--- title: "Customer self-service statement download: stop statement requests" description: "Every \"can you send me a statement\" email costs a few minutes and goes stale fast. How Xero and QuickBooks Online handle statement requests, and how the Paidnice customer portal lets customers download their own PDF or CSV statement." url: https://www.paidnice.com/blog/let-customers-download-statements --- # Let customers download their own statement: stop the "can you send me a statement" emails Written by Ashley Schroder Expert verified Co-founder of Paidnice Ashley checked what Xero and QuickBooks Online give a customer who wants their statement, then tested each Statement Downloads setting in the Paidnice customer portal. Reviewed by Jack Daffron Co-founder of Paidnice Published Nov 11, 2026 · 8 min ## Summary To stop customers asking for statements, give them a link they can open at any time and download the statement themselves. Xero's online statement link lasts 90 days and exists only after you email a statement. QuickBooks Online emails statements as attachments. The Paidnice customer portal offers a PDF, your CSV templates and All as CSV. - **In Xero:** An emailed outstanding statement can carry a Review and pay link to an online statement, which Xero says stays live for 90 days from the time it is sent. - **In QuickBooks Online:** You create statements in a batch and email them as attachments, or print and save them as a PDF. The help article describes no customer-facing statement download. - **With Paidnice:** The portal's Download menu offers the outstanding statement PDF, All as CSV, the CSV templates you pick, an optional activity PDF, and only the invoices the customer ticks. Three emails in your inbox say the same thing: "Can you send me a statement?" One is from an AP clerk who needs it to match a payment run. You open each contact, export the PDF, attach it and reply. By Friday, one of them pays an invoice and the statement you sent is out of date. Here is what a manual statement request costs, what Xero and QuickBooks Online give your customers, and how to let customers download their own statement from the Paidnice customer portal. ## What does a manual statement request cost? A manual statement request costs the time to find the contact, create the statement, export it and reply, every time a customer asks. The file is a snapshot, so it goes stale as soon as the next payment or invoice lands. Each request goes through the same steps: 1. Read the email and work out which customer, which entity and which currency. 2. Find the contact in your accounting software. 3. Create the statement for the right period and statement type. 4. Export or print it as a PDF, and sometimes rebuild it as a spreadsheet for the AP team. 5. Attach it, reply, and log that you sent it. The cost is larger than the minutes. The request arrives when it suits the customer, so it breaks into your other work. AP teams often want a spreadsheet they can import, and a PDF sends them back to you with a second request. Free: Payment reminder email templatesCopy the reminder emails for before, on and after the due date. ## Can customers download their own statement in Xero? In Xero, a customer can open an online statement only after you email them an outstanding statement. The email has a Review and pay link to the online view, and Xero says the online statement stays live for 90 days from the time it is sent. Xero gave those details in a staff reply on its product idea ["Allow customers to view live statements online"](https://productideas.xero.com/forums/967115-invoices-quotes/suggestions/50499696-customer-statements-allow-customers-to-view-live). The online statement shows the customer's current invoices when they view it, and payment works through Stripe. You still create and send each statement from Xero, as the Xero Central guide [View or send a customer statement](https://central.xero.com/0/article/Send-a-customer-statement) describes. Two limits remain. The link exists only once you have emailed a statement, so a customer who asks first still waits for you. A separate idea, ["Make the online customer statements link static"](https://productideas.xero.com/forums/967115-invoices-quotes/suggestions/51075109-statements-make-the-online-customer-statements-l), asks for one link per customer that never changes. Xero replied in May 2026 that it is tracking votes, and the idea is not released. ## Can customers download their own statement in QuickBooks Online? QuickBooks Online has no customer-facing statement download in its help article. You create statements for selected customers and email them as an attachment, or print them and save the PDF. Intuit's guide to [creating and sending customer statements in QuickBooks Online](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/customer-statements/create-send-customer-statements-quickbooks-online/L0T4y6KV2_US_en_US) lists three statement types: Balance Forward, Open Item and Transaction Statement. You select customers, choose Statement from the batch actions, then Send to email it, or Print or Preview to open the PDF. The guide does not describe a link or portal where the customer downloads a statement. So on QuickBooks Online, every statement request comes back to you. Our guide to [automatic statements for QuickBooks](https://www.paidnice.com/quickbooks/send-automatic-statements) covers the scheduled side. ## How do Xero, QuickBooks Online and Paidnice compare for statement downloads? Xero gives customers a temporary online statement after you send one. QuickBooks Online sends a PDF. The Paidnice portal gives each customer a link that opens their current statement at any time, with PDF and CSV downloads you choose. | Question | Xero | QuickBooks Online | Paidnice portal | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Can the customer open a statement without asking? | Only after you email one | No, it arrives as an attachment | Yes, from the portal link in your reminders and statements | | Where the link comes from | The statement email, live for 90 days | No link | Reminders and statements | | Formats the customer can download | Online view | The PDF you attach | PDF, All as CSV, your CSV templates | | Download only some invoices | Not described | Not described | Yes, tick them first | ## What can customers download from the Paidnice portal? From the Download menu on the outstanding statement, customers can download the outstanding statement as a PDF, All as CSV, each CSV template you offer, an activity PDF if you turn it on, and just the invoices they tick. To build the CSV, see [sending a Xero statement as a CSV](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/xero-customer-statement-csv) or [the QuickBooks Online steps](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/quickbooks-online-customer-statement-csv). The [Paidnice customer portal](https://www.paidnice.com/customer-payment-portal) opens from the link in your reminders and statements. The customer sees the Outstanding Statement tab, and its Download menu offers: - **Outstanding Statement (PDF)**, in the template you choose. - **All as CSV**, which is always there. - **Each spreadsheet template you offer**, listed by its title followed by (CSV). The file has that template's columns. - **Activity Statement (PDF)**, only if you pick a template for it. - **The ticked invoices.** When the customer ticks invoices in the list, the menu offers to download just those. The ticked-invoices option suits the AP clerk who is matching one payment run. The CSV templates suit the AP team that imports statements into its own system. The CSV opens in Excel. ## How do you choose which statements customers can download? You choose the portal downloads under Organisation Settings, Portal, Statement Downloads. There are three settings: the outstanding statement, the activity statement, and the spreadsheet downloads. Only published templates are listed. 1. **Outstanding statement download.** Leave it on Organisation default to follow your default statement template, or pick a specific PDF template for the portal. 2. **Activity statement download.** Hidden removes Activity Statement (PDF) from the portal. Activity statement (standard) gives a date range activity statement. A custom template gives the outstanding items with that template's recent activity section. 3. **Spreadsheet downloads.** Select any number of your published spreadsheet templates. Each becomes a CSV download named after the template. With None, customers still get All as CSV. The standard activity statement and activity spreadsheets are for Xero only. The activity PDF needs the standard activity statement, which newer organizations do not have. Our guide to [activity statements in Xero](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/schedule-activity-statements) explains the difference from an outstanding statement. You build the CSV templates in Organisation Settings, Statements, on the Custom tab. Pick up to 30 columns, write your own header for each, and add a totals row if you want one. A template has to be published before the portal can offer it. The help article on [how the customer portal works](https://help.paidnice.com/portal/how-the-customer-portal-works) lists every portal setting. ## Do customers need a login to download a statement? No. The Paidnice customer portal has no login. The portal link in your reminders and statements opens the right page for that customer. Turn on Secure Portal Mode if you want customers to verify their email address by a link before they see anything. Secure Portal Mode is off by default. No login means the AP clerk who forwards your reminder to a colleague does not create a support ticket about a password. If your customers' statements are sensitive, the email check adds a step in front of the portal. You can also ask for the check only where it matters. Require verification for payment promises and Require verification for queries make the customer verify their email before they promise to pay or query an invoice, even when Secure Portal Mode is off. ## How far back can customers see paid invoices? The Max age of paid invoices setting hides older paid invoices from the portal's Paid Invoices tab. Enter a whole number and pick Months or Years, or leave it blank to show every paid invoice. The setting shows only while Allowed to view all paid invoices? is on. The cutoff goes by the invoice issue date, not the payment date. It changes only what the portal lists: a direct link to an older paid invoice still opens it, and activity statements still include it. This helps when a long-standing customer would otherwise scroll through years of paid invoices to find last quarter's. ## How do you stop customers asking for statements? To stop statement requests, put the portal link in front of customers before they think to ask, and give AP teams the format they need. - **Link the portal in every reminder.** Paidnice reminders and statements can link to the portal, so the current statement is one click from the email. - **Put the balance in the email.** Statement email merge tags can insert the balance and a link to the online statement. - **Send statements on a schedule.** A monthly statement answers the question before it is asked. Paidnice [sends customer statements automatically](https://www.paidnice.com/automated-customer-statements), and the [Xero statement guide](https://www.paidnice.com/xero/auto-send-statements) shows the setup. - **Offer the AP format.** Build a CSV template with the columns an AP team imports, and offer it in the portal and on the statement email. - **Reply with the link, not a file.** When a request still comes in, send the portal link. Next month, the customer can open it without asking. Statements are on every Paidnice plan. Paidnice prices by invoice volume, not by your revenue. 💡 Paidnice insight A customer who asks for a statement usually wants to know what they owe today, in a format their AP system reads. A link that always shows the current balance, with the CSV their team imports, answers that question without a reply from you. ## Frequently asked questions ### How long does a Xero online statement link last? Xero says an online statement stays live for 90 days from the time it is sent. The link is created when you email an outstanding statement, so a customer cannot open one before you send it. ### Can QuickBooks Online customers download their own statements? Intuit's help article describes no customer-facing statement download. You email statements as attachments, or print and save them as a PDF. The Paidnice portal adds a download link on top of your QuickBooks data. ### Can customers download a statement as a CSV? Yes, in the Paidnice portal. All as CSV is always in the Download menu, and you can offer any number of your published CSV templates, each with its own columns. The CSV opens in Excel. ### Can customers download an activity statement from the portal? Only if you allow it. Set Activity statement download to Hidden to remove it, or pick a template to offer it. The standard activity statement is for Xero organisations that still have it. ### Is the Paidnice portal secure without a login? For an extra check, turn on Secure Portal Mode so customers verify their email address by a link before they see anything. ### Can I hide old paid invoices from the portal? Yes. Set Max age of paid invoices in months or years. Older paid invoices, by issue date, no longer show on the Paid Invoices tab, but a direct link still opens them. ## Paidnice features in this article - [**Customer payment portal** Shows customers every open invoice in one place, where they can pay.](https://www.paidnice.com/customer-payment-portal) - [**Customer statements** Sends branded customer statements on your schedule, with one button to pay.](https://www.paidnice.com/automated-customer-statements) ## About the editorial team Written by Ashley Schroder Co-founder of Paidnice Ashley is a co-founder and lead developer of Paidnice and has built accounting software for more than 10 years. He builds the ledger connections that put reminders, late fees and payments into Xero, QuickBooks and ERPs such as NetSuite and Business Central. Before Paidnice he co-founded A2X, ecommerce accounting software for Xero and QuickBooks. Reviewed by Jack Daffron Co-founder of Paidnice Jack is a co-founder of Paidnice and has built accounting software for more than 10 years. He builds the product that sends reminders, adds late fees and takes payments for businesses on Xero, QuickBooks and ERPs such as NetSuite and Business Central. ### Try Our Free Accounts Receivable Calculators Optimize your cash flow with our suite of financial tools designed for AR professionals. Calculate DSO, aging analysis, late fees, and more. Explore Calculators ## Start getting paid on time with Paidnice Connect Xero or QuickBooks and Paidnice prepares draft policies for you. Nothing runs until you approve them. Try it FreeBook a Demo [Rated 5 stars, 160+ reviews](https://www.paidnice.com/reviews) · [App of the Year](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/winner-xero-global-app-awards-2026)