A short guide
What is a statement of account?
A statement shows one customer where they stand with you. It lists their invoices, the payments they have made and any credits, in date order, with the balance after each, and ends with what they owe today. Sent at the end of a month, it reminds a customer what is owed without chasing them.
What should a statement show?
- Your business name and your customer's.
- The date it is made up to.
- Each invoice, payment and credit note, with its date and number.
- The balance after each one, and the balance due at the end.
- How much of the balance is overdue, and by how long.
- Your bank details, so the balance can be paid from it.
Is a statement a VAT invoice?
No. VAT cannot be reclaimed using a statement, so it never replaces the invoices it lists. A VAT-registered customer who records their purchases from your statement rather than from each invoice must still cross reference every item on it to its invoice.
Source: gov.uk, Charge, reclaim and record VAT: keeping VAT records, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.
Source: HMRC, Record keeping, VAT Notice 700/21, section 7.5, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.
When is a payment late?
If you agreed no payment date, a business customer's payment is late 30 days after they get your invoice, or after you deliver the goods or service if that is later. Statutory interest is then 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, unless your contract sets another rate, and you may add a fixed sum for recovering the debt: £40 up to £999.99, £70 up to £9,999.99, and £100 from £10,000. To add interest, send a new invoice.
Source: gov.uk, Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery, checked on gov.uk on 5 October 2026.
Building it from what you made here
Every invoice made in the free invoice generator, every receipt and every credit note is kept on this device. Choose the customer at the top of the form, and their statement fills itself in: deposits, part payments and credits included, each set against the invoice it belongs to.