Onboarding a dealer: credit application and agreement
How the Manufacturing pack takes a new dealer from credit application to approved limit and terms and a signed dealer agreement, with people deciding.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Manufacturing businesses in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya
Launching soon. The Industry CRM add-on described in this article is launching soon. This article describes it as it will work at launch.
New dealers usually arrive through a salesperson who is keen to close. The dealer wants stock on the shelf before the season, the rep promises "the usual terms", and the first consignment leaves the factory before anyone has seen a credit application, let alone a signed agreement. Six months later, when the account is overdue, the business discovers it never agreed the limit, the terms or what happens to unsold stock.
Onboarding a dealer properly takes a few documents and two decisions. The Manufacturing & distribution pack in Achekam's Industry CRM puts them in order so that nothing ships on a handshake.
Dealer accounts in the pack
The pack keeps three kinds of record for a manufacturer or distributor: Dealer accounts, Quote requests with configured lines, and Warranty claims with serial numbers. Onboarding happens on the dealer account. Everything that follows, from quotes to warranty claims, then sits against a dealer whose terms were agreed at the start.
The onboarding workflow has three steps:
- a credit application, sent to the dealer as a request;
- a credit limit and payment terms, which a person approves; and
- a dealer agreement, signed electronically.
Step one: the credit application as a request
The workflow sends the prospective dealer a request for the documents your credit policy needs. When the dealer answers, the task moves on, so the account manager can see at a glance which applications are complete and which are waiting.
The pack does not decide what you ask for; your credit policy does. Most manufacturers ask for something like this:
- the dealer's registration documents and the names of its directors or owners;
- bank details on the dealer's letterhead or a bank letter;
- trade references from other suppliers;
- recent financial statements or management accounts, for larger limits;
- the expected monthly purchases, so the limit can be sized sensibly.
Write your list down once and use it for every dealer. A request that varies by salesperson is not a credit policy.
Step two: a person approves the limit and the terms
Once the application is in, someone with authority sets a credit limit and payment terms and approves them. The pack does not suggest a figure and does not run a credit-bureau check. If your policy calls for a bureau report, a person obtains it outside Achekam and considers it with the rest of the application.
That is deliberate, and it is a strength. A credit decision weighs things a system cannot see: the dealer's reputation in its town, how long the owner has been trading, whether the region is one you want to grow in. Recording who approved which limit, on what information, is what lets you defend the decision later. For the thinking behind a limit, Investopedia's overview of credit control explains how managing the credit a business extends to customers supports sales while limiting bad debts.
Keep the roles separate where you can:
| Task | Who usually does it |
|---|---|
| Gathering the credit application | The salesperson or account manager |
| Checking references and documents | Credit controller or accountant |
| Approving the limit and terms | Financial manager or a director |
| Signing the agreement for the business | A director or authorised signatory |
Not every application ends in a yes. A dealer may be approved for a lower limit than it asked for, offered shorter terms until it has a payment record with you, or asked to pay up front for its first orders. Tell the dealer the outcome in writing, and record the reason alongside the decision, so the conversation can be revisited fairly once the dealer has traded for a while.
If you also use Achekam's Wholesale add-on, its trade customers carry a credit limit, terms and a hold. Make sure the figures there match what was approved during onboarding, so the counter and dispatch apply the same limit.
Step three: the dealer agreement, signed electronically
The last step sends the dealer agreement for electronic signature. Signature and initials fields are placed on the document, the business and the dealer can sign in order or all at once, and the envelope can carry an expiry and reminders. When everyone has signed, the signed PDF and a completion certificate are filed back into Documents.
The agreement in the pack is marked as starter wording that your business must review before use. Have your own lawyer adapt it, especially clauses on territory, minimum orders, ownership of goods until paid, returns, warranty handling and ending the relationship. If you decide the agreement must be signed in ink, the pack never offers it for electronic signing; that step simply tracks the paper copy.
What the pack does not do
Being clear about the limits avoids surprises. The Manufacturing pack has no configuration rules, sets no prices, runs no credit-bureau check, does no production planning and approves no warranty claim automatically. In onboarding terms: it organises the documents, the approvals and the signature, and leaves every judgement to the people responsible for it.
Reviewing dealer terms later
A credit limit set at onboarding is a starting point. Dealers grow, struggle, change owners and change how they pay. Put a review date on each dealer agreement, and look again at the limit whenever an account starts paying late or asks for more credit.
Before the next dealer signs
Write down your credit application list, name the people who approve limits and sign agreements, and have your lawyer review the starter agreement. Then the next keen salesperson has a clear path to follow, and the first consignment leaves on terms the business actually agreed. Once the dealer is on board, quotes for configured products follow the process in quoting configured products and confirming orders, and claims follow warranty claims with serial numbers and photos.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
