Statement of Account Checklist

Before you start

A statement of account is a summary of a customer's account with you over a period — the invoices issued, the payments received, and the balance now outstanding. It is not a demand for a single invoice; it is the whole picture in one place. Statements are useful because customers, especially larger ones, often reconcile what they owe across all suppliers, and a clear statement makes it easy for them to confirm your balance and pay what is due.

Before you send one, make sure your ledger for that customer is accurate — every invoice, payment and credit note correctly recorded. A statement that does not match the customer's own records creates queries rather than payments. For the wider context, see how to write a statement of account.

Pull together the account

Build the statement from an accurate ledger:

• The customer's correct name and account details
• The period the statement covers
• Every invoice issued in the period, with dates and amounts
• All payments and credit notes applied
• The opening and closing balance, and the total now outstanding

Reconcile the statement against your own records first, so the closing balance is one you can stand behind if the customer questions it.

Make it easy to act on

A statement should make the next step obvious:

1. Highlight which invoices are overdue and by how long
2. Use an ageing summary — current, 30, 60, 90 days
3. Show the total due and how to pay it
4. Include your payment details and references
5. Give a contact for any query on the account
6. Keep the layout clean enough to scan quickly

An ageing summary turns a list of invoices into a clear message about what needs paying now.

Send on a useful rhythm

Statements work best as a regular habit, not a one-off:

• Send monthly, or on a cycle that suits your customers
• Send to the accounts contact who handles the account
• Keep a copy of each statement you send
• Use the statement as a prompt to follow up overdue amounts
• Pair it with your reminder process for ageing invoices

A regular statement gives both sides a shared, up-to-date view of the account and a natural moment to clear overdue items.

Common mistakes

Statements lose their effect in these ways:

• Ledger out of date — payments or credits not yet recorded
• No ageing — a flat list with no sense of what is overdue
• Wrong contact — sent to someone who cannot reconcile it
• Irregular sending — only sending one when things go wrong

An accurate ledger and a regular cycle fix most of these. A statement supports the wider job of chasing overdue invoices — see how to chase an overdue invoice politely — and if overdue balances are mounting, a free debt appraisal can help you tackle them.