How to Reconcile Used and Unused Transparency Codes

By Todd Welch, founder of T-Code Manager. Published October 13, 2026.

Reconciling Transparency codes means checking one equation, product by product:

Codes received = codes used + codes available + codes void

If both sides match, every code is accounted for. If they don't, something happened that nobody recorded: a file loaded twice, codes used outside your system, labels printed and never applied. The point of reconciling is to find that before Amazon, a brand or a customer finds it for you.

Why it's worth doing

You paid for every code. Amazon bills per code ordered. Codes that disappear are money that disappeared.
Duplicates are hard to see. A code used twice looks normal in a count. You only catch it by checking.
Reorders depend on the count. If your "available" number is wrong, you'll run out early or order too many.
People ask. Amazon's performance report, a brand client or a customer can all lead to the question "where did this code go?"

What you need

The source files. The original code files from Amazon or the brand, or the record of codes pulled through the API. These are your "received" numbers.
The usage log. Every label print job and every FBM code dispense, with the codes, the product and the date.
The current available list. What's left, per product.
The void list. Codes printed on labels that were damaged, misprinted or never applied, with a reason for each.
Your shipping records. FBA shipments and FBM orders for the same period.

Step by step

1. Pick the period and the products

Monthly works for most sellers. High-volume FBM sellers may want to do it weekly. Start with your fastest-moving products.

2. Count codes received per product

Add up every file and every API pull for each product, all the way back to the start. The equation only works on all-time totals, not a single month.

3. Count codes used per product

Add up codes on printed labels and codes dispensed for FBM orders. If a code was printed or dispensed and later written off as void, count it once, in void, not in used too. Otherwise the equation will be off by exactly your void count.

4. Count codes available and void per product

Available is what's left to use. Void is every code you've written off with a reason. If you don't keep a void list yet, start one now, because without it the equation can't balance.

5. Check the equation

For each product, received should equal used plus available plus void. Write down the difference, even if it's zero.

6. Look for duplicates

The same code appearing twice in the usage log
The same code appearing in two source files
A code that shows as both used and available

Any of these is a problem worth chasing today.

7. Look for codes under the wrong product

Pick a few codes from each product's available list and find them in the source files. If a code came from a different product's file, it was loaded under the wrong product, and some of its neighbors probably were too.

8. Check against physical units

Compare codes used to units that actually shipped or got labeled:

FBA: codes printed for a shipment versus units in that shipment
FBM: codes dispensed versus enrolled units on confirmed orders

If you printed 500 labels for a 480-unit shipment, there are 20 labels somewhere. Find them, apply them or record them as void.

9. Record and fix

Write down what you found, what caused it and what you changed. Keep it with the reconciliation so next month you can see whether the fix worked.

Common causes of a mismatch

A file loaded twice

Received is double what it should be, and duplicates show up in the available list. Remove the second copy and check whether any of those duplicates were printed.

Codes used outside the system

Someone copied codes straight from an original file for a rush order. Used is too low and the "available" list includes codes that are already on units. This is how duplicates get made. Lock down the original files.

Labels printed but never applied

A printer jammed, a job was cancelled halfway or a roll got thrown away. The codes are marked used but aren't on any unit. Record them as void with the reason.

Cancelled FBM orders

Codes were dispensed for an order that was then cancelled. If those codes never went out on a unit and were never reported to Amazon, ask your Transparency contact whether you can use them. Until you hear back, keep them on the void list so nobody grabs them by accident.

Returns

A returned unit already has a code that was reported on its original order. Don't count it as a new code. See Transparency codes, Vine and returns.

Amazon's side of the picture

If you're the brand, the Transparency portal has a performance report. Amazon says it shows units blocked from shipment for missing or invalid codes, mismatched scans, rejected listings and suspected counterfeit notices. Check it when you reconcile. A spike in any of those is a sign your own records have a gap.

How often

Monthly for most brands and sellers.
Weekly if you ship a lot of FBM orders or have several people printing.
Before every reorder, so you're ordering against a real count.
Right away after any duplicate, blocked unit or missing-code problem.

How T-Code Manager makes this easier

T-Code Manager keeps most of the equation for you.

Used is recorded at the moment codes go out. Codes are marked used when the label file is created or when they're dispensed for an FBM order, so used and available can't drift apart.
Available is always current. The dashboard shows how many codes every product has left, and each product page shows its available and used codes.
The usage log is already there. Every print job and FBM dispense is in the history with who ran it, when, the product and the order or shipment.
Client reports. On the Warehouse / 3PL plan, you can see usage by client and share a read-only inventory view with each brand.

You still count physical units and void labels. That part needs eyes on the floor. But the hardest part, knowing exactly which codes went out and where, is done.

Still on a spreadsheet? Read spreadsheet vs software for Transparency codes. Ready to try it? Start a free 14-day trial, no credit card required, or see pricing.