Follow each example from the opening balance through every movement to the stated closing figure. All figures are illustrative, and each step is shown.
Balance-forward statement with one payment in transit
Acme Freight Co. sends a balance-forward statement each month. This period includes two new invoices and a payment that has not yet posted to the vendor's account.
Line
Amount
Running balance
Opening balance
—
$1250.00
Invoice INV-2201 (new charge)
$480.50
$1730.50
Invoice INV-2214 (new charge)
$322.75
$2053.25
Payment sent for INV-2150 (in transit — not yet applied by vendor)
-$1250.00
$803.25
Stated closing balance
$803.25
Start with the $1,250.00 opening balance, which is the amount owed at the beginning of the period and should agree with the previous period's closing balance.
Add the two new invoices: INV-2201 for $480.50 and INV-2214 for $322.75. Both increase the amount owed.
You sent $1,250.00 for INV-2150 before period end, but the vendor still shows the invoice as outstanding. Record this as a payment-in-transit timing difference (taxonomy code status_conflict_timing), not as a missing payment.
Check the arithmetic: $1,250.00 + $480.50 + $322.75 - $1,250.00 = $803.25. This agrees with the vendor's stated closing balance. Once the timing difference is recorded, no adjustment is needed in your books.
Open-item statement with an unapplied credit memo
Bristow Supplies uses an open-item statement with one line per unpaid invoice and no running balance. A credit memo for returned goods must be checked separately against your AP extract.
Line
Amount
Running balance
Opening balance
—
$0.00
Invoice INV-7701
$615.00
$615.00
Invoice INV-7715
$240.00
$855.00
Credit memo CM-0042 (returned goods, not yet applied in AP)
-$95.00
$760.00
Stated closing balance
$760.00
An open-item statement lists what is currently unpaid rather than carrying an opening balance through the period. Start at $0 and add the items that remain open.
The two open invoices total $615.00 + $240.00 = $855.00.
The statement also shows credit memo CM-0042 for $95.00. Your AP extract does not show it as applied, so classify it as an unallocated credit (taxonomy code credit_on_account).
Apply the credit to the total: $615.00 + $240.00 - $95.00 = $760.00. This agrees with the vendor's stated amount outstanding. Obtain the credit memo and apply it in AP so your ledger also shows a net balance of $760.00.
Aged-open report making a paid invoice look 'missing'
Delacroix Manufacturing's standard export is an aged-open-items report, so paid invoices do not appear. Your AP extract is a full-activity report covering paid and unpaid items for the same period.
Line
Amount
Running balance
Opening balance
—
$3400.00
Invoice INV-9010 (new charge, still open)
$1150.00
$4550.00
Invoice INV-9022 (new charge, still open)
$890.00
$5440.00
Invoice INV-8990 (paid in full this period)
$0.00
$5440.00
Payment applied against INV-8990
-$3400.00
$2040.00
Stated closing balance
$2040.00
Your full-activity report starts with a $3,400.00 opening balance. That balance is invoice INV-8990 from the prior period.
Two new invoices are posted during the period and remain open: $1,150.00 and $890.00.
INV-8990, which makes up the full $3,400.00 opening balance, is paid during the period. Its invoice line contributes $0 net movement here because the invoice and payment are separate ledger entries; the payment reduces the balance.
The $3,400.00 payment clears the opening balance because it was applied to INV-8990.
Check the running total: $3,400.00 + $1,150.00 + $890.00 + $0.00 - $3,400.00 = $2,040.00. This is the closing balance on your full-activity report.
The vendor's aged-open report does not show INV-8990 after it is paid. It shows only the two open invoices: $1,150.00 + $890.00 = $2,040.00. Do not treat INV-8990 as missing; it was paid and correctly left out of the aged-open view (taxonomy code not_open_maybe_paid). Both reports arrive at the same $2,040.00 closing balance.
Statement Zen Academy Team — Practical guidance based on Statement Zen's vendor statement reconciliation work. · Last updated