Notice windows, compared

Agreements commonly contain several windows that get confused with one another. A discrepancy window covers differences between what was ordered and what arrived. A defect window covers quality problems in the goods themselves. A claim window covers monetary claims generally, and is usually longer.

Confusing them is expensive. A buyer who treats an assortment problem as a quality defect may file under the wrong provision and miss the correct deadline entirely.

Four features. The trigger is an event the buyer can actually observe, not one that happens at the seller's dock. The period is proportionate to the volume and the complexity of verification. There is a mechanism for provisional notice, so an incomplete claim filed in time is preserved. And there is a remedy attached, rather than a notice obligation standing alone.

A window that fails any one of those can be reasonable. A window that fails all four, attached to a multi-month delivery, is effectively a waiver.

When does the clock start, precisely: first delivery, final delivery, or completion of intake? Does an aggregated report requirement bar supplementing later? Is there a sampling standard both sides accept as evidence? What is the remedy for a confirmed discrepancy, and is it excluded elsewhere in the agreement? The drafting answers are in the discrepancy clause guide.