A customer who owes more than anyone realised
An importer has been growing fast. The accounts system shows a balance a little over their credit limit, which the credit controller is watching. What it does not show is that there are six containers at sea for that customer, with ocean freight committed to the carrier, and two in customs where your deferment account will carry the duty and import VAT until you invoice. The true exposure is much larger.
When the customer's payments slow down, you find out how much was really at risk.
Why exposure is invisible
Forwarding costs are committed and paid well before the customer is invoiced. Accounts systems report invoiced debt, which lags reality.
- Freight is committed at booking, invoiced on arrival.
- Duties and VAT paid on the customer's behalf are invoiced later.
- Open jobs in the forwarding system are not added to ledger balances.
- Credit limits are checked against invoiced debt only.
- Sales take bookings without seeing the customer's position.
What it costs
The risk is plain: if a customer fails, you carry costs you have already paid on their behalf. Even without failure, heavy exposure ties up your cash. And decisions like holding a release or asking for payment before arrival are made late, or not at all, because nobody saw the position building. We do not advise on credit policy; that is for you and your advisers. The point is to see the number.
The exposure tracking we build
- For each customer, unpaid invoices are read from your accounts system.
- Open jobs are read from your forwarding system, with committed costs from the buy rates and bookings, and disbursements such as duty and VAT once they are known.
- Total exposure per customer, invoiced plus committed, is compared with the credit limit you set.
- Warnings go to sales when a new booking would take a customer over, and to operators before a release where your policy requires a check.
- Accounts see a daily view of customers by exposure against limit, with the jobs and invoices behind each figure.
- Payment behaviour per customer is shown alongside, so limits can be reviewed with evidence.
| Measure | Accounts system | Exposure tracking |
|---|---|---|
| Invoiced debt | Shown | Shown |
| Committed freight | Not shown | From open jobs |
| Duty and VAT paid on behalf | When invoiced | When known |
| Warnings | After the event | Before booking or release |
After
Credit decisions are made with the full position in view, not the part that has reached the ledger. Sales know before accepting a large booking that a customer is close to their limit. Accounts can ask for payment before arrival where your terms allow it, rather than after. And limit reviews use payment behaviour and exposure together.
It also changes how growth feels. A customer whose volumes are rising quickly is good news for sales and a question for finance, and both teams now look at the same figure. The conversation about a higher limit, a deposit, or payment of duty before release can happen while the relationship is going well, rather than when payments are already late.
Checklist
- Credit limits are checked against invoiced debt only.
- You pay duty and VAT for customers before invoicing them.
- Sales cannot see customers' credit position.
- Growing customers have exceeded their limits without warning.
- Releases are not checked against what the customer owes.