---
title: "QuickBooks statement types: how to create Balance Forward, Open Item and Transaction"
description: "What each QuickBooks Online statement type shows, when to use Balance Forward, Open Item or a Transaction Statement, how to create and batch send them, and where QuickBooks stops."
url: https://www.paidnice.com/blog/quickbooks-online-statement-types
---

# QuickBooks Online statement types: Balance Forward, Open Item and Transaction

Written by

Denym Bird
Expert verified

Co-founder & CEO of Paidnice

Denym checked Intuit's help articles on the three statement types and recurring statements, read QuickBooks Community threads on templates and schedules, and compared each with Paidnice.

Reviewed by Jack Daffron

Co-founder of Paidnice

Published Nov 11, 2026 · 8 min

## Summary

QuickBooks Online has three customer statement types. Balance Forward shows invoices, payments and the current balance for a date range. Open Item lists every unpaid invoice from a start date to today. A Transaction Statement lists every transaction in a date range. You create them from the customer list and send them as PDFs by email or print.

- **Most B2B customers:** Open Item, because accounts payable teams pay invoice by invoice and want to see what is still unpaid.
- **The limits:** No schedule outside the Workflows in QuickBooks Online Advanced, and the layout changes only through a few statement settings.
- **With Paidnice:** Outstanding statements on a schedule, as PDF templates you design and CSV files with the columns you pick.

It is the first of the month and a customer asks for a statement. In QuickBooks Online you open the batch action, and the Statement Type list asks you to pick one of three. Each type answers a different question, and the wrong one can confuse the customer's accounts payable team.

Here is what each type shows, when to use it, how to create and batch send statements, and what QuickBooks Online cannot do with them.

## What are the three statement types in QuickBooks Online?

QuickBooks Online has three customer statement types: Balance Forward, Open Item and Transaction Statement. Intuit's help article [Create and send 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) defines them like this:

| Statement type | What it lists | Dates | Use it when |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Balance Forward | Invoices, payments and the current balance | A date range you set | The customer pays a running account, not invoice by invoice |
| Open Item | All unpaid invoices | From a start date to the present | The customer pays specific invoices and wants to see what is still open |
| Transaction Statement | All transactions recorded | A date range you set | You or the customer need a full history to reconcile or settle a dispute |

All three come from the same transactions in QuickBooks. Intuit says a statement updates when the transactions under it change, so a payment recorded today shows on the statement you open tomorrow.

Free: Payment reminder email templatesCopy the reminder emails for before, on and after the due date.

## Balance forward vs open item statement: what is the difference?

A balance forward statement carries the balance from earlier periods into one opening figure and then shows the period's invoices and payments. An open item statement ignores what was paid and lists only the invoices that are still unpaid, from the start date to today.

The difference matters to the person who reads it. A small business owner who pays you a round sum each month can follow a balance forward statement. An accounts payable clerk at a larger customer pays against invoice numbers, so they need the open item list to match each unpaid invoice to a bill in their own system.

If you are not sure which one a customer wants, send Open Item. It shows the invoice number, the date and the amount still owed on each line, which is what most AP teams check first.

## What is a Transaction Statement in QuickBooks?

A Transaction Statement in QuickBooks Online lists every transaction recorded for the customer within the date range you choose, whether it is paid or not. It is the closest QuickBooks gets to a full account history.

Use it when the balance is in question. A customer who says "we paid that in March" can see the invoice, the payment and any credit side by side. Auditors and customers' finance teams also ask for it at year end, when they reconcile their supplier balances.

It is a poor choice for a monthly reminder. A long list of paid lines hides the two invoices you actually want paid.

## How do you create a statement in QuickBooks Online?

You create a statement in QuickBooks Online from the customer list with a batch action. These are the steps in Intuit's US help article:

1. Go to **All apps**, then **Customer Hub**, then **Customers & leads**. Older menus call this Sales, then Customers.
2. Tick the checkbox next to each customer who gets a statement.
3. Open the **Batch action** dropdown and select **Statement**.
4. Pick **Balance Forward**, **Open Item** or **Transaction Statement** in **Statement Type**.
5. Set the **Statement Date**, **Start Date** and **End Date**.
6. Check the address in each **Customer Email** field.
7. Select **Save and send**, review the preview, then select **Send**.

For one customer, tick one checkbox. QuickBooks does not make a statement for a customer with no matching activity in the date range. If a sub-customer is set to bill with the parent, create the statement for the parent to include the sub-customer's transactions.

## How do you batch send statements in QuickBooks Online?

You batch send statements in QuickBooks Online with the same batch action: tick several customers, choose one statement type and one set of dates, then Save and send. Every customer in the batch gets the same type for the same period.

Each statement goes by email as a PDF attachment. You can also open a past statement from the customer's **Statements** tab and choose **Send**, or **Print or Preview** to print or download the PDF. To post statements, our guide to [sending QuickBooks statements by post](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/how-to-send-statements-by-post-quickbooks) covers print and mail services.

A batch is a manual run. Someone has to remember the date, pick the customers and press send each month.

## What can QuickBooks Online statements not do?

QuickBooks Online statements have no schedule on most plans, a fixed layout and one file format.

- **No schedule outside Advanced.** Intuit has a help article on [recurring statements in QuickBooks Online Advanced](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/customer-statements/set-recurring-statements-customers-quickbooks/L2oHSBdfj_US_en_US), which uses Workflows. On other plans you run the batch manually. In a QuickBooks Team reply from [September 2023](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/community/reports-and-accounting-5/i-have-set-up-a-workflow-for-recurring-monthly-statements-in-qbo-how-can-i-set-up-the-workflow-to-only-send-statements-to-customers-with-an-open-balance-51257), the team said a statement workflow cannot be limited to customers with an open balance.
- **Few layout settings.** Under **Settings**, **Account and settings**, **Sales**, **Statements**, you can list each transaction on a single line or with its detail lines, and show an aging table at the bottom. Answers in the [QuickBooks Community](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-za/manage-customers-and-income/can-i-customize-customer-statements-or-just-customer-invoices/00/1186128) say you cannot change or replace the statement template, and custom form styles apply to sales forms such as invoices.
- **PDF only.** A statement goes as a PDF by email, or you print it. Our post on [QuickBooks statements as Excel or CSV](https://www.paidnice.com/blog/quickbooks-online-customer-statement-csv) covers the report exports people use instead.
- **One type per batch.** You cannot send Open Item to your AP-team customers and Balance Forward to your small accounts in one run.

## Is QuickBooks Statement Writer for customer statements?

No. QuickBooks Statement Writer (QSW) is a QuickBooks Desktop add-on for financial statements, such as a balance sheet or a profit and loss report. It does not make customer statements of account.

Intuit's article [Use and navigate QuickBooks Statement Writer](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-us/help-article/financial-reports/use-navigate-quickbooks-statement-writer-qsw/L4qm1lOVh_US_en_US) describes it as an add-on for GAAP-compliant financial statements, built in Microsoft Excel. It lists QSW in QuickBooks Premier Accountant, Enterprise Accountant and Enterprise Solutions. The article does not mention QuickBooks Online. If you want to send customers what they owe, use the statement types above.

## How does Paidnice send QuickBooks statements on a schedule?

Paidnice sends [customer statements automatically](https://www.paidnice.com/automated-customer-statements) from a statement policy that you add to a group of QuickBooks customers. On QuickBooks, Paidnice sends outstanding statements, which list what each customer still owes, like an Open Item statement. It does not send activity statements on QuickBooks.

- **Schedule:** Monthly, Monthly (Weekdays) or Weekly. Monthly (Weekdays) moves a send that falls on a weekend or public holiday to the next business day.
- **Who gets one:** customers with an outstanding balance, an overdue balance (with a minimum and maximum overdue age), every customer, or customers in credit.
- **Which invoices:** all outstanding items, or only those issued before the current month, in the previous month or in the current month.
- **Filters:** a minimum amount due, and parent customers only.

Each customer group can have its own policy, so your AP-team customers and your small accounts can get different statements on different days. The setup steps are in our guide to [automatic statements for QuickBooks](https://www.paidnice.com/quickbooks/send-automatic-statements) and in the [help article on auto statements](https://help.paidnice.com/statements/how-auto-statements-work).

## What can Paidnice put on a QuickBooks statement?

Paidnice statements come from templates you build, and one email can attach as many as you select. The usual pair is a PDF for the person who reads it and a CSV for the AP system that imports it.

- **PDF templates you design:** describe the change to the AI assistant in plain words, such as "Move the logo to the left", and the preview updates. Each template can have an aged analysis with up to three breakpoints, grouping by days until due, and a recent activity section that goes back up to 36 months.
- **CSV templates you build:** pick up to 30 columns and type your own header for each. The fields include Overdue Age, Tax Amount, Contact Name, Statement Memo from QuickBooks, and any synced invoice custom fields. Add a totals row if you want one. Dates are written as YYYY-MM-DD, and the CSV opens in Excel.
- **Draft and publish:** preview a template with a real customer, then publish it. Customers only get the published version, and version history lists each one.
- **Pay Now:** the button shows on the statement when your payment provider can take the full balance.

The full list of settings is in the help article on [statement settings and templates](https://help.paidnice.com/statements/statement-settings-and-templates).

## How do parent customers and jobs show on a Paidnice statement?

A parent customer gets its child customers' invoices on its own statement. On QuickBooks, Paidnice can also keep projects and jobs apart on that statement.

Turn on **Separate projects & jobs** on the Common tab of Organisation Settings, Statements. A child contact flagged as a job or project in QuickBooks then gets its own section on the parent's statement. A builder who bills one client for three sites sends one statement, and the AP team sees which site each invoice is for.

Statements are on every Paidnice plan. Paidnice prices by invoice volume, not by your revenue, so you pay for the work Paidnice does, not for the size of your business.

💡 Paidnice insight

Most statement problems we see come from sending one statement type to every customer. The owner of a small account wants one balance to pay. The AP clerk at a larger customer wants invoice numbers in a file they can import. Split your customers into groups and give each group the statement its reader uses.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which QuickBooks statement type should I use?

Use Open Item for most business customers, because it lists each unpaid invoice. Use Balance Forward for customers who pay a running account. Use a Transaction Statement when you need the full history for a date range, for example to settle a dispute or for a year-end reconciliation.

### Can QuickBooks Online send statements automatically?

Only through Workflows in QuickBooks Online Advanced, which Intuit documents in its article on recurring statements. On other plans you create and send them manually with a batch action. Paidnice sends outstanding statements on a monthly, weekday or weekly schedule on any QuickBooks Online plan.

### Can I change the QuickBooks Online statement template?

Only a little. The Statements settings on the Sales tab let you list each transaction on one line or with its detail lines, and show an aging table. Answers in the QuickBooks Community say you cannot change or replace the statement template itself.

### Why did QuickBooks not create a statement for a customer?

QuickBooks does not make a statement for a customer with no matching activity in the date range you set. For a sub-customer set to bill with the parent, create the statement for the parent customer instead.

### Does Paidnice send activity statements on QuickBooks?

No. On QuickBooks, Paidnice sends outstanding statements as PDFs, CSV files or both. Activity statements are for Xero only. A custom PDF template can add a recent activity section to the outstanding statement.

### What is the difference between QuickBooks Statement Writer and customer statements?

QuickBooks Statement Writer is a QuickBooks Desktop add-on that builds financial statements, such as a balance sheet, in Excel. Customer statements show a customer what they owe you. QuickBooks Online makes those with the Balance Forward, Open Item and Transaction Statement types.

## Paidnice features in this article

- [**Customer statements** Sends branded customer statements on your schedule, with one button to pay.](https://www.paidnice.com/automated-customer-statements)
- [**Customer payment portal** Shows customers every open invoice in one place, where they can pay.](https://www.paidnice.com/customer-payment-portal)

## About the editorial team

Written by Denym Bird Co-founder & CEO of Paidnice

Denym started Paidnice in 2022 after customers paying late left his own business short on payroll. He has led it to $1 billion collected on time across more than 1 million invoices, and writes about credit control, late fees and getting paid on 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.

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