Balance due is the amount a customer still owes, after subtracting every payment and credit from the total billed. On a single invoice it is the invoice total minus what has been paid. On a payment plan it is everything left to pay across the remaining payments. Balance due is not the same as amount due. Amount due is what must be paid by the next due date. On a $14,800 plan, the balance due can be $9,975.01 while the amount due this month is $1,108.33.
What is a balance due?
Balance due is what is left to pay. It starts at the total billed and goes down with every payment and every credit. When it reaches zero, the invoice or the plan is paid in full.
The formula:
Balance due = total billed − payments received − credits applied
What is the difference between balance due and amount due?
The two are easy to confuse, and customers often do.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Balance due | Everything still owed, across all remaining payments |
| Amount due | What must be paid by the next due date |
| Past due | Any amount due whose date has passed unpaid |
On a single invoice paid in one go, balance due and amount due are the same. On a payment plan they split apart. Put both on the statement so the customer knows what to pay now and what remains.
A worked example
A $14,800 plan: a $1,500 deposit, 11 payments of $1,108.33 and a last payment of $1,108.37, 12 payments in all. The customer has paid the deposit and three payments.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total | $14,800.00 |
| Deposit paid | −$1,500.00 |
| 3 payments of $1,108.33 | −$3,324.99 |
| Balance due | $9,975.01 |
The nine payments left add up the same way: 8 × $1,108.33 = $8,866.64, plus the last payment of $1,108.37, is $9,975.01. The amount due on the next payment date is $1,108.33.
What changes the balance due?
- Payments, in full or partial
- Credits, such as a credit memo for a return or a billing error
- Overpayments applied to the account (see overpayment)
- New charges added to the account, such as a fee your terms allow
- Write-offs, which remove a balance you no longer expect to collect
Where should the balance due appear?
On every invoice, statement and reminder. A reminder that shows only this month's amount leaves the customer guessing what is left. One that shows the balance after this payment answers the next question before they ask it. Keep it in your books and your CRM too, so anyone who talks to the customer sees the same number.
Plain-language definition. The figures are a worked example, not a rule.
Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on Oct 6, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.