Overview
The AR Credit Alerts and Holds feature helps you proactively manage customer credit by notifying users when customers are approaching their credit limits, are past due, or should no longer be allowed to place new orders.
These tools help your organization:
Monitor customer credit exposure.
Alert sales staff before credit issues become problems.
Prevent unnecessary credit limit increases.
Stop new orders for customers who should no longer receive credit.
Reduce the risk of purchasing or reserving inventory for customers whose orders cannot be fulfilled.
Accessing AR Credit Alerts and Holds
Navigate to Accounts Receivable.
Open AR Aging.
Select the customer you want to review.
Click Edit.
From the customer record, you can configure:
Past Due / Over Credit Limit Alerts
Credit Limit Threshold
Customer Hold Options
Understanding Customer Credit Information
Before making changes, review the customer's current credit information.
The AR Aging screen displays information such as:
Credit Limit
Remaining Available Credit
Current Accounts Receivable Balance
Past Due Balance
This information helps determine whether a customer should receive a warning, require payment before additional purchases, or be placed on hold.
Enable Past Due and Over Credit Limit Alerts
You can configure a customer account to display an alert whenever the customer is:
Past due
Over their credit limit
When enabled, users are notified during order entry before completing the transaction.
These alerts provide visibility into the customer's account status without preventing business from continuing.
Configure the Credit Limit Threshold
The Credit Limit Threshold provides an early warning before a customer reaches their credit limit.
Instead of waiting until a customer exceeds their available credit, the system alerts users when an order would bring the customer within a specified percentage of their credit limit.
Example
Suppose a customer has:
Credit Limit: $5,000
Credit Limit Threshold: 85%
If a new order would increase the customer's balance to 85% or more of their available credit limit, the system displays a warning before the order is completed.
The alert reminds the salesperson that the customer is approaching their credit limit and may require additional payment before the order is processed.
This allows staff to:
Collect payment before delivery.
Discuss the customer's credit status.
Reduce the likelihood of exceeding established credit limits.
Using a Credit Limit Threshold helps prevent situations where credit limits are repeatedly increased simply to complete deliveries.
Place a Customer on Hold
When a customer should no longer be allowed to place new orders, you can place the account on Hold.
To configure a hold:
Open the customer record from AR Aging.
Click Edit.
Locate the Hold option.
Select the desired hold type.
Save your changes.
Two hold options are available.
Hold Option 1: Alert Only
The Alert option notifies users that the customer is on hold but still allows them to continue entering the order.
When the customer is selected during order entry, the system displays a message similar to:
This customer is on hold. Please contact management before going any further.
After acknowledging the message, authorized users may continue processing the order.
This option is useful when management wants sales staff to verify the customer's status before proceeding but does not want to completely prevent new business.
Hold Option 2: Prevent Writing Orders
The Prevent Writing Orders option completely blocks new sales orders for the customer.
When a salesperson selects the customer during order entry:
A warning message is displayed.
The customer cannot be added to the order.
The user is returned to the customer selection screen.
Unless the customer is removed from hold by an authorized user, no new sales order can be created.
This option is recommended when:
A customer has become a significant credit risk.
The business has decided to suspend future sales.
Collection issues must be resolved before accepting additional orders.
Blocking orders early prevents unnecessary work, such as ordering inventory or preparing deliveries that ultimately cannot be completed.
Administrator Override
Users with administrative permissions may have the ability to update the customer's settings directly from the alert window.
For example, an administrator can:
Remove the hold.
Update the customer's credit settings.
Save the changes.
Allow order processing to continue immediately.
Standard sales users typically do not have access to modify these settings.
Best Practices
Configure a Credit Limit Threshold to notify sales staff before customers reach their credit limits.
Use threshold alerts as an opportunity to collect payment before delivery.
Avoid routinely increasing customer credit limits simply to process additional orders.
Place customers on Alert when management review is desired before continuing business.
Use Prevent Writing Orders when customers should no longer be allowed to place new orders until management removes the restriction.
Periodically review customer holds to ensure they remain appropriate.
Summary
The AR Credit Alerts and Holds feature provides two powerful tools for managing customer credit.
Credit Limit Thresholds help your team proactively manage credit exposure by notifying users before customers reach their credit limits.
Customer Holds allow your organization to either warn users or completely prevent new orders for customers whose accounts require management review.
Using these features together helps improve credit management, reduce financial risk, prevent unnecessary inventory commitments, and ensure that sales staff have the information they need before accepting new business.