This tutorial covers how to set up customer statements in QuickBooks Online. We’ll show you how to control the level of detail provided and add an aging table to the bottom of your statement.
We hope you enjoy this tutorial for QuickBooks Online, our best overall pick for small business accounting software. We recommend following along in your own QuickBooks account. If you don’t already subscribe to QuickBooks, you have the choice of a 30-day free trial or 50% off for three months.
This tutorial is one in our series of Free QuickBooks Tutorials. You can either watch the video below, read through the step-by-step instructions, or do both.
The Importance of Setting Up QuickBooks Customer Statements
Statements provide a summary of goods and services sold to the customer during the statement period, grouped by invoice. If a customer pays their invoices promptly, there is probably no need to send a statement. However, for customers that are slow to pay, statements are a great way to remind your customers of their outstanding invoices.
How to Set Up QuickBooks Customer Statements
Your company account and settings includes options for your customer statements. Click on the cog wheel in the upper right corner of QuickBooks Online and select Account and settings in the first column:
Navigate to Account and Settings in QuickBooks Online.
Then, click on Sales in the left menu and scroll down to click on Statements. This reveals the three options available for QuickBooks customer statements, which allow you to adjust the level of detail provided in the statement.
Statement Settings in QuickBooks Online.
- List each transaction as a single line: If you select this option, the statement will only show a summary of the invoice, including the invoice date, number, and amount. Here is an example of a statement from our fictitious company, Paul’s Plumbing, with a summary of the invoices:
QuickBooks Customer Statement with summarized information.
Tip: The colors and logos in the statement come from the master sales form that you customized in our tutorial on How to Customize Invoices.
2. List each transaction, including all detail lines: This option will provide a complete recap of the transaction. Each line item on an invoice will be summarized and shown separately. This is how a QuickBooks customer statement appears when all detail lines are included:
QuickBooks Customer Statement with detailed transaction information.
The decision to summarize invoices (option 1) or provide detail (option 2) is a personal preference. However, I recommend summarizing the invoices if the customer has already received a detailed invoice.
3. Show aging table at the bottom of the statement: By selecting this option, a summarized accounts receivable aging report will print at the bottom of the statement showing any amounts that are past due. I recommend showing this table to alert customers of any overdue amounts. The aging table for our sample invoice looks like this:
Aging Table at the bottom of a QuickBooks customer statement.
Click the green Save button once you have selected your statement options.
Wrap Up
You now know how to set your statement options in QuickBooks Online. The next tutorial in our QuickBooks Online Training Course is How to Set Up Expenses in QuickBooks Online. That tutorial will cover your available options for tracking and billing expenses to customers and the level of expense detail to provide on expense and purchase forms.
