Track Workflow Stages for New Buyer Credit Applications in Trade Shield

Created by Roxanne Fourie, Modified on Mon, 8 Jun at 9:28 PM by Amy Sara Price

Trade Shield | Knowledge Centre HOW-TO MANUAL

Track Workflow Stages for New Buyer Credit Applications in Trade Shield

⏳ 5 min read 7 stages

This article explains how to check the workflow stages for a New Buyer (Standard Credit Application) in Trade Shield. It outlines each approval stage, the responsible parties, and expected time frames. This guide is intended for end-users and requestors who need visibility into the credit application process.

Prerequisites

Access to Trade Shield.
Permission to view Workflow Overview.
Submitted credit application (New Buyer workflow).

In this article

1. Open Workflow Overview	2. Locate Your Application
Stage 1 – Bureau Confirming Company Details	Stage 2 – Initial Risk Screening
Stage 3 – Waiting for Customer to Fill Out Application	Stage 4 – Requesting More Data
Stage 5 – Bureau Confirming Company Details (Research Report)	Stage 6 – Limit Recommendation
Stage 7 – Final Approval (Levels 1–5)	Troubleshooting

Open Workflow Overview in Trade Shield

Navigate to Workflow Overview in the left-hand menu. This page displays all applications and their current workflow stages.

Use the filter options to narrow down by department, label, or assignment.

WORKFLOW OVERVIEW SCREEN

app.tradeshield.ai/workflow-overview

Sales Team Demo account

NAVIGATION

⌂ Home

? Knowledge Centre

FABRIC WORKFLOWS

▶ Start Workflow

☷ Workflow Overview

DEPARTMENTS

◇ Corporate Traveller

◇ Digital Generation

◇ Infraset

◇ PG Group

◇ Shell South Africa

◇ Trade Shield

LABELS

● Overdue

● In Progress

Workflow Overview

? Search workflows

All Assigned to me

IN-PROGRESS 1 - 20 of 931 ►

BOSBEDERF VAKANSIES Feb 5, 2026

Final Approval Level 1

Assigned To Inoxica Team

AGILE CLOUD LIMITED Jan 30, 2026

Final Approval Level 1

Assigned To Financial Assessment's Final Approvers 1 Team

LUNAR VIEW HOLDINGS Jan 29, 2026

Approval Level 1

Assigned To Financial Assessment's Final Approvers 1 Team

K PONNAN Jan 27, 2026

Approval Level 1

Assigned To Financial Assessment's Final Approvers 1 Team

ⓘ Tip: Use the Departments and Labels filters in the sidebar to quickly find applications assigned to your team or flagged as Overdue.

↓

Locate your application in the list

Each application card shows the stage, status, and assignee. Click on an application to open it and review the full workflow detail. The stages your application will progress through are described below.

↓

Workflow Stages

Review each stage your New Buyer credit application progresses through

Stage 1 – Bureau Confirming Company Details (Confirm Subject Details)

Triggered when: Using the "Can't find company, Add it now" feature.

Responsible party	Trade Shield
Expected time frame	~24 hours
Escalation threshold	If exceeds 24 hours → contact support

Once confirmed, the application moves to Initial Risk Check.

ⓘ Tip: This stage only applies when adding a company not already in the Trade Shield database.

↓

Stage 2 – Initial Risk Screening (Initial Risk Check)

Trade Shield applies pre-knockout rules to determine whether the application meets basic risk criteria. Rules include industry risk, years active, adverse listings, and more.

Responsible party	Initial Risk Review Team (within your organisation)
Expected time frame	Varies by organisation

⚠ Note: If the application fails the pre-knockout rules, it is returned before continuing to the next stage.

↓

Stage 3 – Waiting for Customer to Fill Out Application (Request to Complete Information)

The application is sent to the applicant for completion and submission.

Responsible party	Your applicant
Expected time frame	Unknown — auto-cancellation after 30 days

Once completed, the application proceeds to Application Verification.

⚠ Note: Applications not completed within 30 days are automatically cancelled. Follow up with your applicant to avoid this.

↓

Stage 4 – Requesting More Data (Application Verification)

Trade Shield verifies audited financials, bank statements, and all supporting documentation.

Responsible party	Trade Shield
Expected time frame	~30 minutes
Escalation threshold	If exceeds 2 hours → contact support

In Fabric, this stage displays as: Correction Request – Incomplete Submission (End-Application Verification)

⚠ Note: If validation fails, the application is returned to Request to Complete Information so corrections can be made.

↓

Stage 5 – Bureau Confirming Company Details (Research Report)

Trade Shield prepares the research report after verification is complete. The report is attached to the application once finished.

Responsible party	Trade Shield
Expected time frame	~30 minutes
Escalation threshold	If exceeds 2 hours → contact support

ⓘ Tip: Once this stage is complete, the research report will be visible as an attachment on the application card.

↓

Stage 6 – Limit Recommendation

Trade Shield processes a limit recommendation based on the credit assessment.

Responsible party	Trade Shield
Expected time frame	~30 minutes
Escalation threshold	If exceeds 2 hours → contact support

ⓘ Tip: The recommended credit limit will be visible once this stage completes and will feed into the Final Approval stage.

↓

Stage 7 – Final Approval (Levels 1–5)

The application now awaits approval from your organisation's internal approval team(s). There can be up to 5 approval levels depending on your organisation's structure.

Responsible party	Your internal Final Approval Team
Expected time frame	Varies by organisation

Click Assigned To in Workflow Overview to see who is responsible at each approval stage.

ⓘ Tip: Ensure all supporting documents are attached to the application before this stage to avoid bottlenecks in the approval process.

⚠ Troubleshooting

▶ Symptom: Application appears stuck in a stage longer than expected

Cause: The reviewing team (Trade Shield or your internal organisation) may have a backlog, or required information is still being validated.

Resolution:

Compare the time elapsed with the expected timeframe listed for that stage.
If the delay exceeds:
- 24 hours for Confirm Subject Details
- 2 hours for Verification, Research Report, or Limit Recommendation
- 30 minutes for Trade Shield internal processing
Contact support@tradeshield.ai for assistance.

▶ Symptom: Final approval is taking longer than expected

Cause: Approval times vary based on the number of approval levels (1–5) and your organisation's internal availability.

Resolution:

Check the Assigned To field for the current approver.
Follow up with your internal Final Approval Team if the request is time-sensitive.
Ensure all supporting documents are attached to avoid bottlenecks.