If you don't send your customer a statement of their account every month they may not know how much they owe you. Not every business is as organised as you and keeps their accounts up to date. A statement to your customer is useful for the following reasons.

1. They are reminded that they owe you money
2. They are reminded of when the money is due to be paid
3. They are shown which invoices have been sent to them and what values they are for
4. When they send you a cheque they can send a copy of the statement and indicate to you which invoices they are paying
5. They can use your statement to ensure that they have copies of all your invoices and that they are not missing any invoices or credit notes.
6. They can check the balance owing on your statement against their own records to check that the balances agree.
7. Your businesses details are shown on the statement, your business name, address, contact numbers and your bank account details that allow them to transfer money direct to your bank account.
8. Your statement is a reminder to them of who you are. When you send a statement you can add other information like special promotions. You get more value out of the postage costs required every time you send a statement. The stamp, the envelope, the paper the statement is printed on, the time it takes to put the statement in the envelope, the trip to the post box. Why not send something with the statement and get more value for from sending a statement.
9. If you system allows it you can stop it from sending balances that have negative values (customer overpaid or has credit on their account)
10. Your statement can reflect the professionalism of your business. Your business name should be clear and large on the statement and in colour if possible. Yes statements are boring, but let yours be a talking point and maybe you will get paid first.

All this is of no use if you do not have your customers correct details. If the address is incorrect they may not get the statement. If part of the address is missing the statement may get delayed in the post. If you are posting statement to overseas customers, then make sure you put the correct postage amount on the envelope or it will definitely get delayed and you may not get paid on time. The customer will also receive your statement and on the front of the envelope will be stamped by the post office "This letter was delayed due to insufficient postage being paid". This makes you look cheap and unprofessional.

You do not need to keep copies of customer statements. If a customer requests a copy statement, just send them the most up to date balance on their account. It is common practice to send a statement at the end of every month as it makes reconciling a statement easier. But if they request a copy statement and your accounts software can't reprint a statement for an older month, just send them what you have now.

The best thing about sending a statement to a customer is that you remove many of the excuses they have for non payment. They know what they owe, they have a list of every invoice and when it is due and they know where to send the cheque.

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(c) Nilsson Denver Ltd 2008