Group Limit Reviews — Common Questions
? 6 min read 11 questions answered
Trade Shield can recommend an adjustment to a debtor's group credit limit based on outstanding balances, ageing, and trading behaviour across all linked accounts. This article answers the questions users most often ask when reviewing a group limit recommendation and submitting a limit review.
In this article
Understanding the Recommendation
Q1: How does Trade Shield work out the recommended group limit?
Trade Shield reviews the debtor's current group exposure, outstanding balances, overdue amounts, and a forward-looking Limit and Utilisation Forecast across all linked accounts in the group. The Recommendation tab shows the suggested limit alongside the current limit, current exposure, and current overdue amount so you can see exactly what's driving the change.
RECOMMENDATION TAB
↓ RECOMMENDATION 18 days ago
↓ R2,300,000
REDUCE GROUP LIMIT
R5,700,000
Current Group Limit
R538,314
Current Group Exposure
? LIMIT & UTILISATION FORECAST
Credit Limit: Mar R4M → Apr R4M → May R4.4M
Total Outstanding: R307K → R513K → R611K
Forecasted Credit Limit (Jul): R2.3M
Q2: Where can I see the ageing for each account in the group?
The Trading History tab includes a Group Accounts Ageing table listing every linked account with its credit limit, overdue amount, total outstanding, and the 30/60/90/120-day ageing breakdown.
What to do:
- Open the debtor record and select the Trading History tab.
- Scroll to Group Accounts Ageing to see each linked account individually.
- Use this table alongside the Recommendation tab to understand which accounts are contributing most to the group exposure.
TRADING HISTORY TAB
GROUP ACCOUNTS AGEING
| Account | Credit Limit | Overdue | Total O/S | 30d | 60d |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ■■■■ | R1,500,000 | R54,408 | R54,408 | R0 | R0 |
| ■■■■ | R100,000 | R0 | R0 | R0 | R0 |
| ■■■■ | R600,000 | R0 | R0 | R0 | R0 |
| ■■■■ | R400,000 | R0 | R0 | R0 | R0 |
| ■■■■ | R200,000 | R5,491 | R12,512 | R7,021 | R5,491 |
Account numbers masked for illustration
Q3: What does the External Info tab show, and why does it matter?
The External Info tab shows registrar-related Company Details — registered name, company status, registration number, type of company, date commenced trading, registration date, and financial year end. This confirms you're reviewing the correct legal entity before any limit decision is made, since the Registration Number is the unique identifier used to match the debtor against official records.
EXTERNAL INFO TAB
? Company Details
A view of all registrar related information
Registered Name
■■■■■
Company Status
In Business
Registration Number
■■■■■
Type of Company
Private Company
Initiating a Group Limit Review
Q4: How do I start a Group Limit Review?
Every group debtor record has a Review Group Limit button in the top-right corner, next to the current credit limit, outstanding balance, overdue amount, and terms.
What to do:
- Open the debtor record you want to review.
- Click Review Group Limit in the top-right corner.
- Trade Shield confirms the company name, country, registration number, and company status before continuing — check these are correct.
DEBTOR RECORD
Credit Limit R54,408
Outstanding 30 Days
Terms
Q5: What happens after I confirm the review?
Trade Shield processes the limit review in the background. You'll see a loading screen confirming the review is in progress, and an email notification is sent to you once it's complete. You don't need to keep the page open while this happens.
CONFIRMATION
→ Limit Review
Initiating Limit Review for: [Company Name] t/a [Trading Name]
Country
South Africa
Registration Number
■■■■
Company Status
■■■■
PROCESSING
Limit Review
[Company Name] is in progress and an email will be sent to [your email] once complete.
You can safely close this page or wait to be redirected to the outcome once it has been processed.
ⓘ Tip: You can safely close this page and come back later — the review will still complete and you'll be notified by email.
Q6: How do I read the Limit Recommendation Review page?
This page shows the current limit, the recommended limit, and the maximum risk-adjusted limit Trade Shield will support, alongside the current payment terms. An expandable section explains exactly how the recommendation was calculated.
What to do:
- Review the recommended limit and maximum risk-adjusted limit against your own risk appetite.
- Adjust Payment Terms and the Requested Credit Limit fields if needed.
- Click How we calculated this limit recommendation to see the underlying logic.
LIMIT RECOMMENDATION REVIEW
Limit Recommendation Review
Company Name: ■■■■■
We recommend that you reduce your current limit to R2,300,000
Current Limit
R5,700,000
Recommended Limit
R2,300,000
Max Risk Adjusted Limit
R2,300,000
Payment Terms
30 Days
Requested Credit Limit
2,300,000 ZAR
Submitting a Limit Review Request
Q7: What happens if I request a credit limit above the recommended amount?
Trade Shield displays a warning banner letting you know the requested amount is above the recommended limit, and that the updated recommendation is likely to stay the same even if you proceed. You can still continue, but the system flags this so the decision is made with full visibility.
CREDIT LIMIT AND TERMS
Payment Terms
30 Days
Requested Credit Limit
6,000,000 ZAR
⚠ Consider lowering the amount. The requested credit limit is above the recommended amount of R2,300,000.
⚠ Note: Requesting an amount above the recommendation does not change Trade Shield's underlying risk assessment — it simply records that a higher limit was requested.
Q8: What's the difference between Send Application and Skip Application?
Send Application contacts the customer directly and asks them to complete a questionnaire and supply documentation such as bank statements or financial statements. Skip Application proceeds without contacting the customer at all — useful when you already have what you need internally.
What to do:
- Choose Send Application if the customer needs to provide name, email, and telephone contact details and supporting documents.
- Choose Skip Application if you're proceeding without customer input — you'll be asked to provide a motivation for the approver instead.
- Either way, you can still attach documents and a motivation under Motivation and Documents before submitting.
SKIP APPLICATION
Please provide a motivation as you have decided to skip the questionnaire.
Updated Financial Statements Required
We recommend providing the most recent audited financial statements to ensure an accurate credit limit recommendation.
Q9: What document types can I attach to a limit review?
The Upload Document dialog supports four document types: Credit Application, Financial Statement, Other, and Proof of Insurance. Financial Statement is the most commonly used type for limit reviews, since an updated audited financial statement gives the most accurate recommendation.
What to do:
- Click Upload Document and select the correct Document Type from the dropdown.
- Use Attach File to select the file from your device, then click Confirm.
- The uploaded file appears in the Documents list with its file name and type, ready for submission.
UPLOAD DOCUMENT
Upload Document
Document Types *
Required
DOCUMENT TYPES
Q10: Why am I asked to select the customer's industry before submitting?
Industry classification feeds into how Trade Shield benchmarks risk for that debtor. Confirming the correct industry (for example, Trade, Manufacturing, or Services) ensures the limit recommendation reflects sector-appropriate risk factors rather than a generic default.
DOCUMENT ATTACHED
Upload Document
Financial Statement
Q11: How do I know my limit review submission went through?
Once you click Submit on the final review screen, Trade Shield records the request along with any attached documents and your industry selection. If a financial statement on file is outdated, you'll see an Updated Financial Statements Required notice reminding you to provide the most recent audited statements for an accurate recommendation.
What to do:
- Confirm all required fields and documents are complete before clicking Submit.
- Review the Updated Financial Statements Required banner if it appears, and attach a more recent statement where possible.
- Once submitted, the request moves into the approval workflow for processing.
FINAL REVIEW STEP
| File Name | File Type |
|---|---|
| TEST DOCUMENT.pdf | Financial Statement ? |
Please select [Company]'s industry
Updated Financial Statements Required
At present, we have valid financial statements for the 2025 financial year.
Need more help?
The support team is ready to assist
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