A new counterparty is ready to do business. The credit team needs to confirm the legal entity, locate the right contacts, review credit information, and determine what still needs approval. Where does everyone go for those answers?
If the information is spread across spreadsheets, email threads, and shared folders, even a routine request can become a search. One file has the billing address. Another has a rating. A name change appears in an email that never made it into the main record.
Counterparty onboarding gives energy organizations an opportunity to establish a reliable record before that relationship becomes part of daily trading and settlement activity. Paragon Credit Risk Manager (CRM), MCG Energy’s credit risk management software, supports that work by centralizing counterparty information and managing the process from onboarding through credit assessment and ongoing maintenance.
Where scattered counterparty information creates friction
Consider a credit analyst reviewing a new trading relationship. The analyst finds two versions of the counterparty’s name, a contact list with no clear owner, and a spreadsheet that does not indicate whether its rating is current. Before the assessment can move forward, someone has to reconcile those details.
That extra work can delay handoffs and leave teams relying on different information. It also creates a recurring problem: the next person who needs the record may have to repeat the same search.
A consistent onboarding process helps teams establish which information belongs in the record, who is responsible for checking it, and how changes should be maintained. Those decisions matter well beyond the initial setup.
What should a counterparty onboarding record include
Start with the information your team needs to identify the entity, complete its credit review, and support the relationship. Depending on your organization’s policies, an onboarding checklist may include:
- Legal entity name, previous names, and related entities
- Credit, commercial, billing, and notice contacts and addresses
- Industry classification, credit ratings, and supporting financial information
- Banking and payment information, handled under your internal verification procedures
- Credit review due dates and the person responsible for the next review
- Approval status and any outstanding information requests
The checklist should make missing information visible. A record that contains a company name and a few contacts may still leave the credit team without what it needs to complete an assessment. Clear ownership helps prevent those gaps from carrying into the next stage of the relationship.
How Paragon CRM supports counterparty onboarding
Paragon CRM serves as a system of record for counterparty information. Its counterparty management capabilities include contacts, billing and notice addresses, related entities, industry classifications, credit ratings, credit limits and allocations, and tenor restrictions.
The application also supports configurable workflows aligned with an organization’s credit policies and approval authority. Teams can identify the user or department responsible for the next task and assign users to the appropriate tier of credit approval.
For an onboarding process, that combination provides a place to maintain counterparty information and a structure for coordinating credit tasks. Your team can define the handoffs around its own policies, with a clearer view of what needs attention next.
Explore Paragon’s credit risk management software for more information about counterparty management and workflow capabilities.
Keep the record useful after onboarding
Counterparty information changes. A billing contact moves on, an entity changes its name, or a credit rating needs to be reassessed. The onboarding process should establish how your team will handle those updates so the record remains useful.
Paragon supports ongoing counterparty assessment and maintenance, and users can create custom views that can be shared and used for reporting. As a relationship develops, the counterparty record provides a foundation for the agreements and credit limits your team manages.
A useful starting point is to review one recently onboarded counterparty. Can your team find the information it needs without checking several files or asking who has the latest version? Any gaps you uncover can help shape a more consistent process for the next relationship.
For a broader look at the platform, download the Paragon CRM brochure.
See Paragon CRM in action on October 22
Join Damon Walker, Energy Product Analyst for Paragon CRM, for our free webinar, Managing Energy Credit Risk with Paragon CRM: Product Overview and Q&A, on October 22, 2026, from 12:00 to 12:45 p.m. CT.
The session will explore centralized credit information, counterparty exposure visibility, approvals, and documentation management, with time for live Q&A. Damon brings more than 20 years of experience in energy and banking credit risk.
View the webinar details and register, or sign up using the form below.
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