Credit control reviewers decide the agent's held actions on business customers: accounts going on stop, credit notes, payment plans and escalation to collection. Onboard a new reviewer with access and red lines first, then shadowing, reviewer training, a two-week practicum that includes an open dispute and a key account, and finally sign-off with limits on value and on stops.
What does a credit control reviewer decide?
The credit control agent chases overdue invoices. It sends statements and reminders on a schedule at depth 3, drafts firmer letters at depth 2, logs promises to pay, and matches remittances. It holds four kinds of action for a person: putting an account on stop, raising a credit note above a limit, agreeing a payment plan outside terms, and passing a debt to collection or legal.
Each of those can damage a business relationship that took years to build. Stopping supply to a customer who has an open dispute about a faulty delivery turns a quality complaint into a lost account. Raising a credit note to make a dispute go away without the sales team's view loses margin. The reviewer must see the whole account, not just the overdue line. That is the reason, made in the reviewer is the control, not the agent, that review quality decides how safe the agent is.
How to use the checklist
The credit control manager owns it. Run the stages in order and sign each line. A new reviewer gets no rights to stop accounts until stage 5. The method for stages 2 to 4 is described in how to train the credit control team to review AI agent decisions. The overall training order is in the guide to training teams for AI agents.
The checklist
| Stage | Item | Signed by | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Set-up | Read-only access to the ledger view and the held queue | Manager | |
| 1 | Agent capabilities read: reminders and statements (3), firm letters (2), stops (held), credit notes above limit (held), plans outside terms (held), referral to collection (4, held) | Reviewer | |
| 1 | Red lines signed: no stop on an account with an open dispute; no credit note without the reason recorded and sales informed; no referral to collection on a key account without the account owner's view | Reviewer and manager | |
| 2. Shadowing | Two days with a certified reviewer | Buddy | |
| 2 | Seen a held stop released because of an open dispute | Buddy | |
| 2 | Seen a remittance mismatch resolved | Buddy | |
| 3. Training | Shared foundation complete, test passed | Learning lead | |
| 3 | Reviewer modules complete; written exam passed | Learning lead | |
| 4. Practicum | Two weeks of real held decisions, confirmed by a buddy | Buddy | |
| 4 | Coverage: an open dispute, a key account, a credit note request and a plan outside terms | Manager | |
| 4 | Incident drill completed | Manager | |
| 5. Sign-off | Assessor sign-off; no missed red line | Assessor | |
| 5 | Limits recorded: stop rights, credit note value, plan length | Manager | |
| 5 | Renewal date entered | Manager |
What does it look like filled in?
An illustrative wholesaler's credit control team welcomes Sample Reviewer P. The agent chases invoices on 30-day terms and holds any stop, any credit note over 500 and any plan longer than 90 days.
In shadowing, her buddy releases a held stop on a hardware chain because the ledger notes show a dispute about a damaged pallet, still open with the warehouse. The buddy messages the account manager and sets a follow-up date instead. Later, a remittance for 4,800 against two invoices of 2,400 is matched by the agent to the wrong pair; the buddy corrects it and flags the pattern to the agent owner.
During her practicum, Sample Reviewer P decides 70 held actions. She declines a credit note of 1,200 the customer had requested by email, because no delivery fault was recorded, and asks sales to confirm. She holds a referral to collection on a key account until the account owner replies. She is signed off at the end of week 7 with stop rights for accounts under 10,000 and credit notes up to 1,000. The drill she joined followed how to run an AI agent incident drill for the credit control team.
How is this different from the credit and collections checklists?
Credit control deals with business customers you want to keep trading with. The credit team decides who gets credit in the first place, as in the reviewer onboarding checklist for the credit team. Collections deals mostly with consumers in arrears, where vulnerability is the main concern, as in the reviewer onboarding checklist for the collections team.
Questions people ask
Should sales be told about every held stop?
For key accounts, yes, before the decision. For smaller accounts, tell them after, with the reason. A stop that surprises the sales team damages trust inside the business as well as outside it.
Can the agent put an account on stop by itself?
Only if the business decides to let it, within bounds, after its certificate covers that capability. Many businesses keep stops held for a person because of the relationship risk.
How long until a new credit control reviewer is signed off?
About seven weeks in the example above. It can be quicker if the reviewer has credit control experience, but the practicum should still run its two weeks.