Statement of Account vs Invoice: What It Is & How to Make One

Quick answer: A statement of account is a summary document that lists every invoice, payment and credit for one customer over a period, with a running balance and the total currently owed. Unlike an invoice, it doesn't bill for new work; it reconciles what has already been billed and paid. Businesses usually send one monthly to customers who buy on credit.

This guide compares a statement of account with an invoice, lists what to include, shows a worked example with an aging summary, and explains when and how to send one. The invoices themselves can be created in our free invoice generator; the statement then pulls those invoices together.

Statement of account vs invoice

	Invoice	Statement of account
Purpose	Requests payment for a specific sale	Summarizes all activity and the balance owed
Covers	One transaction or billing period	Many invoices, payments and credits
Creates a new amount owed?	Yes	No, it only reports existing amounts
Tax role	Basis for charging and reclaiming VAT or GST	Usually none
Numbering	Unique sequential invoice number	Typically identified by customer and statement date
Timing	When goods or services are supplied	Periodically, often month end
Main reader	Accounts payable, to approve and pay	Accounts payable, to reconcile records

Think of an invoice as a single entry and the statement of account as the ledger page those entries sit on. If you are new to the basic document, see what is an invoice.

Why send a statement of account?

• Catch mismatches early. If the customer never received an invoice, or applied a payment to the wrong one, the statement shows it.
• Prompt payment of older items. Overdue invoices are visible in one place, which often triggers payment without a separate reminder.
• Reduce disputes. A clear running balance makes it obvious how the amount owed was reached.
• Support year-end and audits. Customers and auditors often request statements to confirm balances.

What to include on a statement of account

• The title "Statement of Account" and the statement date
• The period covered, for example 1 September to 22 October 2026
• Your business details and the customer's name, address and account number
• The opening balance at the start of the period
• Each transaction: date, type (invoice, payment, credit note), reference number, amount and running balance
• The closing balance, clearly labeled as the amount due
• An aging summary showing how much is current and how much is overdue by age
• Payment instructions and a contact for queries

Credit notes appear as reductions with their own references; our credit note guide explains how those are issued in the first place.

Statement of account example

A print shop sends a statement to a marketing agency on 22 October 2026. The agency buys on Net 14 terms.

Date	Type	Reference	Charges	Credits	Balance
1 Sep 2026	Opening balance	INV-0101 (dated 20 Aug)			$1,200.00
5 Sep 2026	Payment	ACH, ref INV-0101		$1,200.00	$0.00
15 Sep 2026	Invoice	INV-0118	$2,400.00		$2,400.00
30 Sep 2026	Invoice	INV-0124	$950.00		$3,350.00
3 Oct 2026	Credit note	CN-007 (against INV-0124)		$150.00	$3,200.00
10 Oct 2026	Payment	ACH, ref INV-0118		$2,400.00	$800.00
15 Oct 2026	Invoice	INV-0131	$1,600.00		$2,400.00
Balance due at 22 Oct 2026					$2,400.00

Aging summary

Current	1–30 days overdue	31–60 days	61–90 days	Over 90 days	Total
$1,600.00	$800.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$2,400.00

INV-0131 (dated 15 October) isn't due until 29 October, so it is current. The $800.00 remaining on INV-0124 after the credit note was due on 14 October and is 8 days overdue. The aging buckets add up to the closing balance, which is the check every statement should pass. This is the same breakdown an accounts receivable aging report shows across all customers.

Open item vs balance forward statements

Open item statement

Lists only the invoices that are still unpaid, with their dates, amounts and ages. It is short and easy to act on, and suits businesses whose customers pay invoice by invoice.

Balance forward statement

Starts with the previous period's closing balance and lists all activity in the period, as in the example above. It suits customers with many transactions, such as trade accounts, and makes the history easier to follow.

Statements you receive from suppliers

The same document works in the other direction. When your own suppliers send you a statement of account, compare it with your unpaid bills before the next payment run. Check that every invoice listed is one you have received and approved, that your payments have been applied to the right invoices, and that any credit notes you were promised appear. Raising discrepancies early prevents a supplier from putting your account on hold over an invoice you never saw.

Either format works, as long as you are consistent and the closing balance matches your receivables ledger. Our accounts receivable guide explains how to keep that ledger accurate.

How to create a statement of account in 6 steps

1. Pick the period. Usually the calendar month, ending on the last day or your statement date.
2. Find the opening balance. Use the closing balance from the previous statement or your ledger.
3. List all transactions in date order. Every invoice, payment and credit note for that customer in the period.
4. Calculate the running balance. Add charges, subtract credits and payments, line by line.
5. Add the aging summary. Split the closing balance by how many days each open item is past its due date.
6. Send it with payment details. Attach copies of any overdue invoices so the customer can process them immediately.

Most accounting software produces statements automatically from your invoices. If you invoice from a generator, a simple spreadsheet works well; reliable basic records, covered in our bookkeeping basics guide, make it a five-minute job. Keep the invoice numbers on the statement identical to those on your invoices, using the format from the invoice number generator if you need one.

Reconciling differences and avoiding statement mistakes

When a customer receives your statement of account, their accounts payable team compares it line by line with their own supplier ledger. Differences usually come from one of a few causes:

• Timing. A payment sent on the 30th may not reach your account until the 2nd, so it appears on their records but not yours.
• Missing invoices. An invoice went to the wrong inbox and was never entered.
• Misapplied payments. The customer paid INV-0124 but you allocated the money to INV-0118, or the other way round.
• Unprocessed credits. A credit note was issued but not yet entered on their side.
• Disputed items. They are holding back an invoice while a query is open.

When a customer queries a statement, ask them to list the items that don't match, then resolve each with a document: a copy invoice, proof of payment, or a credit note. Never adjust a balance on the statement without a supporting transaction in your books.

On your side, the most common statement mistakes are:

• An opening balance that doesn't match the previous statement's closing balance.
• Running balances that don't add up, usually after a manual edit.
• Aging buckets calculated from the invoice date instead of the due date, which makes accounts look more overdue than they are.
• Omitting reference numbers, so the customer can't match lines to documents.
• Sending statements so often, or so irregularly, that customers stop reading them.

When to send a statement of account

• Monthly for customers on credit terms with regular orders.
• When an account has overdue items, alongside your normal payment reminder emails.
• At year end or on request, to confirm balances for audits.
• Before stopping credit, so the customer sees exactly what must be cleared.

If a statement shows invoices that are seriously late, follow the steps in our guide to handling an overdue invoice.

Create the invoices behind your statement

A statement is only as clean as the invoices it summarizes. Create consistent, numbered invoices in the invoice generator using the Corporate invoice template, and your monthly statements will reconcile without surprises.