A statement is the full account for one tribe over a period: what it owed at the start, every charge, payment and credit since, and what it owes now. It is produced from the customer's record in Accounts Receivable.
What it contains
| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Opening balance | What was owed at the start of the period. Everything before that collapses into this one figure. |
| Movements | Every charge, payment and credit in the period, in order, each with a running balance. |
| Closing balance | What is owed at the end. |
The running balance is the useful part. It shows how the account got from one figure to the other, which is what someone disputing a balance actually wants to see.
When to send one
- A tribe disputes what they owe. Send the statement rather than explaining in prose.
- A tribe asks what a charge was for.
- Before escalating a genuinely overdue account — so nobody can say they were not shown the detail.
- At a period end, if your network expects a regular statement.
IT ENDS ARGUMENTS FASTER THAN EMAIL
Most balance disputes are a payment applied to the wrong item, or an invoice the tribe never saw. Both are obvious on a statement and invisible in a summary total.
Choosing the period
Pick a window that starts before whatever is being questioned. Too short and the disputed charge sits inside the opening balance, which is exactly the figure they do not understand. When in doubt, go back further.
Before you send it
- Record any payments that arrived outside the platform. A statement missing a bank transfer they made will make things worse, not better.
- Apply any credits you have raised but not applied.
- Read the closing balance yourself and check you would be comfortable defending it.
A STATEMENT IS ONLY AS GOOD AS WHAT IS RECORDED