How credit control works

Q: A foreign-currency invoice: which figure is compared with the limit?

The amount in local currency . The document is converted with its rate, both its total and what is paid with it.

Q: How do I switch off the limits for one customer?

Set the action of the Amount limit and of the Day limit to Ignore on the customer in Accounting: both rules are then skipped. A credit hold still blocks until it is lifted. Do not set the limit to 0: a limit of 0 with Block blocks every credit sale ( Customer details in Accounting that CRM uses ).

Before a credit sale is saved, it is compared with the customer's credit limit, credit days and credit hold. A rule set to Block refuses the sale; a rule set to Warning lets you continue after reading why.

CRM Credit control

5 min read

Updated October 20, 2026

For Credit controller Sales staff Accountant Manager or owner

The three rules

Rule	Applies to	Breaks when
Over credit limit	Invoices (also POS bills and recurring invoices), delivery notes, sales orders	The balance after the sale is above the Amount limit
Past credit days	Invoices (also POS bills and recurring invoices) and delivery notes; not orders	The document gives more days to pay than the Day limit, or the customer's oldest unpaid bill is at least Day limit days old
Credit hold	Every credit sale	A credit controller put the customer on hold (Credit hold)

Each of the first two rules has its own action on the customer in Accounting: Block refuses the sale, Warning lets you continue after reading, Ignore (or empty) skips the rule. Credit hold always blocks.

Sales orders follow their own rule: they only warn, unless your company's order settings block over-limit orders. See Which sales are checked.

The figures it uses

Balance after this document: the customer's ledger balance in the sale's branch (and business unit, where limits are kept per business unit), plus what this sale leaves owing.
What this sale leaves owing: the document total less what is paid now with it (a receipt taken on the invoice). A sale paid in full with the sale leaves nothing owing and is not checked at all.
Oldest unpaid bill: how many days ago the oldest bill that is still unpaid was dated, settling payments against the oldest bills first, across all branches. It counts from the bill date, not the due date.
All amounts are in local currency: a foreign-currency document is converted with its rate.
Editing an invoice: the invoice's own earlier posting, and the receipt saved with it, are left out of the balance, so the sale is not counted twice.

The messages show these figures, for example "Balance after this document would be 152,000.00 against a credit limit of 150,000.00.", "The document allows 45 days to pay; the customer's credit term is 30 days." or "The customer's oldest unpaid bill is 62 days old; the credit term is 30 days."

The outcome

Outcome	When	At the sales screen	When saved
Allowed	No rule breaks, the sale leaves nothing on credit, or the ledger is a cash ledger	Saves without a dialog	Saved
Warning	Only rules set to Warning break	The Credit warning dialog; Continue and save	Saved
Blocked	A rule set to Block breaks, or the customer is on hold	The Credit blocked dialog; no save button; Request credit release	Refused; nothing is saved
Blocked, but a release covers it	An approved release of yours covers the amount	Credit release applies; Save using CRL-...	Saved; the release shows Used by the document

Worked example: one customer, five sales

ABC Traders has an Amount limit of 100,000 with the action Block, and owes 85,000 in the branch of the sale. Its Day limit action is Ignore, so only the limit and a hold can stop a sale.

Sale	Left on credit	Balance after	Result
Invoice of 10,000	10,000	95,000	Allowed: within the limit
Invoice of 20,000	20,000	105,000	Blocked: Over credit limit
Invoice of 20,000 with a receipt of 20,000 saved with it	0	Not checked	Allowed: paid in full
Sales order of 20,000	20,000	105,000	A Warning only, unless your order settings block over-limit orders
Invoice of 1,000 while the customer is on credit hold	1,000	86,000	Blocked by the hold, although the limit is not reached

The same invoice of 20,000 under the three actions of the Amount limit:

Amount limit actions	Result
Block	Blocked: "Credit blocked" and no save button
Warning	Credit warning: it can be saved after reading
Ignore, or empty	The rule is skipped and the invoice saves

The oldest unpaid bill counts from its bill date, not its due date. With a Day limit of 30 and the action Warning or Block, an unpaid invoice dated 35 days ago breaks the rule even if it gave 60 days to pay and is not yet overdue.

What is a cash sale

A sale is a cash sale only when it is to the cash book or a cash selling customer, or it is paid in full with the sale. A cash mark on the document does not count by itself. Details: What counts as a cash sale.

What changes when a credit sale is checked

Area	Allowed or Warning	Blocked
The document	Saved as usual	Not saved
The customer's account	The invoice posts as always	Nothing
CRM	Nothing is stored (a release used shows Used)	Nothing is stored; you can ask for a release
You	Warning: a dialog to read first	The dialog with the reasons and the figures

Common questions

A foreign-currency invoice: which figure is compared with the limit?

The amount in local currency. The document is converted with its rate, both its total and what is paid with it.

Does an edited invoice count twice?

No. The invoice's own earlier posting, and the receipt saved with it, are left out of the balance.

How do I switch off the limits for one customer?

Set the action of the Amount limit and of the Day limit to Ignore on the customer in Accounting: both rules are then skipped. A credit hold still blocks until it is lifted. Do not set the limit to 0: a limit of 0 with Block blocks every credit sale (Customer details in Accounting that CRM uses).