How to Read Your Billing Statement (2024)

FAQs

How to understand a billing statement? ›

A billing statement is a document that summarizes the financial transactions between a customer and a company during a specific period. It includes all the purchases, payments, fees, and interest charged to the account during the billing cycle.

A billing statement is a monthly report that credit card companies issue to credit card customers showing their recent transactions, minimum payment due, and other relevant information. Billing statements are typically issued at the end of each monthly billing cycle and cardholders can receive them by mail or online.

A negative balance indicates that your bill was overpaid and that you may be eligible for a refund.

To understand your bank statement, review key sections: Bank Information (bank's name, address, contact info), Account Information (your name, address, account number), Statement Period (start and end dates of transactions), Opening/Closing Balance (account activity summary), Deposits (money added to your account), ...

what does your statement tell you? A credit card statement provides information such as how and when you've used your credit card, how much you owe, how much interest you're paying to use the card, how much your minimum payment is, and how much credit you have left.

Your statement balance is the amount shown on your monthly billing statement. It doesn't reflect any new activity since your last statement ended. Instead, a statement balance represents the purchases and payments on your card during a set period, known as your billing cycle, which falls between 28 to 31 days.

There's a start date and closing date in each billing cycle. The transactions completed within that time period appear on the that statement. Credit card statements include a due date for payment that usually falls around the same date each month.

For example, if your billing address is: 123 Main Street, Somewhere, CA 94000 it would check the '123' in the address and the '94000' zip code. AVS is used in addition to other fraud prevention techniques such as CVV2 (Card Verification Value) values and authorization with the card issuer.

What is the payment reference on a billing statement? ›

Payment Reference Numbers

These reference numbers are generated technologically and are designated to a single transaction. Payment reference numbers will normally be present on a cardholder's monthly statement. They are a group of random numbers and/or letters.

Billing date or Statement date is the day on which your credit card statement is generated every month and is printed on the top of your statement. The date may vary from one month to the next depending on whether it's falling on a holiday.

A negative credit card balance is when your balance is below zero. It appears as a negative account balance. This means that your credit card company owes you money instead of the other way around. Typically, this happens when you've overpaid your outstanding balance or if you've had a credit returned to your account.

A negative balance usually means the cardholder has received a refund for a purchase, a reversal for a fraudulent purchase, a credit card reward or a statement credit. Use up a negative balance by making purchases with the card or by requesting a refund from the card issuer.

A positive number indicated where it says Term Balance Including Estimate Aid means you owe money. A negative number means you do not owe money. (Example: -$100.00) means you DO NOT owe money and you will get a refund.

Billing process. The billing process is a set of steps that a business follows to create and send invoices to its customers for the products or services provided. It typically involves gathering customer and product/service information, generating an invoice, sending it to the customer, and tracking payment.

Include essential information – the invoice number, date, payment terms, client's name, contact information, a detailed description of the products or services provided, and the total amount owing. Use basic language – Avoid jargon or technical words that may confuse your clients.

When a provider bills you for the difference between the provider's charge and the allowed amount. For example, if the provider's charge is $100 and the allowed amount is $70, the provider may bill you for the remaining $30. A preferred provider may not balance bill you for covered services.