How does the duty drawback partner program work?
Partners join one of three tracks, set by licensing: licensed brokers file, advisers refer and advise, and IEEPA refund firms join by licensing status.
FAQ
Partnering with NexQloud Drawback
Licensed customs brokers file. CPA firms and other advisers refer and advise, and IEEPA refund firms join by licensing status.
- Filed by a licensed broker†
- Published fees, charged after CBP pays
- Sealed on AMD SEV-SNP
18 questions
Read the full answer
Do I need existing duty drawback expertise to become a partner?
No. Brokers need a license and a named licensed reviewer, not a drawback desk: the agent drafts the claim package, and certification, which takes 2 to 3 hours, teaches the workflow.
The detail
Advisers need no drawback knowledge at all; they refer, advise and handle the accounting, and they never prepare claims.
What does joining the partner program cost?
Advisers and unlicensed refund firms pay nothing to join; licensed brokers pay software fees, with the workspace fee credited against their claim packages.
How do customs brokers earn revenue from duty drawback?
Brokers earn by filing drawback for clients at a price they set, under their own license and brand, and pay us software fees per claim package.
Do customs brokers need a separate license to file drawback claims?
No. Drawback is customs business under your broker license; there's no separate drawback license.
The detail
You need a way to transmit drawback claims (ACE entry type 47) through ABI, and a national permit lets you file at any of CBP's four drawback offices: Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco.
Onboarding verifies your license and permit.
Do I lose the client relationship?
No. The power of attorney runs directly between you and your client, and the platform never collects or relays it.
The detail
Registered deals are protected for 12 months, we never quote your registered client below your price, and the client's choice always prevails.
White-label partners keep their brand on everything the client sees.
- CBP ruling H350722, Jan 16, 2026[5]
- NexQloud Drawback partner terms[1]
Is this compliant with CBP broker regulations?
The program is built around CBP's broker rules, and trade counsel reviews the structure before launch.
What is the minimum client size worth referring?
There's no minimum. Any client that pays duty on goods it later exports or destroys may qualify.
The detail
The fee floor is $750 per filed claim, never more than 25% of what that claim recovers, so small claims stay proportionate.
The estimator gives a quick first read before you register the deal.
How can customs brokers help clients with IEEPA tariff refunds?
File their CAPE declarations, and let us sequence the drawback.
The detail
Only the importer of record or its filing broker may submit a CAPE declaration.
Our sequencing check flags every entry with IEEPA duty and holds it off drawback claims until its CAPE question is settled.
We never sell CAPE work.
How do CPA firms work with NexQloud Drawback?
CPA firms refer clients, advise them and handle the accounting; their clients get partner pricing, and the firm bills its own work.
How do IEEPA refund firms work with NexQloud Drawback?
Refund firms add drawback, the refund that repeats, for the clients whose CAPE work they already do, on the track their licensing allows.
What is white-label, and who can use it?
White-label puts your brand on the client workspace, emails and claim documents, and it's open to licensed customs brokers and licensed firms.
How does deal registration work?
Register a client before it signs up, and once the client confirms, the deal is protected for 12 months.
The detail
During that time we never quote the client below your price, and the client's choice of broker and provider always prevails.
Register from the partner portal, or with "Register a deal" on the apply page.
How long does it take to start, and does training count for CE or CPE?
Apply, and we reply within 2 business days.
Then come verification, the partner and data agreements, a 2- to 3-hour certification, a sandbox run of the demonstration file (synthetic data) in Sealed and Standard, and a pilot with one quarter of one client.
The detail
Licensed brokers need 36 continuing-education credits every three years; our course counts toward them, and toward CPA CPE, only once an accredited version is approved.
- 19 CFR 111.102[9]
- NexQloud Drawback partner terms[1]
Also asked
- What does partner onboarding involve?
Do you pay referral fees?
No. We pay no referral fees.
CBP bars brokers from any arrangement in which customs-business fees "inure to the benefit of" an unlicensed person, and CPA rules restrict referral pay further.
The detail
So clients of our Advisory Partners and unlicensed Recovery Partners get partner pricing, 10% off the published percentage fee, and partners bill their own work directly to the client.
The discount applies when a NexQloud partner broker files.
Also asked
- Why can't unlicensed partners share in the fees?
- Is there a duty drawback referral fee?
What conduct rules apply to partners?
Every partner follows the same rules: no unsolicited bulk outreach, no urgency, no telling a prospect it qualifies before its entries are checked.
The detail
No requests for ACE logins or bank details, approved claims only, and disclosed material connections in any endorsement.
These rules track CBP's fraud warning signs and the FTC's endorsement guides.
Do my clients need Sealed?
Some do. Recommend Sealed when a client's records hold trade secrets (supplier prices, formulas or customer lists it protects), export-controlled data, or a customer contract that requires confidential processing.
The detail
Standard is enough when the records hold nothing the client would mind a named, logged NexQloud specialist seeing, or an outside AI provider processing.
Same checks, same licensed broker in both modes. In either mode, export-controlled technical data (ITAR or EAR) stays out of the file.
At list price, Standard costs the client 2 points less and the filing broker $250 less per claim package of up to 1,000 matched lines.
Can I set the default mode for my clients?
Yes. You choose the default mode for your clients' workspace: Sealed, Standard or "The client will choose."
The detail
Clients can switch for later uploads.
If you set a mode, it starts selected for each client you bring, with your default shown as the reason, and sign-up skips the mode question.
If the client will choose, sign-up follows the usual order. A mode the client already picked with a button stays selected.
Otherwise its answer to one question decides.
If its records include supplier prices, formulas or customer lists it protects, a customer or contract that requires confidential processing, or export-controlled goods or defense work, Sealed starts selected, with the reason shown; "None of these" starts Standard.
With no answer, Standard starts selected, unless the client came from our Sealed, Why Sealed, Regulated trade or aerospace and defense pages.
The client always sees both fees and can pick the other mode, and the default never changes the price.
Editorial
Sources and changes
Written by the NexQloud Drawback team from the primary sources linked on this page.
Change log
- First published.
Not legal advice. NexQloud Drawback is not a government agency.
NexQloud Drawback is software used by licensed customs brokers.
Get started
Read less. Run the demo.
Run the demo on a sample file. About three minutes.
-
01
Upload one quarter.
Entry summaries, invoices and export records.
WhoYou
-
02
AI drafts your claim.
It ties each export to its import, to the cent.
WhoThe agent
-
03
Your broker files. CBP pays you.
The refund goes directly to your bank account.
WhoA licensed broker
Your email and name open the demo. We never ask for your ACE login or bank details.
Ready now? Start a claimIEEPA refunds
Got your IEEPA refund? Drawback is the one that repeats.
We check every entry for CAPE first, the order CBP recommends.[7] Drawback can recur every year.
Which tariffs qualify?
For partners
Be the firm that finds your clients a second refund.
Brokers earn the drawback fee. CPA firms bill their own work. Refund firms keep their CAPE clients. Design partners help shape it before launch.
Apply to partner
No fee to apply. We reply within 2 business days.
What is duty drawback?
A refund of up to 99% of the duties, taxes and fees you paid on imports that you later export or destroy, or that went into products you export.[17] It works in any industry.
When can I start?
We open to importers in waves, in the order of the waitlist. The demo shows the whole product with sample data today, and partners can apply now.
What will you need from me?
One quarter of records to start: entry summaries, invoices, packing lists, shipping documents, and export, return or destruction records.
How long until CBP pays?
With accelerated payment, CBP can pay before the claim is final. Its only published timing, from December 2018: processing "will generally take place within 3 weeks of the claim resubmission date."[18]
Can I use my own customs broker?
Yes. Invite your own broker, or use one we name before you sign. Your POA stays with your broker, and your broker sets its own fee.
What if CBP pays less than claimed?
The fee follows what CBP actually pays. If CBP later recovers part of a payment, the fee is reduced to match.
Do you file CAPE claims?
No. We check every entry for CAPE first and flag what belongs there. You or your broker files CAPE. Refund firms work through one of you.