A billing statement is the account as the customer sees it for a period: the balance they owed at the start, every invoice issued since, every payment and credit applied, and the balance they owe now. This page is a billing statement sample walked line by line, with what each line has to carry and why, so a small business on account can send one that a customer pays from rather than one they ring up about. The free billing statement tool on this site produces it from the seller's own figures.
The header and the period
Seller and customer, the customer's account reference, the statement date and the period it covers, and the terms on the account. The period is the thing customers miss most often: a statement dated the first of the month covering the month before, with the opening balance being the closing balance of the last one. Keep the periods contiguous and the statements chain.
Opening balance, invoices, payments, credits
The opening balance is one line, carried from the last statement. Then each invoice in the period with its number, date, due date and amount; each payment with its date and the invoice it was applied to; each credit note with its reference. Listing which invoice a payment settled is what makes the statement a reconciliation the customer can agree rather than a total they have to take on trust.
The closing balance and the aging
The closing balance is the opening balance plus invoices less payments and credits, and it should equal the sum of the open invoices. Below it, a short aging, current, 1 to 30, 31 to 60, over 60, tells the customer what part of the balance is already overdue without a separate reminder. The statement tool on this site works the closing balance and the aging from the lines entered.
What to leave off
Anything that is not on the account: quotes, pro formas, orders not yet shipped, and messages. A statement is a record of the account for the period and nothing else; the reminder is a separate document with its own date, and the pro forma never appears on a statement because it created no receivable.
Questions people ask about billing statement sample
What should a billing statement include?
Seller, customer and account reference; the period; the opening balance; each invoice with number, dates and amount; each payment with the invoice it settled; each credit; the closing balance and a short aging.
How is the closing balance calculated?
Opening balance plus the period's invoices, less payments and credits. It should equal the sum of the open invoices on the account.
Should a pro forma appear on the statement?
No. A pro forma creates no receivable. Only invoices, payments and credits belong on the statement.
Is there a free billing statement tool?
Yes. The billing statement on this site carries the opening balance, the period's invoices, payments and credits to the closing balance from your own figures, with no account.