The statement #
One statement covers one customer for one period, usually a month. Send it after your invoices, not instead of them: the invoice is the document that asks for payment for a sale, and the statement is the reminder of everything still open.
Click anything in brackets to type over it, then copy, print or download the result. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Statement of account
| From | [Your business name, address and company number if you have one] |
|---|---|
| To | [Customer name and address] |
| Customer account number | [Your reference for this customer] |
| Statement date | [Date] |
| Period covered | [From and to] |
| Payment terms | [For example, 30 days from the invoice date] |
Account activity
| Date | Reference | Description | Due date | Invoiced | Paid or credited | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance brought forward | ||||||
| Balance now owed |
How old the balance is
| Not yet due | 1 to 30 days overdue | 31 to 60 days overdue | Over 60 days overdue | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
How to pay
| Bank | [Account name, sort code and account number] |
|---|---|
| Payment reference | [The reference to quote] |
| Questions about this statement | [Name, email and phone number] |
If you think anything on this statement is wrong, please tell us as soon as you can so we can put it right.
What each part is for #
The due date on every line
A statement only helps a customer if they can see which lines are late. GOV.UK says that if you agree a payment date it must usually be within 60 days for business transactions, and that if you do not, the payment is late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice or you deliver the goods or service, if that is later. Putting the due date next to each invoice means nobody has to work it out.
The age of the balance
The four boxes split what is owed into what is not yet due and what is overdue by 1 to 30, 31 to 60 and over 60 days. The bands are a convention, not a rule. What matters is that a customer who owes £2,000 and a customer who owes £2,000 that is 70 days late do not get the same message.
How to use it well #
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Send it on the same day each month
A statement that arrives on a predictable date is easier to pay against than one that appears when somebody remembers.
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Reconcile before you send
A payment received but not yet matched to an invoice is the commonest reason a customer replies "we already paid this".
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Match the message to the age
Nothing overdue needs no more than the statement. Something overdue needs a reminder alongside it.
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Keep the invoices available
A customer who disputes a line will ask for the invoice behind it, so have it ready to send.
What happens to it by hand #
In most businesses the statement is the start of a chase, not the end of a task. Someone pulls the open invoices from the accounts package, checks each against the bank, works out what is overdue, builds the statement, emails it, and then remembers to look at it again ten days later. Every one of those steps follows the same rules for every customer. Deciding whether a long standing customer gets a phone call or a letter is the only part that needs a person.
The chasing payment calculator puts a number on what late invoices cost you, the invoice template covers what each invoice must show, and getting paid explains how the chase ends up eating the week.