In Accounts Receivable systems printing of the monthly account statement is the main
feature. Because of the frequency of accounts receivable invoices, customers generally
expect certain information to be included on the statement. Name, address and account
A common form lists the date, type, and amount of each transaction in the main part of the
invoice. Depending on the particular account, there may be none, one, or many
transactions. (Statements are always sent to customers who have a balance outstanding,
even if there are no transactions for the current month).Some systems also charge interest on the previous month’s unpaid balance. Interest
charged for the current month is listed separately in a special place on the statement form.
At the end of the calendar year, a separate line is often added to inform the customer of the amount of interest paid during the year because Customers want to see this information as a means of knowing how much they paid in interest, and this is also required for reporting their taxes to the Internal Revenue department. To capture a customer’s attention,merchants often include a special message on the bottom of the statement form. The message may be up to , 120 characters and can be used to promote special sales, provide consumer service telephone numbers, etc. Its use is, however, optional.
a. Develop the data structure(s) needed to accommodate accounts receivable statement
preparation as described above.
b. Indicate which data items are mandatory and which are optional.