Billing Statements are primarily used by credit card companies, listing the transaction history and balance due on a customer account. A billing statement is mailed, physically or electronically, to a customer at the end of a billing cycle, which is usually monthly.

The statement will show the balance due and the transaction history, perhaps including recent payments received from the customer. The term “billing statement” is sort of a blend between two distinct documents: a bill and a statement.

A bill is an invoice, which serves as an accounting document for the Accounts Receivable from the company that sent the bill, and full payment is typically due promptly for a bill or invoice. A statement, on the other hand, contains the transaction history and balance on an account, such as a checking account statement or an investment account statement.

Credit cards are somewhat unique in this regard, because customers are likely to carry a balance-due for a while, and the credit card company is happy to facilitate it since they get to charge interest on the balance due. So a billing statement is both a bill and a statement, but the payment is not necessarily due right away, and they’d rather prefer if you didn’t.