How do I combine reports from multiple distributors?
The short answer: Translate every report into the same layout before you add anything up: one row per account, product, period and quantity, all in the same units. Then check that each distributor's combined total still matches their original file. Putting five spreadsheets in one folder doesn't make the numbers comparable.
Build one standard row
Distributor, period, account ID, account name and address, your SKU, quantity and unit. Keep the original file name and product description on the row too, so you can trace any number back to where it came from.
Match products carefully
"BRBN SB 750" from one distributor and "Single Barrel Bourbon 750ml" from another are probably the same thing. Match on size and pack as well as the name, and never merge two expressions just because the names look alike.
Match accounts carefully
Names alone aren't enough. Use the distributor's account number, tagged with which distributor it came from. Two locations of the same chain are two accounts unless the report really is one central buyer.
Same units, clean dates
Put everything on the same unit before you add it up. See What are case equivalents? Don't mix monthly and year-to-date files. When a distributor sends a corrected file, replace the old one instead of adding to it, or you'll count the month twice.
Reconcile every time
After each import, check that your combined total for that distributor matches their file. If it doesn't, find out why before anyone sees the number.
Keep a simple list of which distributors and months are in. A report that hasn't arrived yet shouldn't look like a sales drop.
Or skip the spreadsheet work
This is the job DepletionIQ does every month: we take each distributor's file as-is, map it to your SKUs and accounts, and flag any report that goes missing.