Opening balance and closing balance are the two anchor figures on any statement. Together they tell you where your facility stood at the start and end of the statement period.
Opening balance
The opening balance is the position of your account on the first day of the statement period, before any of that period's activity is applied. It is carried straight over from the closing balance of the previous statement, which is why your records should run continuously from one period to the next.
Closing balance
The closing balance is the position on the last day of the period, after every movement during that period has been applied. It is usually the figure your bookkeeper reconciles against your accounts, and it becomes the opening balance of the next statement.
How to use them
- Read top to bottom: opening balance, then each dated entry, arriving at the closing balance.
- Check that one statement's closing balance equals the next statement's opening balance.
- If they do not match, an entry has been missed and the detail will show where.
A balance is not the same as a settlement figure, which is the amount needed to clear the facility on a specific day and is provided separately. Your facility is a company account, since Credicorp lends only to UK limited companies and LLPs.
See also: Statement glossary: running balance, Statement glossary: statement period and Arrears (glossary).