A stipulated judgment is a way to prevent a negative entry in your credit report but agreeing and coming to terms before you go to court.

Generally the way it works is that you agree to a stipulated judgment and that stipulation does not, in fact, become a judgment unless you default under the payment terms.  Once you complete the terms of any payment agreement, the creditor then files a motion to dismiss their cause of action against you.  If, however, you do not pay as agreed, the court then files a judgment against you without, generally, further notice.  So, it is extremely important that you ensure you can live up to the terms of any payment agreement reached.

Since a stipulated judgment is not yet a judgment, it should not be entered in your credit report.  That said, a stipulated judgment is a matter of public record and and sometimes they can be reported to the CRAs as public record..  I would make sure the creditor and the judge are aware of your concerns so that they can refrain from having the stipulated judgment filed with the court clerk.