and lower enterprise CPG brands, typically $20M to $500M in annual revenue, with 20 to 200 SKUs and 10 to 50 active retailer and distributor accounts. Brands at this stage have usually outgrown spreadsheet-based TPM, too many promotions, too many deductions, too many customer P&Ls, but find enterprise TPM software overpriced, over-engineered, and over-long to deploy. PromoQuery closes that gap. Larger CPG brands also use PromoQuery as a lightweight complement to a legacy TPM system, for specific product lines, geographies, acquisitions during integration, or new category launches that don't justify a full enterprise rollout.

Question 10

What industries and retailer channels does PromoQuery support?

Accepted Answer

PromoQuery is used by CPG brands across food & beverage, personal care, household and cleaning products, pet food and pet care, health and wellness, beauty and cosmetics, OTC pharmaceuticals, and specialty & natural brands. Supported retailer and channel formats include: National mass & grocery: Walmart, Kroger, Target, Costco, Sam's Club, BJ's, Albertsons, Ahold Delhaize, Publix, H-E-B; Natural & specialty: Whole Foods, Sprouts, Fresh Market, Erewhon, UNFI, KeHE; Drug & dollar: CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar; Convenience & club: 7-Eleven, Circle K, Casey's, Costco club pack; E-commerce: Amazon 1P, Amazon 3P, Target.com, Walmart.com, DTC Shopify; Distributors: UNFI, KeHE, C&S, Associated Grocers, regional foodservice distributors

Question 11

Does PromoQuery handle both retailer promotions and distributor programs?

Accepted Answer

Yes. PromoQuery handles both direct-to-retailer promotions and distributor programs within the same workflow. Supported mechanics include: Direct retailer: TPRs (temporary price reductions), ad features, display, EDLP support, slotting fees, co-op advertising, in-store demos; Distributor: SPIFFs, bill-backs, MCB (manufacturer charge-back), scan-based trading, free goods, OI (off-invoice), rebate programs, growth incentives Promotion groups can be structured by customer type (retailer vs. distributor), so sales managers can view their direct accounts separately while finance sees the full consolidated P&L across both channels.

Question 12

Is my promotion data secure in PromoQuery?

Accepted Answer

Yes. PromoQuery is hosted on enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure with: TLS 1.3 encryption in transit, AES-256 encryption at rest; Role-based access controls (sales, trade marketing, finance, admin); Complete audit log for every planning, approval, and deduction decision; SOC 2 Type II–aligned data handling practices; Daily encrypted backups with point-in-time recovery; Single sign-on (SSO) via SAML and OAuth available on request Your customer promotion data is never shared with other brands, used for cross-brand benchmarking, or sold to any third party under any circumstance.

Question 13

What is the typical TPM workflow in PromoQuery?

Accepted Answer

The standard trade promotion workflow in PromoQuery follows six stages, all within the platform: Plan: set up customer, SKU, dates, promotion mechanic, planned trade spend; Forecast: model baseline volume, promotion lift, expected total volume; Approve: route plan through commercial and finance approval, with ROI threshold checks; Execute: track in-flight activity, shipment volume, and trade spend commitments; Reconcile: match retailer deductions to approved plans, process accruals and settlements; Evaluate: measure gross margin, lift, plan versus actual variance, and ROI All six stages run inside PromoQuery with no handoffs to external spreadsheets. The audit log captures who did what and when at every stage.

Question 14

Do I need a dedicated IT team to deploy PromoQuery?

Accepted Answer

No. PromoQuery is a fully hosted, multi-tenant cloud platform. You do not need internal IT resources to deploy, maintain, or upgrade the software. Setup is handled through Excel templates and a guided onboarding wizard, the same way you'd set up a modern SaaS tool like QuickBooks Online or HubSpot. If you'd prefer hands-on help, a TPM expert from the PromoQuery team will configure the platform for you at no additional cost. For brands wanting deeper ERP or CRM integration, our paid implementation team can connect PromoQuery to your systems through API or EDI.

Question 15

How does PromoQuery handle accruals and month-end close?

Accepted Answer

PromoQuery calculates trade spend accruals in real time based on planned promotion volume, agreed trade rates per mechanic, and estimated settlement timing. At month-end, finance can: Export accrual journal entries directly to the GL (NetSuite, QuickBooks, SAP, Sage Intacct formats supported); Reconcile accrual balances against actual deductions and settlements paid; Flag stale accruals and unresolved items for cleanup; Produce a trade spend accrual roll-forward schedule for the auditors; Review retailer-level gross-to-net variance against plan and prior period PromoQuery customers typically turn a multi-day month-end trade spend close into a half-day review exercise. The auditor-ready documentation also materially reduces annual audit prep time.

AI-powered TPM softwarequestions, answered

Still have a question?

Get complimentary access to PromoQuery.