--- title: "Several invoices, several due dates: preparing a clear customer statement" canonical: https://www.billabex.com/en/blog/multiple-invoices-due-dates-customer-statement/ lang: en alternate: https://www.billabex.com/fr/blog/plusieurs-factures-echeances-releve-client.md updated: 2026-10-23 index: https://www.billabex.com/llms.txt --- # Several invoices, several due dates: preparing a clear customer statement A customer statement can have a correct total and still make a misleading request. It combines an overdue invoice, another due next week, a disputed line and a receipt that has not been allocated properly. The covering message then asks the customer to pay “the balance” without further explanation. The recipient must reconstruct your reasoning to understand what is requested today. A useful statement instead supports document checks, acknowledges payments already made and separates the required actions. The total open balance and the amount being chased should be visible independently. For a French supplier working with European customers, that clarity also helps when different accounting teams use different labels for open, due and overdue amounts. ## Start with a date and scope State the reporting date, supplier entity, customer and currency. Two entities within one group should not become one undifferentiated payment request. Likewise, euros and pounds cannot be added into a total without an identified currency and conversion convention. Define the contents: every transaction within a period, open items only or overdue amounts. These reports meet different needs. A reconciliation statement may show an already paid invoice to explain an allocation, while a payment request should avoid presenting it as still outstanding. Odoo 18 distinguishes the customer statement, derived from the relevant portion of the partner ledger, from its follow-up report. That functional distinction is a reminder that an account overview and a collections action are not automatically the same object. [Odoo 18, invoice follow-up and reports](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/odoo/documentation/18.0/content/applications/finance/accounting/payments/follow_up.rst). Choose the document for the recipient's task. Someone preparing a payment run needs references and due amounts; someone investigating an allocation also needs the receipt relationship. ## Check what the displayed reporting date means A historical filter does not always create a historical balance. Microsoft describes a Dynamics 365 Finance filter selecting transactions open or closed after a chosen date while still showing current balances. A reader needs to understand that distinction before labelling an export “position at 30 September.” [Microsoft, customer transactions list, 11 August 2026](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/finance/accounts-receivable/customer-transactions-list-page). For your statement, verify the transaction inclusion date, balance date and latest synchronisation. If an invoice was paid between the reporting date and sending, say whether the document is a historical snapshot or an updated request. Do not mix those conventions within one total. A simple check is to select an invoice paid after the reporting date and inspect the output. This reveals more about the report than a “period” label whose precise effect nobody understands. Keep the convention visible when exporting a file. A date selected on screen may disappear from the attachment, leaving the customer unable to interpret an otherwise correct report. ## Separate future amounts from today's action Article 1305-2 of the French Civil Code provides that an obligation subject to a term cannot be demanded before it falls due. Including a future invoice in a statement therefore does not make it overdue. Particular circumstances affecting the term require their own assessment. [French Civil Code, Article 1305-2](https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000032030679). An “upcoming” label with its date helps the customer prepare payment. “Pay immediately” makes a different request. The covering text must follow the actual category, even where a tool combines several invoices into one conversation. Dispute status is a separate dimension. An invoice can be overdue and partly disputed. Labelling the entire document “disputed” hides its undisputed portion; demanding everything without explanation ignores the blockage. The method for [separating one disputed invoice line](https://www.billabex.com/en/blog/disputed-invoice-line-partial-payment/) supports this two-dimensional reading. ## Build a statement the reader can recalculate Consider an entirely simulated position on 23 October. All figures include VAT and are in euros, for one customer company and one supplier. The payments shown have been verified and allocated before the final statement is sent. | Invoice | Original amount | Allocated receipts | Balance | Due date | Position | | ------- | --------------: | -----------------: | ------: | ---------- | ---------------------- | | F101 | €5,000 | €2,000 | €3,000 | 10 October | Overdue, undisputed | | F102 | €2,400 | €0 | €2,400 | 20 October | Includes €600 disputed | | F103 | €3,600 | €0 | €3,600 | 30 October | Not yet due | | F104 | €1,800 | €1,800 | €0 | 15 October | Paid | Original invoices total €12,800. Allocated receipts total €3,800, leaving €9,000 open. Of that amount, €5,400 is overdue and €3,600 is not yet due. The disputed €600 is included within the overdue €5,400. Adding it again would produce an incorrect €9,600 total. Assume the supplier separately investigates the dispute and asks for a payment date for overdue, undisputed amounts. The request concerns €3,000 plus €1,800, or €4,800. The statement still shows the €600 under review and €3,600 upcoming. That operational separation does not itself determine the legal rights arising from the dispute. Keeping the paid F104 line is useful here because it explains a recent reconciliation. If you choose an open-items-only format instead, make the exclusion clear and preserve enough information to answer questions about that receipt. ## Resolve unallocated cash before demanding it again In the simulation's first extraction, F104 still appeared open although €1,800 had reached the bank account. Displayed open invoices therefore totalled €10,800. After checking the allocation, the figure returned to €9,000. The reduction came from reconciliation, not cash generated by the reminder. Odoo specifically recommends reconciling bank transactions before follow-up to avoid chasing invoices already paid. Where allocation remains uncertain, identify the investigation and establish the match before presenting a final balance. Do not select an invoice solely because its amount happens to match. The article on [received payments with invoices still open](https://www.billabex.com/en/blog/payment-received-invoice-still-open-tracing-unallocated-cash/) details that check. For combined settlements, the method for [one payment covering several invoices](https://www.billabex.com/en/blog/one-payment-multiple-invoices/) keeps allocation explainable. ## Make the request match the table The message might say: “The statement shows €9,000 open, including €3,600 due on 30 October. We are separately reviewing your €600 dispute. Please confirm payment of the €4,800 overdue and undisputed.” This is fictional wording to adapt to the actual facts and agreements. Attach useful documents and allow a response by reference. The customer should be able to flag a payment or error on F102 without challenging the entire account. Avoid including internal commercial-risk notes in the customer-facing statement. An attachment name also helps establish context. Include a clear date and customer reference rather than sending several indistinguishable versions labelled “final.” ## Check the next conversation remains consistent Before sending, a second reading should find the same requested amount in the table, message and cited documents. After another receipt or credit, the next message needs an updated position. The earlier statement remains dated and understandable as such. To examine the link between the case and the request, explore [Billabex follow-ups and conversations](https://www.billabex.com/en/product/follow-ups-conversations/). Test an account with several due dates and a partial dispute. Verify the amount requested and visible context without assuming a particular native statement format. The customer should understand the next action without reconstructing your receivables ledger. ## Sources - Odoo 18, Follow-up on invoices, reporting and prior reconciliation sections. - Microsoft Learn, Customer transactions list page, 11 August 2026. - French Civil Code, Article 1305-2. Sources accessed 7 September 2026.