How to Create and Send Customer Statements in QuickBooks Desktop

Before you start

• A statement summarizes a customer's account: recent invoices, credit memos and payments, and what's still owed.
• Record every payment and credit first, so each statement shows the right balance.
• To email statements, check your email setup at Edit > Preferences > Send Forms, and make sure each customer has a working email address.
• If you charge late fees, set up and assess finance charges before you create the statements.
• Create Statements can review up to 4,500 customer records. With more customers than that, select them yourself.

For the payment side, see how to receive payments and apply them to invoices.

Step 1: Set up and assess finance charges (optional)

Skip this step if you don't add finance charges to late balances.

1. 1Sign in to the company file as Admin.
2. 2Go to Edit > Preferences, select Finance Charge, then open the Company Preferences tab.
3. 3Fill in Annual Interest Rate (%), Minimum Finance Charge and Grace Period (days).
4. 4In Finance Charge Account, choose the account that tracks finance charge income.
5. 5Clear Assess overdue finance charges if you don't want to charge interest on unpaid finance charges. Intuit notes that laws on this vary, so confirm the rules where you do business.
6. 6Choose whether QuickBooks calculates from the due date or the invoice/billed date.
7. 7Leave Mark finance charge invoices as "To be printed" cleared if you send statements. The charges then show on each customer's next statement.
8. 8Select OK.

Before each statement run, assess the charges:

1. 1Go to Customers > Assess Finance Charges.
2. 2If you have more than one A/R account, choose the right one.
3. 3Set the Assessment Date.
4. 4Select the customers and jobs to charge.
5. 5Select Assess Charges. QuickBooks creates one finance charge invoice for each customer.

Step 2: Create and send the statements

1. 1Go to Customers > Create Statements.
2. 2If you have more than one A/R account, choose it. The field only appears when you do.
3. 3Check the Statement Date.
4. 4Choose the period: a date range, or all open transactions as of the statement date.
5. 5Select the customers who should get a statement.
6. 6To show each invoice's purchase order number on the statement, select Additional options, then Print PO numbers on transactions.
7. 7Select Print or E-mail.

A date range covers the transactions in that period. All open transactions lists every unpaid item as of the statement date.

Step 3: Schedule statements with payment reminders

1. 1Go to Edit > Preferences > Payments > Company Preferences.
2. 2Set Do you want to send payment reminders? to Yes. Choose when and how often QuickBooks asks you to review reminders, then select OK and Finish.
3. 3Go to Customers > Payment Reminders > Schedule Payment Reminders.
4. 4Select New schedule, choose Statement, and name it.
5. 5In Select customer group, choose Add new. Name the group and set the Field, Operator and Value that define it, such as open balance or customer type.
6. 6Review the customers in the group and select Finish.
7. 7Select Add reminder. Set the statement date, the statement period or overdue rule, and the invoice details.
8. 8Choose the statement and email templates, then select OK.

QuickBooks prompts you when reminders are due. You can send them, review them first, or close the prompt, which sends nothing. To find them later, go to Customers > Payment Reminders > Review & Send Payment Reminders. Sent reminders show on the customer's Sent Email tab in the Customer Center.

Edge cases

• Billing without invoices: go to Customers > Enter Statement Charges, choose the Customer:Job, enter the item and quantity, and select Record. The charge lands on the customer's next statement.
• Email does nothing: check the customer has an invoice or sales receipt in the period or before the statement date, and a working email address.
• Statement for a zero-balance customer won't go out: clear with a zero balance under Do not create statements.
• Still not sending: choose the Intuit Standard Statement template, and set Create One Statement to Per Customer or Per Job.
• Keep one invoice out of finance charges: move it to a job such as Customer Name - No FC, or to a second A/R account. Then don't assess that job or account.

Where QuickBooks Desktop leaves the work to you

• A statement is only as accurate as the payments and credits recorded before you run it.
• Payment reminders still need someone to answer each prompt before anything is sent.
• A statement doesn't chase anyone. Calling about overdue balances and settling disputes stays with your team.
• Finance charges need setup, an assessment before each statement run, and a check of the rules where you sell.

When a balance won't be collected, see how to write off bad debt. See also how to set up payment terms.

How Logistify helps

Logistify doesn't create or send statements. A statement is only as current as the payments recorded in QuickBooks, though. The Accounts Receivable Service matches customer payments in the bank file to the open invoices they pay and records them in QuickBooks Desktop as Receive Payments. Unclear payments, short payments and overpayments wait for your team.