Unit price off the signed schedule
The buyer's AP system pays invoices at a unit price that differs from the rate in the signed pricing schedule. This happens when the buyer's procurement team negotiates a new rate but the AP system still references the old price list, or when the buyer misapplies a volume tier discount before the qualification threshold is reached.
Most B2B contracts include a master price schedule — a table of SKUs with corresponding unit prices, effective dates, and volume-based tier adjustments. When the buyer processes an invoice for payment, their ERP compares the invoiced unit price against their internal price list. If there is a discrepancy — because the buyer's list is outdated, because they applied a tier discount prematurely, or because a pricing amendment was never entered — the system deducts the difference. The seller's invoice shows $42.00/unit; the buyer pays $38.50/unit. The $3.50 variance, multiplied across hundreds of units, becomes a significant revenue leak.
Section 3.4 of the MVA covers price protection: 'Seller agrees to provide sixty (60) days prior written notice before any wholesale price increase. Purchase orders placed before the effective date of any increase shall be invoiced at the legacy rate. Buyer shall pay invoices at the rate published in the then-current Master Price Schedule.' The key protection is the 60-day notice window and the legacy rate clause — if the seller properly notified the buyer of a price change and the order was placed after the effective date, the new price is valid.
Axiom maintains a version-controlled record of the master price schedule and cross-references each invoice line item's unit price against the effective schedule on the invoice date. If the buyer paid at a lower rate without a corresponding amendment or tier qualification, the system calculates the per-unit and total-order variance, cites §3.4, attaches the applicable price schedule, and generates a dispute letter for the full pricing discrepancy balance.