Credit application automation where the agents build the file and the credit analyst decides
New customers order sooner, and shell applicants are stopped before the first shipment.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Credit Application Processing is credit application automation for new business customers who want to buy on open-account terms. Seven agents work every application: they build the applicant’s dossier from the application, W-9, ID, bank and trade references and the credit report, check identity, sanctions and the TIN, compare every fact across every source and recommend a limit and terms with cited reasons. The credit analyst asks them why, then approves, edits or declines with a reason code and an e-signature.
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Every new business customer that wants to buy on open account has to be checked first: the credit application, a W-9, the owner's ID and the personal guarantee, a bank reference, three trade references and a business credit report. The credit analyst gathers them by email and phone over several days, keys the numbers into a spreadsheet scorecard, writes a short memo and sends it up the authority matrix by email — while the sales representative asks what credit still needs, because the first order cannot ship.
Under that pressure the identity checks are the first to go. A shell applicant with a fresh EIN, a virtual office and two friendly references gets a limit, orders to a storage unit and disappears without paying. A TIN with two digits swapped or the wrong terms keyed into the customer master become tax, dispute and cash application problems later. And the reason a customer got its limit lives in an email no auditor can find.
Estimated split for a typical new trade credit application, by hand and with the solution.
Seven agents build each applicant's dossier, chase the references, check identity and the TIN, and recommend cited terms; the credit analyst signs.
Bluepine Contractors, LLC — commercial roofing and framing in Boise, Idaho — applies through the online application its sales representative sent, for $75,000 on net 30. Its first order, SO 4410387 for $18,640 of roof trusses and sheathing, is waiting for a job that starts Monday. Here is how Ivy Chen works it with the agents, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Ivy's home screen holds four numbers — 14 open applications, 6 that need her, 11 references out, a 1.3-day median to decision in October — and the six decisions in the order they block shipments. Beside it the agents report what they did overnight in the conversation, and she can answer them or ask anything.
Intake agent: “Bluepine first: its first order delivers Monday and only a corrected W-9 stands between it and credit. Quillfeather looks like a shell; I have not let it near a limit.”
Each slot was filled by an agent with its source and key finding: 46 of 46 fields, signed by Jordan Pike with the guarantee; an active Idaho registration since 3 Mar 2017, Jordan Pike 60% and Dana Pike 40%; the signer's licence verified at 0.97 with no sanctions match; the bank reference; a credit report scoring 68, 4 days beyond terms, maximum $55,000. One slot is red: the W-9.
“Watch it assemble” replays the agents' work slot by slot.
The reference agent sent three trade requests on 12 Oct. Ridgeline Lumber Supply returned the form: high credit $72,000, paid in 31 days. Cascade Fastener Co. replied by email: $48,000, 37 days. Northfork Equipment Rental is silent after two reminders, but policy needs two of three. Each referee was checked for registry age, shared address, phone or owner.
“Agents never decide; they report and hand on.” Confidence 95% · hands to Ivy Chen if a referee stalls or looks wrong.
Working on its own instructions, the checker compared 31 facts about Bluepine across 12 sources: 29 agree, 1 is waiting on the third reference and 1 disagrees. The W-9 gives the EIN as 82-4417093, the bureau as 82-4417039 — the last two digits are swapped. The TIN check fails on the first number and passes on the second.
“A W-9 can only be corrected and signed by the applicant, so a corrected W-9 is a condition.”
The terms agent shows its working under Credit Policy CP-3: the verified references average $60,000, the bureau maximum is $55,000, the lower of the two less the 10% new-account reduction is $49,500, rounded to $50,000. Ivy can move the limit, change the terms or add a condition, and the checker re-tests every rule — 8 of 8 pass as recommended.
Because $50,000 is less than the $75,000 asked for, the letter will be a counteroffer.
Ivy taps the question under the conversation and the terms agent answers in plain words, with a citation for each number. At about $35,000 a month paid in 34 days, peak exposure is near $40,000, so Monday's order fits, and the six-month review can raise the limit on Kestrel & Vane's own ledger.
Terms agent: “Because the evidence supports less.”
Ivy approves the counteroffer with a condition. The agents suggest reason codes; she picks TR-1, trade references support the limit, and CN-1, condition must be met before credit goes live. She confirms she has read the dossier, the cross-check and the reasons, and signs with the meaning of her signature.
Signing means: “I approve these terms under Credit Policy CP-3.”
The decision is recorded with her e-signature. The counteroffer with the W-9 request is drafted and waits for her to press Send. ERP customer 300-48821 is created with $50,000 on net 30 and a credit block until the TIN matches. Tasha Brooks is told in plain words what Bluepine must send, and a condition watch is set.
“Condition watch set — TIN re-checked the moment a corrected W-9 arrives.”
The letter to Jordan Pike offers $50,000 on net 30, says it is less than asked, asks for a corrected, signed W-9 through a secure upload link and carries the ECOA notice. Beside it the notice clocks under 12 CFR 1002.9: notice of action by 12 Nov, reasons sent within 30 days of a request made within 60 days of notice, and the counteroffer open 90 days.
Nothing goes out until a person presses Send.
Quillfeather Interiors asks for $40,000 on net 45 with a $38,900 first order to be shipped to a self-storage unit in Las Vegas. It says it has traded since 2014; the Nevada registry shows it formed seven weeks ago. A virtual office shared by 212 businesses, a new VoIP number, a failed ID liveness check, and two referees registered together — one sharing Quillfeather's registered agent — both replying from webmail within 40 minutes. The checker stopped the recommendation.
“The checker stopped the recommendation. A person must decide, with a reason.”
The same application, seen by four of the people who carry it — what the week looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents build each applicant's dossier, chase the references, check identity and the TIN, and recommend cited terms; the credit analyst signs.
Reads a credit application in any form — web, PDF, scan or email — checks completeness, signatures and the terms version, opens the dossier, and drafts the exact request for anything missing for a person to send.
Sends the bank and trade reference requests, reminds after 24 and 48 hours, reads forms, emails, PDFs and phone notes into high credit, terms and days to pay, and checks that every referee is a real, independent business.
Checks the state business registration and the owners, the signer's government ID with a liveness check, the entity, owners and guarantors against sanctions lists with the 50 Percent Rule, and the TIN on the W-9.
Pulls the business credit report and summarises the score, days beyond terms, trade lines, liens, judgments and the recommended maximum in one line.
Independently compares every fact — legal name, TIN, address, phone, owners, signer, referees, history — across every source, runs the shell and bust-out rules, and tests the recommendation against the credit policy rule by rule.
Recommends the limit, payment terms, risk class and conditions under the credit policy with every reason cited, says when a recommendation is above the analyst's authority, and drafts the approval, counteroffer or decline letter.
After a signed decision, writes the ERP customer, limit, terms and credit block with each field's source, tells the sales representative in plain words, sets the review date and carries conditions through.
Decides with a reason code; above $100K the credit manager. The agents propose; a named person decides.
On every application the agents answer in the same conversation — and every answer points to its source.
Why not $75,000?
Because the evidence supports less. The two references that replied give Bluepine at most $72,000 and $48,000 — an average of $60,000. The bureau's maximum is $55,000. Policy takes the lower, less 10% for a new account: $49,500, rounded to $50,000. At about $35,000 a month paid in 34 days, peak exposure is near $40,000, so the 19 Oct order fits.
Why does Bluepine's TIN not match?
The W-9 says 82-4417093; the IRS record for the legal name is under 82-4417039, the number on the bureau file — the last two digits are swapped. The TIN check fails on the first and passes on the second. Only Jordan Pike can sign a corrected W-9, so it is a condition.
What if the W-9 never comes?
Then credit never goes live: the account stays on a credit block and orders ship prepaid only. The checker re-checks the TIN the moment a new W-9 arrives. Rafael Ortiz, the onboarding specialist, gets a task after 5 days, and the counteroffer lapses after 90 days with a notice to the applicant.
Make it $60,000
Re-proposed at $60,000. That is above the policy formula ($50,000) and the bureau's maximum ($55,000), so it needs a reason code from you; it is still within your $100,000 authority. The checker re-tested it: 6 of 8 rules pass, 2 need your reason.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
Credit Policy CP-3 is set out as rules the agents follow. Every change needs the approval of the credit manager or the controller, and is on the audit trail.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| §2.2 References | Two verified trade references and one bank reference above $25,000; a third requested | Changed with Owen Whitaker's approval |
| §2.4 Initial limit | Lower of the reference average high credit and the bureau maximum, less 10%, rounded to $5,000 | Changed with Owen Whitaker's approval |
| §2.6 Guarantee | LLC under 3 years, or a sole owner above $50,000 | Changed with Owen Whitaker's approval |
| §3.2 Tax identity | TIN must match the IRS record before credit goes live; an approval may carry it as a condition | Changed with Celia Moreau's approval |
| §3.4 Sanctions | Review similarity ≥ 0.85; only a person clears a hit; 50 Percent Rule | Changed with Celia Moreau's approval |
| §4.1 Terms by class | A: up to net 60 · B: net 30–45 · C: net 30 with guarantee · D: prepay | Changed with Owen Whitaker's approval |
| §5.1 Authority | Analyst $100,000 · credit manager $500,000 · controller above · maker ≠ checker | Changed with Celia Moreau's approval |
| §5.4 Fraud signals | Formed < 6 months, virtual address, VoIP phone, webmail or related referees, ship-to elsewhere, linked write-off | Changed with Owen Whitaker's approval |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample applications · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (NACM, 2025 B2B Credit Insights white paper — bank and trade reference delays the biggest blocker, 59% of credit teams use government ID verification; vendor case studies — up to 5 days to approve before automation; 12 CFR 1002.9, Regulation B, on notices for business credit). People, companies, banks and numbers named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Credit Application Processing is credit application automation for new business customers who want to buy on open-account terms. Seven agents work every application: they build the applicant’s dossier from the application, W-9, ID, bank and trade references and the credit report, check identity, sanctions and the TIN, compare every fact across every source and recommend a limit and terms with cited reasons. The credit analyst asks them why, then approves, edits or declines with a reason code and an e-signature.
The reference agent sends the requests, reminds after 24 and 48 hours and prepares a call script for a person after 48. It reads reference forms, emails, PDFs and phone notes into high credit, terms and days to pay, and checks that each referee is a real, independent business — its registry age, and any address, phone, owner or registered agent it shares with the applicant.
The identity agent checks the registry, the owners, the signer's ID with a liveness check, sanctions and the TIN, and the checker agent compares every fact across every source against your fraud signals: a company formed under six months ago, a virtual address, a VoIP phone, webmail or related referees, a ship-to away from the business, a link to a written-off account. When the signals stack up, the checker stops the recommendation and a person decides.
Yes. The terms agent shows its working step by step under your credit policy, each number cited to the reference, the bureau report or the policy section, and the analyst can ask it why in plain words. Move the limit or the terms and the checker re-tests every rule; going above the policy formula needs a reason code.
The terms agent drafts the approval, counteroffer or decline letter from the cited reasons, and the letter screen tracks the clocks under 12 CFR 1002.9: notice of action, the 60-day window for a statement of reasons on request, and the 90 days a counteroffer stays open. A letter goes out only when a person presses Send.
Yes. The agents propose and never approve, decline, contact an applicant or write to the ERP on their own. The credit analyst approves, edits or rejects with reason codes and an e-signature, the authority matrix routes larger limits to the credit manager or the controller, and only a person clears a sanctions hit or overrules the checker.
Yes. Reference requirements, the initial limit formula, guarantee rules, the TIN and sanctions rules, terms by risk class, the authority matrix and the fraud signals are all rules you set, along with thresholds such as the new-account reduction and the reminder schedule. Every rule change needs an approver and is on the audit trail.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your credit policy, application form, letter templates and a sample of past applications — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own applications first.
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1-min demoWe'll run Credit Application Processing on a sample of your own past credit applications and your credit policy.