A repeat wholesale buyer sends a new order. Finance flags that the account is over its approved credit limit. Sales has two tempting but risky responses: “Your order is rejected” or “We'll ship it anyway.” Neither is the right default. Treat the order as pending financial review, with a named owner and a next action.
Credit exposure is not just the last invoice balance
The decision depends on your company's policy: the approved limit, outstanding receivables, overdue invoices, open orders included in exposure and agreed payment terms. A salesperson should not calculate available credit from memory or a WhatsApp thread. Finance's approved record must be the source of truth.
Microsoft's sales order credit hold documentation describes different reasons for a hold, including overdue balances, credit limit use and changes in payment terms. It is an international ERP example, not an Egyptian accounting rule or a statement that Mr. AI integrates with that ERP.
Keep account status separate from order status
An account can remain active while one unusually large order requires approval. Conversely, an account-level restriction may affect every new order. Record the internal hold reason precisely, but do not expose sensitive ledger details to an unverified recipient or a shared group chat.
Consider a hypothetical customer with an approved limit of EGP 200,000 and exposure calculated by finance at EGP 190,000. A new EGP 40,000 order would take the illustrative exposure to EGP 230,000. That flags a review; it does not authorize a deposit arrangement, a credit increase or an exception. Finance must validate the calculation and available options.
Tell the customer what happens next, not the entire ledger
A useful response is: “We've received your order. It's undergoing an account review before fulfillment can be confirmed. Our team will update you with the next step. Dispatch has not yet been approved.”
If policy allows an advance payment, settlement or temporary exception, present it only after the responsible finance approver confirms the terms. Do not promise that inventory will remain reserved throughout the hold without a separate policy. Our inventory reservation guide explains why stock commitment needs its own decision.
Four useful states for the team
Use clear statuses: Awaiting finance review, Customer action required, Documented exception approved, and Not approved with an internal reason. Give each state an owner and a next review date. Sales should not turn an on-hold order into ready-to-ship based on a friendly conversation alone.
Review hold aging, cases without an owner and shipping promises made before approval each month. Track the commercial effect, but do not count every hold as a lost opportunity. Some holds are necessary to protect cash collection and credit discipline.
What Mr. AI can and cannot do
Mr. AI can help receive the inquiry, reply using approved company knowledge, track the next step and summarize the context for a human reviewer. That is not evidence of automated credit exposure calculations, ledger access or authority to release an order. Keep finance accountable for the decision, then test the messaging workflow with sales.
