How do you keep track of your credit card statement date and payment due date?

What are the statement date and the due date?

The bank closes your card once a month. A new period starts the day after the statement date, and everything you spend until the next statement date goes onto the next statement. Once the statement is issued, the bank gives you a set time to pay it, and that time ends on the due date. Take a card with its statement on the 5th and its due date on the 15th: purchases from 6 March to 5 April go onto the statement issued on 5 April, which you pay by 15 April.

So the day you buy something decides when you pay for it. With the same card, a purchase on 4 April is due eleven days later, on 15 April. A purchase on 6 April goes onto the statement of 5 May and is due on 15 May, about forty days later. Leaving a large purchase until just after the statement date gives you more time to get the money together.

You will find both dates in your bank's mobile app or at the top of your statement. If the due date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, the bank may move it, so check the date printed on that month's statement.

Why is the statement balance different from the total card balance?

The total you owe on the card is usually larger than the statement balance. The gap comes from two places: purchases made after the statement was issued, and installments whose month has not come yet. On the due date you only have to pay what is on the issued statement. The new period's spending waits for the next one.

The statement also shows a minimum payment. Paying the minimum keeps you from being late, but the unpaid part is charged interest. If you want to avoid interest, the number to watch is the full statement balance.

Which statement does an installment purchase land on?

With an installment purchase the whole amount comes off your credit limit on the day you buy, but each statement only carries one installment. Buy something for 3,000 in 6 installments and your available limit drops by 3,000 that day, while each of the following statements carries 500. Every installment you pay frees that much of your limit again.

If you have several installment plans running, the amount you owe changes every month as some plans end and others start. That is hard to keep in your head. Recording each installment purchase once, with its number of installments, and seeing what is left on one list is more reliable.

Step by step: tracking your card in Wiozen Ledger

You could build this in a spreadsheet, but the formulas get messy once installments and statement dates are involved. In Wiozen Ledger a credit card is its own account type:

• On the Accounts page, add a new account and choose Credit card as its type. Fill in Card limit, Statement day and Payment due day with the day of the month (1 to 31).
• In Current card balance owed, enter the total you owed on the day you started, installments included. You can leave it empty if you do not know it.
• Enter every card purchase on the New entry screen with this card selected. For an installment purchase, pick between 2 and 12 installments under Payment method.
• When you pay the statement, use the Pay card balance button on the card's page to record a transfer from your bank account to the card.

What the card page shows

The Closed statement section shows what you owed when the last statement was issued, the payments you have made since, what is left to pay and the due date. Installments whose month has not come yet are left out of that balance. If you entered all your spending, the number you see there matches what the bank asks for on that statement. The This period section shows what has built up until the next statement date.

The Installments list shows how many installments are left on each plan and the remaining amount. When the total does not divide evenly, the leftover cents go onto the first installment. The expense report only shows that month's installment, so a phone bought in 12 installments does not inflate a single month.

If you entered a day that some months do not have, such as the 31st, the last day of the month is used in shorter months. If the due day is smaller than or equal to the statement day, the payment is due the following month: a card with its statement on the 25th and its due day on the 5th has the statement of 25 March due on 5 April.

Not missing the due date

Most late payments happen because the date slips your mind. When a closed statement still has an unpaid amount, Wiozen Ledger shows a reminder on the dashboard 5 days before the due date, with the amount left and the days remaining. If your available limit drops below a tenth of the card limit, you get a separate warning. The Credit cards section of the dashboard lists each card's available limit and due day together.

These reminders appear on the dashboard when you open the app; they do not arrive as emails or phone notifications. Keep your bank's own text or app alerts switched on as well. Two separate reminders cover the month one of them gets missed.

Which plan includes this?

Pro includes credit card and installment tracking. Every new account gets 14 days of Pro without a card; after that Pro is $39.99 a year or $6.99 a month. The free plan has 1 account and 30 records a month. Details are on the pricing page.